Fare increase to ride Poway railroad
Tickets prices will climb at the popular Poway-Midland Railroad to help pay for a new boiler for the attraction’s 1907 Baldwin steam locomotive, the Poway City Council decided Tuesday.
Kids 12 and younger have paid 50 cents to ride the railroad since it began operating in 1993. Under the changes, the children’s fare will double to $1. Tickets for adults — which range from $1.50 to $2.50 — will go up by 50 cents or $1.
The Poway-Midland Railroad is a full-size, narrow-gauge railroad in Old Poway Park that carries passengers aboard vintage and antique railroad equipment. Owned by the city, it is operated by Poway Midland Railroad Volunteers, a group that has donated thousands of hours to maintaining, repairing and operating the equipment on weekends and some holidays.
The fare hike is necessary because the boiler, which has powered the train since 1937, has become so worn that the thickness of the metal makes it unsafe to use. It must be replaced at a cost of between $180,000 and $250,000, according to a city report.
“Such a small increase is unlikely to reduce ridership, but would increase (the volunteer’s) revenues by about $30,500 annually, allowing them to partner with the city in cost-sharing,” Poway’s Director of Community Services Robin Bettin said in the report.
The council fully supported the fare increases, and will split the cost of the new boiler with the volunteer group, which will pay for its portion over a term of 15 years, under the agreement authorized Tuesday.
“I can’t imagine a day in Old Poway Park without Old number 3,” said Councilman Jim Cunningham referring to the number emblazoned on the front of the locomotive.
The railroad has always been popular with children and families, never more so then in the past few years after the Saturday Farmer’s Market expanded and was moved to the middle of Midland Road, right in front of the train station.
In other action, the council eased watering restrictions for residential customers. Instead of being allowed to only water twice a week, people now can water their lawns three times a week always between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. and only for 10 minute per sprinkler station. Whether water customers will be given designated days to water or will be allowed to choose which three days per week has not yet been decided.
