GRANITE FALLS — The red, white and blue Granite Falls Lions train has been a constant sight at community events for more than three decades.
Its three cars are often filled with up to 40 children at the annual Railroad Days parade in October and Winterfest in December.
While the train was being stored at a city yard last week, a tree blew over in a windstrom and landed on the shed that housed it. The roofs of two cars were crushed and axles were broken. Water and snow damaged the new motor of the engine car.
The Lions Club didn’t discover the damage to the structure and their beloved train until two hours before the annual Christmas tree lighting on Saturday at the Granite Falls Museum. They had no choice but to cancel the train rides scheduled for the event.
“The guys went up there to get it ready for last weekend and I went up there to meet them,” George Wilburn, the club’s president, said. “They’re all standing there going, ‘What do we do now? Did anyone get a phone call on this?’ There was a little confusion.”
On Thursday, Lions Club members worked to free two cars from the shed and brought them to club President George Wilburn’s garage for repairs.
They hammered out dents, tried to straighten metal frames and worked to make the car wheels rotate again.
Their goal is to make sure at least two train cars are functioning for the city’s Winterfest celebration this weekend, Larry Rott of the Lions Club said. The train is expected to be pulled by a club member’s 1993 Grand Cherokee.
The Granite Falls Lions Club pays the electricity bill for the Granite Falls Food Bank every month, awards high school scholarships, and helps to provide eyeglass exams and glasses for those in need, among other things, according to Rott. The club doesn’t have funds to repair the train or replace the shed, he said, and they need help from people in the community.
“We’re really hoping we’ll get some donations,” Rott said. “The train is such a big draw.”
Monetary donations to help fix the train can be made to the Granite Falls Lions Club, P.O. Box 1081 Granite Falls, WA 98252. The club has also arranged to collect donations at the Granite Falls Key Bank and Lake Stevens Wells Fargo Bank. For more information, call Larry Rott at 425-210-7220 or George Wilburn at 425-330-4825.
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.
Granite Falls Winterfest
Granite Falls Lions Club members hope at least two of the cars of their children’s train will be in working order for Winterfest on Sunday. The event, from 1 to 6 p.m., features caroling, a hot chocolate contest, craft vendors and other activities around downtown Granite Falls.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
