It would be easy to dismiss the ambitions of Paul Pettypiece's Forth Junction Heritage Society project for Central Alberta as over the top and unachievable.
Certainly, the scope of the plan is enormous. If realized it would cover an area of at least 40 acres, with one part being a Western Canada Transpo Centre that will include a "grandî central gathering place, a multi-level retail centre, heritage plaza and a historical model rail museum. The second component would be the Railway Station and Transit Heritage Resort. This would include a Railway Station Village, a replica of the Jubilee 3001 "Chinookî steam locomotive, Retro Bus Depot, and observation tower.
This is a lofty dream, one that could require hundreds of millions of dollars to be realized. But Pettypiece is a realist and does not envision it to be anywhere near completed for at least 25 years.
Most people at this point in time are not prepared to give Pettypiece more than lip service, noting current economic conditions do not warrant such ambitions and the price tag it would entail.
That is understandable, but what Pettypiece does have in his favour now is an idea for Central Alberta that is completely original when one considers the types of tourism megaprojects that already exist in the province and the rest of the country.
As well, Pettypiece can also benefit from the fact the City of Red Deer did not move on his idea for the Riverlands district, a downtown area that is as perfect as one could imagine for a megaproject to put the city and the region on the map provincially and nationally as a world-class tourism destination point.
Where the dreams of a San Antonio-style Riverwalk for the Riverlands died in part because it was felt by a few (influential as they were) that copy-cat Texas-style development had nothing to do with the region's heritage, Pettypiece's Forth Junction idea of creating a railway and ground transportation theme is groundbreaking and a near perfect fit to reflect the region's culture and history.
However, what Pettypiece's main battle could be is the ingrained notion with many Central Alberta residents, as proven during the past Riverlands debate, that the region ought not to think too big, that dreams are only for dreamers and not to be mixed with good old-fashioned conservative pragmatism.
Thankfully, Pettypiece's Forth Junction Heritage Society is patient, and slowly but surely growing. The society has now secured a letter of support from Tourism Red Deer and is awaiting another one from Red Deer County, where nine potential sites for the project are being considered.
As well, the society is quietly laying the groundwork for future support by consulting with regional heritage groups in communities along the CPR main line, notably Innisfail and Didsbury.
Last fall, the society visited the Innisfail Historical Village, which is now an official member of Pettypiece's group.
The historical village has a strong railway component to its own operations and officials there see plenty of potential symmetry with Forth Junction's future ambitions.
"I think it is tremendous,î said Village curator Dean Jorden. "He (Pettypiece) sees tying the Village in so you could plan a visit to the main centre. This would increase our daily traffic flow and attendance. It would do nothing but absolute good for us.î
Pettypiece also wants the same linkage with Didsbury's heritage people, considering that town's devotion to heritage, notably through its restored train station and programs offered there. And once Olds resolves its issues with its local museum (space and funding) there may be more opportunities there as well for additional regional support.
In the meantime, Pettypiece and the society must move only one step at a time, dodging the naysayers, of which there will always be many. But big dreamers are good at rolling with the punches. Once convinced their mission is true, their spirit is unbreakable.
