A Walnut Grove film studio made a major investment in its future as a sought-after destination for the film and TV industry, spending $1 to buy a used subway train car.
TransLink is retiring the Mark I fleet vehicle, which has been given a new home. Lumostage Virtual Productions has repurposed its car into a full-service 180 degree LED stage for film and television productions.
“So this was a 1986 Mark 1 Skytrain which I fondly remember from Expo 86 when I was four years old,” said Lumostage COO and co-founder Angus Luk-Ramsey.
In addition to the $1 purchase, the studio had to shell out for some other expenses.
“When you get the SkyTrain, you find out that that’s not the last dollar you’re going to spend,” Luk-Ramsey chuckled.
Buyers are responsible for transporting the train cars, and then there were modifications. The wheels and related mechanics were removed and recycled, replaced by equipment, including air castors, that essentially turns it into a (non-moving) hovercraft. The car was shortened. The doors were made to open and close with a manual system, and one end of the train was removed to allow for easier access for equipment.
The spend was about $130,000.
The studio removed the seats and added seating to make it look like a New York City subway car. That included adding an exterior coat of silver aluminum paint.
“I was obsessed with getting a train,” he said. “Somehow, someone in our production department came across a notice that SkyTrain was retiring the Mark I. I went completely bananas and said, ‘We’ve got to get that train. We’ve got to get it.’ We hounded SkyTrain for eight months and submitted applications and checked in and checked in and checked in until they finally relented and said, ‘We have the train ready for you’.”
Surrounding the train in the studio is very modern technology, including walls that light up to show the backdrop of whichever train station or rail line the client wishes. But key to the operation is technology that can change the backdrop and visual perspective to match the movement of the camera as it films.
For a media unveiling Oct. 21, the train and LED walls, lit up to look like the NYC’s Canal Street station platform, featured ads made specifically for an upcoming production that was going to be filming on site in late October.
“We chose New York City for this set because we think that’s going to get the most use relative to the type of business that we do in Vancouver,” he said. “If you wanted it to be Granville SkyTrain station, for instance, you would just have to build a new virtual environment which has some cost and time associated with it and repaint the train back to the TransLink colours that we painted over and then build a physical set to match photos that you take of Granville SkyTrain station.”
Lumostage is betting that the studio in North Langley will be an in-demand site for those needing to film train scenes in addition to the other work it does in the industry.
“Historically the B.C. film economy is worth about $3.5 billion to this province,” noted Luk-Ramsey. “And anything that we can do to make British Columbia more competitive with other desirable filming locales really boosts everyone in the industry. And we think that having this train and the ability to do a set like this gives us an advantage.”
Luk-Ramsey explained that many scripts have train scenes but they are often written out once those making the project find out the costs, and the times constraints from rail and subway operators of using real-life trains and subways.
“It’s a large disruption to operations to have film crews trying to hold trains, run them back and forth out of the station in the middle of the night,” he said.
The train isn’t Lumostage’s first journey into vehicular filming. They’ve established themselves in the specialty filming business for when a scene takes place inside a car or truck. In the past, a vehicle had to be put onto a trailer and there could be up to nine cameras needed to catch the right angles, the changing perspectives, and backdrops, as well as extended access to the route or location. Now technology allows Lumostage to do that most of that work in-studio.
The new/old train car can be modified to look like subway cars from other transportation systems as well and should the need arise to add in a conductor’s booth, that can be constructed and added to one end that was opened up during renovations.
As the very first SkyTrain vehicles near the end of their service lives, and make way for new Mark V cars through 2026, TransLink is inviting creative ideas to make use of these train cars – there are about 130 remaining. About 20 have been dismantled and recycled.
“We’re thrilled to see one of our iconic SkyTrain cars enjoy a future which will preserve its legacy while supporting one of our strongest local industries,” said TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn. “Since first rolling out nearly 40 years ago, the Mark I SkyTrain cars have carried millions of customers and become a defining symbol of Metro Vancouver’s transit system.”
Interested individuals, businesses, developers, community organizations, and municipalities are encouraged to submit proposals through a new Request for Information (RFI). This follows an initial call for idea submissions in November 2024.
Accepted applicants are responsible for funding the transport of the SkyTrain cars from the BC Rapid Transit Company (BCRTC) storage facility in Burnaby, as well as covering all the future costs of repurposing the cars.
Creative proposals for the next set of cars will be accepted until Nov. 28. Additional applications will open at a later date, as more vehicles are phased out of service.
Langley’s new studio
Lumostage started in 2022 at a location in Delta. In summer 2024, as founders Daniel Hsia and Luk-Ramsey discussed the business’ direction, they decided to look east to take advantage of the tax credits for businesses operating east of 196 Street, setting up in Walnut Grove.
The studio’s clients have included the TV show “Tracker” season 2 as well as various Hallmark movie projects. Commercials have included work for Lululemon, Microsoft, and McDonald’s. Lumostage partners with specialty firms that offer the technology and products needed for this newer type of filmmaking.
Hsia is from Los Angeles but had worked often in Canada and decided to make the move north.
“Daniel has two decades plus experience as a writer, director and producer including episodic film and sorry episodic television and feature film and a lot of writing as well,” Luk-Ramsey explained.
His partner comes from the event planning field which shut down during the pandemic.
“My background prior to this company and prior to the pandemic was in live event audio visual supply. So, I have a lot of experience with LED walls which obviously are a key component of virtual production,” Luk-Ramsey said.
Their 8,000 square foot studio has seven employees, whom he credits with merging the creative and technical sides of the business.
“They’re very talented group,” he added.