Tourism Moose Jaw received its replacement trolley on June 21, a welcome upgrade promising a smoother ride, climate control, and wheelchair accessibility, and MooseJawToday.com joined guide Lynette Biech for the vehicle’s first hour-long daytime tour.
The specific details of the tours are a closely guarded secret, according to Biech, because Tourism Moose Jaw (TMJ) is always updating, adding, and verifying new information. They don’t want spoilers making their way out into the proverbial grapevine.
“I often get people on the tour who were born and raised here, and they are often surprised by how much they learn,” Biech said. “Usually, they’re going to know a few more things than someone visiting for the first time from a foreign country, of course, but we have some tidbits you can’t get anywhere else.”
The tour delivered on that promise, with investigative rigor and the help of many insiders over the years — such as Moose Jaw resident Burton Cummings — who have added facts and stories to Biech’s repertoire.
The tour covered the history of various buildings throughout Moose Jaw, including unique architectural designs, tragic stories, celebrity visits (including plenty of British royalty, rockstars, and influential politicians), and world recognitions — one example is the mineral waters that powered Moose Jaw’s world-famous natatorium for many years, and how those same waters now rejuvenate clients at the Temple Gardens Spa.
Biech also gave participants insights into the city’s name, its famous sons and daughters, landmarks like Mac the Moose and the Western Development Museum, some of the dozens of new and historic murals Moose Jaw boasts, sports and industry, cemeteries, floods, and more.
She noted that while potash is the number one driver of the local economy, and the railroad on which the town was first founded remains incredibly important, tourism takes a place in the top three.
“Moose Jaw actually gets about 300,000 people every year coming in to visit,” Biech told the tour participants. “It is very big business for us, and we’re seeing that increase year after year.”
The trolley itself, christened ‘The Spirit of Moose Jaw’ by TMJ executive director Jacki L’Heureux-Mason, provided a comfortable, air-conditioned ride that Biech and driver Clarke Baker are thrilled with.
“This is just great to drive, compared to the old one. The old one’s got no air-conditioning, right, it has big windows that we open up, but that hasn’t been enough on hot days,” Baker said. “This (new trolley) right here’s got AC, heat, better steering. It will take me a while to get used to, the driver’s position is a bit different, but no, it’s great so far.”
A truly brand-new trolley was meant to be delivered last year, after Prairie Economic Development Canada approved $295,000 in Tourism Moose Jaw funding in May 2022. L’Heureux-Mason explained that Transport Canada could not clear the manufacturer they were communicating with, and the order had to be cancelled.
There is still some hope of obtaining a custom-built new vehicle, but TMJ staff regard this new-to-them trolley as a triumph.
Day and evening, ghost, and true crime-themed trolley tours are available, and the trolley will deliver tourists to TMJ’s downtown and cemetery walking tours.
Learn more about the tours and book online at tourismmoosejaw.com/trolley-tours-1. You can also call the TMJ office at 306-693-8097 or 866-693-8097 or stop in at the Visitor Centre at 450 Diefenbaker Drive in Moose Jaw.
