Hi-Line Living - Rotary Train Back On Track

Photos by Pauld Dragu and Roger Miller

Vander Swensen didn't know what he was getting into when he volunteered to rebuild the wooden train at Rotary Park. However challenging, fun or easy he thought the project was going to be, he had no idea he would reach a point where he couldn't wait to slather on the last coat of stain and get the train out of his parent's barn and back in Rotary Park.

It all started when Vander needed a project to get his Eagle Scout rank. Actually, it started before that, when Vander joined the Cub Scouts eight years ago.

He started in troop 1434, which is chartered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Vander worked his way up through the ranks. It was a leader in Vander's church, Dave Crossly, who suggested the train as the project to fulfill his Eagle Scout project.

It just so happened that the Rotary Club was told the dilapidated train in Rotary Park needed to be repaired or removed. Besides being an aesthetic splotch, it was a safety hazard and no longer serving its intended use as play area for kids and decoration for the park.

"There were screws sticking out, boards broken - the entire floor was caved in on a car," Vander said.

Vander agreed to take on the train project and Crossly got in touch with Larry Seely, who originally built the train, for construction blueprints. Seely was glad to be of service, and Vander now had his project.

The Rotary Club put up a good chunk of the cash needed for supplies, with the Beta Xi-Toa Sorority pitching in. It didn't hurt that ProBuild and Havre Hardware and Home gave Vander generous contractor prices on materials.

Now that the annoying details of money and supplies were settled, it was time to get some sawdust on his hands.

The Swensens loaded the train onto two trailers and brought it to their home sometime in June 2015. The train was unloaded in the Swensen's barn, where it would undergo its transformation.

Vander said it took a week before he realized the enormity of the project.

"Once we started figuring out how much wood we needed, how much stain we needed, how long it was going to take, how each of the work days were going to start," Vander said, is when he began to have "some doubts."

The hardest part about the project was coordinating the volunteers with the times.

Over the duration of the project, Vander would coordinate and oversee 34 total volunteers for an approximate 220 hours of train work.

Securing workers included making phone calls to workers, handing out announcements at church to get workers, making sure everyone heard about the sign-up sheets for workers.

Once he had his volunteers at the scene, there was the matter of making the most of everyone's time and abilities, making sure everyone was doing something productive.

While Vander and the few people who were experienced with power tools cut and drilled and stapled, wood was being grouped and sanded.

There was a lot of sanding, Vander said.

"A lot," he reiterated.

Although Vander and his family members were the only ones allowed to use power tools, he and his parents also had to watch and make sure everyone was working in a safe environment. He said he was also fortunate to have a father who knows his woodworking.

Vander crammed the train project into any sliver of spare time he had during the week, working on anything that could be done without help - anything to speed up the process.

Near the end, Vander and his mom stayed up one night until 2 a.m. applying the red stain Vander picked out.

"We just wanted to get it over with," he said.

The train was repaired and transported back to Rotary Park sometime in October.

Although the project was an invaluable lesson in responsibility and perseverance, Vander said, he wasn't sad to see it go.

"It was definitely a relief. Got up in the morning, didn't have to worry about the train. Got up the next morning, still didn't have to worry about what to do with the train," Vander said, smiling.

Vander learned a lot during the train ride.

"Don't procrastinate, keep your eye on the ball, communicate clearly - I learned a lot about communication," he said.

Vander earned his Eagle Scout badge Tuesday night during the Eagle Court of Honor ceremony at the LDS Church on Washington Avenue. Vander's grandfather, Morris Swensen, presented him with an Eagle neckerchief and slide.