Bob Unger doesn’t just puff the words, “I think I can, I think I can,” like the locomotive in the beloved children’s book The Little Engine That Could. He knows he can.
For about three years, Unger, who volunteers his time, has been driving the Kansas City Northern Miniature Railroad’s $1.4 million expansion project. The nonprofit railroad in Frank Vaydik Park (6060 N.W. Waukomis Drive, KCMO) has three miniature locomotives that run along an approximately half-mile track and have been giving rides to kids and train enthusiasts since 1992. Unger, who became involved with the organization when he took his grandchildren for a ride about four years ago, is part of an all-volunteer team that operates and maintains the popular train.
For more than a decade, the railroad organization has attempted to expand its current track and add more attractions, says Unger. However, early designs were rejected due to an archaeology survey result that found “finds,” he says. But in 2022, the push to expand and renovate the railroad was reignited when more than 800 people signed a petition calling for railroad improvements. New plans that included additional track, a tunnel and a bridge that crosses Line Creek and takes the trains into a lot owned by the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department were created.
“This time, an archaeology survey was free of any ‘finds,’” says Unger, who is not only managing the project but fundraising for it, too.
Fundraising has been vital in getting the project off the ground and finished, Unger says, and although most of the new railroad track will be completed this June, the picnic grove and additional steam engine will come later.
About six months ago, local philanthropist Frank Thompson pledged a $125,000 matching grant. “The contingency was that we raise a matching $125,000 by June 30.” At press time, they still need to raise around $30,000 to receive the grant.
To learn more about the railroad and donate, check out kcnrr.com.
