Since I have a week off with my son, we have been taking in some local attractions. Today we checked out the Elgin County Railway museum in St. Thomas. The museum is housed on an old original railway repair shop. The shop building itself needs a lot of help. Years ago I visited and we were allowed access to the complete restoration area. This time most of it was off limits. When I asked the fellow working there said a piece of the roof fell to the floor a few years ago. They could only afford to repair a portion of the roof which is the area visitors are allowed. He said they are requesting a grant from the gov't to help preserve the building but aren't sure if they will get it. To me it's a damn shame to see a huge part of our Canadian History go to hell in a handbasket like this. This was the first time my son has seen a real steam locomotive and he was fascinated by the history of the railways. The shop is the last standing building that was part of a HUGE facility in St. Thomas. The roundhouse and other buildings were destroyed in the 80's. Pics



This is an original electric 'Interurban' trolley that ran from London to Port Stanley. It also used to transport children from London to a high school in St. Thomas. It is now fully restored.



A good shot showing the repair shops (off limits to visitors). The center car is a WWII troop sleeper car. The one on the left is a partially restored Pullman passenger car. The museum officials are worried about more roof collapse (the roof is concrete!). Aside from the risk of people being injured, some of these relics are irreplaceable.



CNR #5700. You don't realize how big these brutes are until you see one in person. Unbelievable! Here's my son standing in front of one of the drivers:


More:





We also got a chance to see inside the cab. Amazing the amount of valves and levers. These guys earned their pay back then!






Due to the huge appetite for coal, it would be impossible for the fireman to feed the firebox fast enough. Instead, this locomotive used an auger system. Here is a shot inside the tender:




The firebox:
Water runs through those pipes and turns into steam:






A nicely restored caboose from the late 1800's:



Inside:



CPR Handcar:



Remember these?



Here is a view of the outside of the museum. There are so many broken windows that they can't heat the place. This side shows where most of the windows are boarded up. Not a good environment for these restored treasures! The building is also covered in grafitti. It's really sad to see.




Todd





-- Edited by 69Laurentian on Tuesday 25th of August 2009 08:43:48 PM

-- Edited by 69Laurentian on Tuesday 25th of August 2009 09:01:41 PM