Polar Express magic: Family recalls Spy Hill community spirit after train malfunction

Christmas was nearly derailed for the family of Ryan Siemens when a Toronto-bound Via Rail train malfunctioned in the cold and they had to get out in a small Saskatchewan community.

The train first came to a stop near Melville, Sask., then backtracked early Christmas day to the tiny community of Spy Hill, where the village's residents were waiting for them and preparing breakfast. 

"I just hope that if my family were ever stranded that somebody would help us. This is what we do," Jim Larocque, volunteer fire chief in Spy Hill, told CBC. "I mean, you do it because you help out."

Larocque said RCMP called him ahead of time to notify the community about the passengers who were about to stop in the community. That's when his crew immediately began preparing for their arrival. 

"All of us were grumpy at this point. All of us didn't want to be there," Ryan Siemens said from Winnipeg on Tuesday, where he, his wife and three children spoke to CBC.

"But then, having that type of hospitality — it's kind of ironic, we wanted to go on the train for our own Polar Express type of magic experience and we received hospitality from strangers."

The Siemens family were just five of the nearly 100 passengers who were on the train when the extreme cold, which has blanketed much of Saskatchewan and the Prairies, caused the train to malfunction and come to a stop. 

Sandra Siemens said walking in and seeing the community cooking brought a big sigh of relief.

"It made it feel more like home on a day where everyone was away from home," she added.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that the setback was turned into something special, adding that "Canadians always find a way to help each other out."

After the passengers were bused to Winnipeg, Via Rail said more buses and flights were arranged for passengers to get to their final destinations.