A dedicated engineer, who fought to keep a little piece of railroad history, takes a moment to relax after his passengers and crew have left the scene.

While everyone else has gone in for dinner at the community hall in Big Valley, he works away, ensuring all is in tip top condition with the engine.

“That particular day I remember quite well,” explained Harry Home, engineer for the 6060 locomotive that runs from Stettler, AB.

“When we run, we run from Stettler to Big Valley, 21.2 miles. Then, we run around the train and the passengers all go up to the community hall and they put on a real nifty prairie home cooked style meal,” he said.

A caring co-worker brings him a plate, so he too can enjoy a well-earned dinner before taking his passengers back to Stettler.

Not wanting to leave his valued steam engine, Home pulls out a little chair, sits down beside the engine with his plate on his knee and enjoys his supper.

“Quite often, I don’t go up there (to the hall), because I’m the engineer and I know that engine so well, so I quite often stay and keep an eye on things and let my crew go up, like my fireman go up and I stay and do little jobs. I just simply stay... and the guys sometimes come back with a plate of food.”

Although it wasn’t Home’s favourite meal that night  (which is spaghetti and meatballs), it was still a pretty good feed. Roast beef, a hearty meal for a hard working engineer.

“I like meatballs and spaghetti, for some reason, but that day was roast beef which is superb.”

Though just one small moment in time, local film maker David Baker happened to witness the event and has turned that moment into a painting for all to share.

“I saw that, and I thought it was one of those classic moments when you see a man and his machine,” said Baker, who was onsite filming a documentary on the 6060 engine.

“When I saw the frame of video shot... I thought, ‘that’s a moment that Diane would like me to make into a painting’.”

Baker’s thoughts took him to a common friend of Baker and Home: Diane Way.

“I’m a fan of the work she does, I like what she does with paint,” said Baker.

For Home, the painting came as a big surprise. He was particularly thrilled his favourite tin lunch box had made it into the painting.

“I usually talk too much, I think, but I was overwhelmed and thrilled,” said Home.

“I had an old tin box I carried, I’ve still got it, I carried it for forty years I guess on the railroad and she’s got that in the picture.”

Of course, that one moment in time resonates because of the efforts and dedication Home put in to ensure the 6060 train did not become a wasted entity.

Made back in Oct. 1944 it was the last order of steam engines for the Canadian National Railway (CN). There were only 20 engines made, and it’s now the largest operating steam engine in Canada.

For Home, who has worked on the railroad since 1949, when the last steam engine was taken away from Jasper, it was crucial that this piece of Canadian history was commemorated.

“After two years of negotiating, they gave us the 6060,” he said, “so it sat in Jasper for ten years.”

However, due to the prime condition in which Home maintained it, the engine disappeared to the east coast in 1972 where it would run through Ontario and Quebec, and down to the US. But, not without further assistance from Home.

“That was a great honour to me,” he noted. “They suddenly realized that nobody knew how to fire it, because it was an oil burner and they didn’t have them there – so I was picked by the CN to be a system locomotive special duties.”

After being used for several years, the trips through the East Coast eventually stopped and the condition faded. Once again, due to Home’s lobbying of the Alberta government and the dedication of a variety of Jasperites, Home brought the engine back to Jasper to be restored in time for the province’s 75th Anniversary.

The historic engine sat in Jasper from Jan. 18 to May 29, where the tireless commitment of Home and his crew, including many hours of volunteered time from locals, saw the engine roll out of the station in time for the Steam Expo held in Vancouver in 1986.

“It’s a testimonial to the skills of our own people. There’s a lot of people walking around that have got some great skills and there is a lot of skills that we’ve learned that I hope we can pass on.

After sitting in North Vancouver for three years, the engine was taken to Stettler in 1989 where it remains today offering a unique journey in the Alberta Prairies throughout the summer.

Over the years, Home’s dedication and love for the engine have not dwindled, as he continues to travel to Stettler several times a year, where he can spend up to a week working on the engine and ensuring its maintained at the highest condition.

“My wife’s getting pretty annoyed at me because I put in a lot of time down there,” said Home. “I’m in charge of the engine and all the maintenance,” he explained. “In the winter we have a lot of work to do simply to protect the integrity of the boiler and the functioning of the machinery... these engines are not designed to sit around, that’s our biggest enemy when they sit around.”

As testament to his character, while working tirelessly in his beloved engine the Jasperite has also had a personal battle and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001.

“It’s damn scary when you’re told you’ve got cancer,” he said, “because everyone’s afraid of it and there’s a lot of it around.”

Way is also a cancer survivor, which is why all the money raised from the prints will be donated directly to a program at the Cross Cancer Clinic in Edmonton called Arts in Medicine, where Way teaches as well.

“At the time I commissioned Diane to do the painting for me she was going through a battle of cancer,” explained Baker.

“She said to me that doing the painting actually was very good for her self esteem at a time when she felt really low and not confident to do much.”

Prints are for sale at the Christmas Craft Fair.