Train at O.J. Watson Park could get new locomotive, other upgrades

The half-size train at south Wichita’s O.J. Watson Park may soon be getting a new locomotive and passenger car if City Council members vote next week to spend more than $300,000 on it and other improvements.

After 31 years and two major overhauls, the train and its locomotive – built by Chance Manufacturing in 1984 – can no longer handle the demand of 25,000-plus passengers a year.

The train managed to open as scheduled in March after an annual maintenance review uncovered a number of issues, Wichita Parks and Recreation director Troy Houtman said Friday.

But it broke down about a week ago and is in the shop for transmission and other engine repairs.

And, Houtman said, even when it’s fixed, it’s unlikely to last much longer.

“We’ve actually had a lot of preventative care on this throughout the years,” he said.

“But it’s just starting to wear out.”

On Tuesday, council members will consider issuing general obligation bonds that would pay for a new locomotive and middle coach car and buy another crossing signal for the park.

Houtman said the locomotive and car are expected to run about $250,000. The crossing signal is extra.

The bonds also would pay to fix the existing locomotive so visitors to the park won’t be without one of its star attractions for the six or seven months it will take for a new one to be delivered, Houtman said.

The city’s newly adopted capital improvement program includes $306,250 earmarked for improvements to Watson Park in 2015.

City staff is recommending the council use that money for the train.

Any money not spent on the train would be used to buy more kayaks, refurbish and improve the park’s miniature golf course and install benches around its playgrounds, a shade structure for the boat dock and new signs.

The existing train’s passenger cars would be reused or kept for parts.

The train is one of the centerpieces of the 119-acre south Wichita park at 3022 S. McLean.

The park is open for its summer hours, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., through Oct. 31. Among attractions are a 42-acre fishing lake, pedal boats, pony rides, multiple playgrounds, covered shelters and picnic areas.

The park’s rides, including the train when its running, are scheduled to run from 5 to 8 p.m. weekdays and noon to 8 p.m. on weekends through the end of October and resume in March.

Train rides cost $2 per person.

“It’s a great thing to take your grandkids on or your children,” said Mike Hundley, a member of Friends of Watson Park, a group that raises money for park projects.

He was excited the park is getting a chance at a new locomotive and coach car.

“I think more people will come out and ride on a newer train,” Hundley said, adding that the park is holds a lot of memories for Wichitans.

Houtman said repairs to the existing train have run about $55,000 over the past five or six years. In 2012 – one of the train’s more troublesome years and one where it was down for about eight weeks – the cost was $17,000.

When the train isn’t running “we’re losing revenue and there’s a lot of disappointed folks that come out to the park,” he said.

Wichita City Councilman James Clendenin, whose district includes the park, said Friday he thinks the council will approve the bonds and the train project.

The project would be the first using $3.6 million set aside for improvements and repairs to Watson Park over 10 years under the city’s capital improvement program.

Future additions could include a zip line, programming and outdoor movies, Clendenin said.

“It’s important to me that we are preserving quality of life in south Wichita and that we have opportunities … to go to a place in our neighborhood that is new and nice and that can give us a quality of life that people have all over the city,” he said.

“A new train preserves one of those things that we’ve had. And it’s going to allow more people to enjoy it.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 7:31 PM with the headline "Train at O.J. Watson Park could get new locomotive, other upgrades."