As TransLink begins its quest for ideas for the future of soon-to-be-retired Mark I SkyTrain cars, a Burnaby resident has already come up with a plan: public art.
Kelly Younker wrote mayor and council earlier this year suggesting the city acquire one of the cars and show it off as a historic monument near a Burnaby SkyTrain station.
“I thought it would be a nice idea for Burnaby to somehow retain, keep and show off the original ‘Spirit of Burnaby’,” Younker wrote council in August, noting the cars had names “back in the day representing different cities or areas.”
Younker proposed the car could sit on a short piece of track underneath the guideway, fenced in, near Metrotown or Patterson station – perhaps part of Burnaby’s designs to revamp the BC Parkway.
The “Spirit of Burnaby” car was No. 50, according to Younker, and permanently attached to No. 49, the “Spirit of Castlegar.”
Younker wondered if Burnaby could even acquire both trains and suggested the name “Spirit of Burnaby” could be “emblazoned on the sides (of the car) as it was.”
(A 1985 article in The Province noted the SkyTrain car naming followed “the tradition of great railroads the world over,” and former transit minister Grace McCarthy suggested the naming was designed to “foster goodwill throughout B.C. towards our [SkyTrain] system” which she said was “not merely a juggernaut of electronics and steel, but also a symbol of British Columbian excellence.”)
“It’s part of our history and adds value to our community, as well as a piece of interest for tourism, and I think it would be a great idea to pursue this before the opportunity is lost forever,” Younker wrote.
