TRHA

Weekend Report: Record Turnout of Volunteers - Part 1 of 2

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:25:00 +0000

Click on each image for a closer look!
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Saturday, March 20th
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Lots of activity today at the roundhouse and lots of public wandering through and watching the performance as we shuffled cars and locomotives for a photo shoot by Norm Betts, a professional photographer who has been documenting progress of the development of Roundhouse Park for some time. We actually hit an all-time record high for volunteers on site at one time. There were eighteen of us engaged in various projects.
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A host of tasks were tackled which included the miniature locomotive workshop, the TH&B caboose, shuffling the rolling stock and engines, moving fences around to facilitate moves, operating the turntable, working on the F7 cab, sealing the floor in the miniature railway depot, installing the barrier arms on the crossing gates, and of course capturing everything in pictures.
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The weather was perfect for working and photography being cloudy and therefore evenly lit. Not too warm in the afternoon though; we were getting occasional flakes of snow! All together it was a good day and I think everyone either had fun or felt good about achieving a goal on a project. Congratulations to TH&B caboose team as they were able to close up the west wall today with the tongue and groove interior panelling.
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We also thank volunteer Dave Wetherald for his donation of four new fluorescent lighting fixtures.
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Sunday, March 21st
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I thought the coming of spring was supposed to bring warmth? It was better last week when it was still "winter"! Regardless, a small team completed installation of the mini turntable today. It revolves nicely and it is the right height. We can now proceed to complete the miniature railway tracks leading to the depot. On Sunday, work also continued on the task of stripping the caboose doors.
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Posting by Michael Guy, Pictures by Stephen Gardiner, Michael Guy & James Rasor
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The Fort Erie RR Museum & Restoration of CNR Northern #6218

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:59:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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As we have noted before, our CNR Northern 4-8-4 Steam Engine #6213 is one of several that still exist across Canada. One of the other members of this class of locomotive, #6218, is located at the Fort Erie Railroad Museu. This locomotive was built in 1942 and donated to Fort Erie in 1973. It has not been maintained since 1973 and has deteriorated seriously.
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It has been determined that the locomotive is in need of repairs to cosmetically restore it that will cost a total of $429,000. Mary McLelland-Papp, of the recently formed Fort Erie Historical Railway Association, says an initial fund-raising goal of $73,000 has been set. A campaign to seek memberships from corporations, individuals and other volunteers who are interested in doing their part to make the train's restoration a reality is now in effect. The City of Fort Erie has also made an initial allocation of $50,000 towards the restoration effort.
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For more information, read the recent article in the Fort Erie Times newspaper by clicking here.
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I visited the Fort Erie Railway Museum site for the first time yesterday and brought back the images seen here of the museum and #6218. In this images we find that their collection includes #6218, a wood-sided CN Caboose, a fireless steam engine and the very classic Ridgeway railway station. Fireless engines were filled with steam or compressed air and then used in plant facilities where the existence of a fire would be very dangerous. The museum will open for the season on Victoria Day weekend.
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Also found below is a video of #6218 operating in October of 1969 on one of the many excursion trips which she pulled at the end of her career, several of which I thoroughly enjoyed as a young railway enthusiast.
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Posting and Pictures by Russ Milland
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Donation: PNR Railworks Donates a Set of Crossing Gates

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:22:00 +0000

Click on each image for a closer look!
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Well, you couldn't ask for better March weather, it was sunny, windy and hot at +18.5C!
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The project for the day was to accept and erect a pair of crossing gates donated and delivered by PNR Railworks. They also promised to help us install them. PNR are the folks who installed all of the standard gauge trackage throughout the park last year.
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The crane-equipped delivery truck arrived about ten-fifteen and the PNR install crew arrived about noon by which time our team of TRHA volunteers had matters well in hand. All told, it took about us about six hours to get both masts bolted to their mounts. We waved goodbye to the PNR truck driver just before four p.m. In support of the installation, our TRHA team put in a full day's work drilling concrete, epoxying holding studs and pulling wires.
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We had the work area cordoned off with yellow tape as the park was very busy with families with small children visiting Skydome and a sharp lookout was needed to ensure safety.
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Posting by Michael Guy; Pictures by Jon Hull & Sandy Wetherald
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Historic Note: High Speed Rail in Canada versus Europe & Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:48:00 +0000

High Speed Rail Canada is a citizens' advocacy group dedicated to making the public and other stakeholders aware of the potential for high speed rail in Canada. Their website is a great portal to prior studies and well as other web based resource for those interested in the potential of high speed rail in Canada. Click here to visit their website.
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Click here to view quite an interesting video of the evolution of high speed rail in Europe. Hopefully, despite the long intercity distances, we too will experience such high speed rail travel in North America in the near future.
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Finally, below is an interesting video documenting the retirement of the Type 500 Shinkansen train from Japan's TOKAIDO main line. These trains have been operating at speeds of 300 kilometres per hour in the western part of Japan since 1997.
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Posting by Russ Milland
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Weekend Report: Progress on F7 Cab, Caboose and Miniature RR Depot

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:44:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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We had yet another productive weekend with progress on a number of projects.
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The TH&B van is looking very trim. The west wall is a complete structure again and the steel sheathing has been screwed back into place from the outside making the wall straight once more. Next week the interior T&G (tongue and groove) panelling will start to go back on. Work continued on the priming work on the interior of the F7 Cab and it is looking quite handsome as can be seen in the picture below.
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In the miniature railway depot building we installed four eight foot long fluorescent light fixtures to dispel the gloom. These were recycled from the roundhouse stalls 28-30 prior to the renovations. Wiring is yet to be completed but the fixtures are in place and ready. Our team also cut and drilled nearly a third of the track supports needed to support those tracks in the depot which will be elevated to provide access to engines and rolling stock from underneath.
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Posting by Michael Guy; Pictures by Stephen Gardiner and Lance Gleich
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Historic Note: GO Transit Bi-Level Cars Introduced on March 13th, 1978

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:05:00 +0000

Click on the image for a closer look!
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Derek Boles, TRHA's historian, publishes a daily posting on the Toronto Railway Heritage Yahoo Group List. These postings document major railway oriented events that happened on that day of the year. One of today's items is as follows:
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"March 13, 1978:
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GO Transit introduces its new bi-level coaches (actually three levels including the intermediate level at each end of the car) in regular service. After experimenting with earlier models of bi-levels with partial upper levels used in Montreal and Chicago, GO developed an original design that featured a full-width upper floor. The cars were built by the Canadian Car Division of Hawker Siddeley Ltd. in Thunder Bay, Ont. and sat 162 passengers instead of the 94 passenger capacity of the original single-level c ars used by GO since 1967. The design of these cars was so successful that only minor modifications have been made in the past 32 years. The bi-levels are now manufactured by Bombardier and are used by several transit systems throughout North America."
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If you wish to read these daily postings from Derek, simply join the Toronto Railway Heritage Yahoo Group List by clicking here.
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In the pictures above, we see black and white photos of the original passenger cars used on GO Transit's very first day of service on May 23rd, 1967. Also shown above at right is a picture of the bi-level cars in operation on an westbound train just west of the CNE grounds in Toronto. Below, we find a route map which shows how the GO Transit operation has expanded to cover a large part of southern Ontario centred on the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).
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For more about Go Transit, read the extensive Wikpedia article and visit the Go Transit website.
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Posting by Russ Milland; Images by John Vincent, Wikipedia and Go Transit
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Weekend Report: Opening Up New Fronts! - Part 3 of 3

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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In this final series of weekend report pictures, we find Michael in the miniature railway train shed laying the track required to store our rolling stock. This went well and we now have two-thirds of the passenger car storage trackage bolted down and ready to use.
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Finally, Michael reports that "It was a pleasure to see that the new railway-themed children's playground in the south east corner of the park (see pictures below of the "GTRR 1929" plastic engine and families playing on the equipment) was a popular place all weekend. Lots of young family members were enjoying climbing around the plastic engine and using the adjacent slide and climbing equipment. All dressed in winter clothing mind you but the sun was shining and fun was being had while it did."
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Posting by Russ Milland; Pictures by Bob Dickson and Russ Milland
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Weekend Report: Opening Up New Fronts! - Part 2 of 3

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:25:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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As can be seen in the photographs above, work on the TH&B caboose is proceeding very nicely with the wall reconstruction nearly complete. Remember that this caboose had a wooden structure with a metal sheathed exterior so lots of woodwork was needed to restore it.
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Below, we also see that the development of the miniature model of our CLC Whitcomb is proceeding as time permits with its now having a fine front grill in place at both ends. A team of volunteers also worked on the Sweet Creek steam engine's wiring, cleaning of the Romulus chassis and reworking of the boiler (see below). Work also began on completing the miniature railway depot which will be the topic of our next post.
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Posting by Russ Milland; Pictures by Stephen Gardiner & Lance Gleich
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Weekend Report: Opening Up New Fronts! - Part 1 of 3

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:01:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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This past weekend again saw progress on several old and new fronts with work continuing on the TH&B Caboose, the F7 Cab, the miniature railway engines and depot. On Saturday, Michael and Dave made a long trek to Sudbury to pick up much needed parts to restore the Pyke Crane
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As shown in the attached pictures, the F7 Cab is progressing nicely as one of our teams continued to do the "dirty work" of grinding away and sanding the surfaces inside the cab. As can be seen in the pictures, the exterior has also had its surface dents and dings filled in and sanded. Various compartment doors can also having been cleaned up and primed. We also addressed the cab with a welding torch to finish up the framework. In one of the pictures you can see the fireman's side of the front windows looking great after having been primed.
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Watch for more weekend progress reports in Part 2 of this posting!
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Posting by Russ Milland; Pictures by Stephen Gardiner & Lance Gleich
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Donation: CPR Trainman's Summer and Winter Uniforms

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:36:00 +0000

Click on each image for a closer look!
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I recently received a call from a Mr. Tim Irish, who advised that he had two authentic Canadian Pacific Railway trainman's uniforms and he wanted to find them both a good home. After a brief conversation, he agreed to donate the uniforms to the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre. It turns out that Tim is Sergeant Tim Irish of the Toronto Police Service Forensic Identification Services and we can certainly appreciate his sensitivity in not immediately identifying himself during a cold call on the telephone.
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Sergeant Irish delivered the uniforms to Derek on March 1, 2010 and advised that they belonged to his uncle, Ross Michaelis, who was a trainman on the CPR's Parry Sound and Cartier Subdivisions between Mactier and Cartier. The uniforms are in pristine condition, each with jacket, vest, pants and hat and with CPR brass buttons. One is a single-breasted summer weight uniform (shown at left above) and the other a double-breasted winter uniform (shown at right above). Both were made by Tip-Top Tailors here in Toronto, a massive 1929 building at Bathurst Street and Lakeshore Boulevard that was recently converted into a condominium. Both hats were also made in Toronto at Stokes Caps and Regalia, a company still doing business manufacturing uniform paraphernalia in Mississauga.
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The map above shows the CPR line that Mr. Michaelis would have worked while wearing these uniforms. Cartier is west of Sudbury at the end of the double track section. Mactier is 130 miles north of Toronto.
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We thank Sergeant Irish for his generous and thoughtful donation to the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre.
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Posting and pictures by Derek Boles

Cabin D by Night!

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:20:00 +0000

Click on each image for a closer look!
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In a previous post, we featured the dramatic lighting that has been installed to light up the roundhouse. In this posting, we show two images above of Cabin D and the Toolshed quite late in the day which displays the dramatic lighting installed for these structures as well.
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Posting by Russ Milland & Images by Stephen Gardiner

Weekend Report: Progress on 3 Fronts in a Snow Bound City

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:27:00 +0000

Click on each image for a closer look!
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Despite the late winter dump of snow on the Roundhouse property as shown in the picture at the left above, our determined volunteer crews once again put in a great work effort this weekend indoors at the roundhouse.
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One of our two crews continued to work on the restoration of the interior of the caboose. We got the sills cut for the windows and the new flooring laid up to the floor sill. We also continued to strip the doors down in preparation for new paint and reinstallation.
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On a second front, we covered the miniature turntable with some recycled Caboose shrinkwrap that we luckily kept in preparation for the Mini Depot to be painted on the inside this week. The end of the day was spent cleaning up after ourselves in preparation for the contractors coming in to install the heating in the stalls - this is good news!
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Meanwhile, on our third front (the F7 cab restoration front), our team primed the rest of the electrical compartment doors, as well as the insides of the exterior side doors. We also prepared two plywood patches on the engineer's and fireman's risers. Both are finished and ready to install. Three of our volunteers then started to cut the metal frame supports to support the sofa enclosure at the back of the cab. All pieces are cut, placed and ready to be welded.
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Posting by Russ Milland based on information from Dan Garcia & James Rasor; Pictures taken by various volunteers using Lance Gleich's camera.
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Historic Note: #4803 moves from the CN to the CP Roundhouse - Feb 28th, 1986

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:31:00 +0000

#4803 in action on the road in Edmonton, Alberta in June of 1970 - Photograph by Richard Yaremko from the Helmut G. Osterman collection
#4803 in residence at the CN Spadina Roundhouse on May 20, 1985 by John Vincent
#4803 in residence at the John St. Roundhouse by Russ Milland
#4803 below the CN Tower in Roundhouse Park by Russ Milland
#4803 in Roundhouse Park in front of the CP Roundhouse by Russ Milland
Close up of the cab of #4803 by Russ Milland

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Posting by Russ Milland; Pictures as attributed above
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Historic Note: UCRS Selects #6213 for Preservation by the City of Toronto

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:21:00 +0000

Click on the image for a closer look!
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Derek Boles, TRHA's historian, publishes a daily posting on the Toronto Railway Heritage Yahoo Group List. These postings document major railway oriented events that happened on that day of the year. One of today's items is as follows:
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"February 27, 1960: The Locomotive Preservation Committee of the Upper Canada Railway Society visits the Canadian National Railway Spadina roundhouse for the purpose of choosing a steam locomotive suitable for preservation and presentation to the City of Toronto. The committee chose U-2-g 4-8-4 No. 6213 and it was presented to the city in August 1960. It was subsequently moved to the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) grounds, where it was mounted adjacent to the old Stanley Barracks, then being used as the Marine Museum of Upper Canada. The locomotive was maintained by the UCRS for several years, later by members of the Toronto Locomotive Preservation Society. In June 2009, the locomotive was moved to Roundhouse Park for incorporation into the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre."
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The image above shows #6213 residing on the CPR John St. Roundhouse in 2009 after having been moved there that year from the CNE.
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If you wish to read these daily postings from Derek, simply join the Toronto Railway Heritage Yahoo Group List by clicking here.
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Posting by Russ Milland; Image from TRHA website home page

Field Report: The Savannah Georgia Roundhouse Railroad Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:29:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!

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This museum, while much more extensive than ours will ever be, because of its size, was a very interesting place to visit, and perhaps we can gather some ideas for our Toronto museum.
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The site is the original location of the Central of Georgia Savannah Repair Shops, which were closed in 1963 when the Central was purchased by the Southern Railway. After years of neglect the Southern began to demolish several of the structures; but a group of concerned citizens halted the destruction and title to the property was transferred to the City of Savannah. The site continued to remain abandoned and decaying until the Coastal Heritage Society accepted management of the complex. Currently, the structures are being restored to serve as interpretive and exhibit space for the railroad museum and to house elements of the planned expansion, to include the Savannah History Museum and a new children’s museum. They also hope to develop a functional restoration shop for historic railroad rolling stock.
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The above is taken pretty much verbatim from the brochure handed out. However, my personal observation is that they already have quite a collection of equipment and buildings, most of which appears in pretty good display shape. They also have at least one steam engine which they occasionally fire up. Here (starting at the upper left) are captions for the pictures:
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Picture 1 is an overall view of the roundhouse and turntable at a music festival event at the facility.
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Picture 2 is their little "critter" that they use to move equipment around with. It has an automotive-type transmission and control.
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Picture 3 is their model layout on display which is a reasonably accurate representation of the site.
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Picture 4 is a rear view of the roundhouse.
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Picture 5 is the smokestack complex, which is an identifying feature of the site, when you approach it from the city.
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Picture 6 is a sample of one of their display signs, which also explains a bit about the smokestack complex.

For more about the Savannah Georgia Roundhouse Railroad Museum, visit their website by clicking here.

Posting and Pictures by Dave Flinn

Weekend Report: Painting the Caboose and F7 Restoration

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:56:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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This past weekend, our dedicated volunteers continued to pursue restoration work. As you will read in these reports by two of our volunteers, the work involves a lot of small tasks and takes siginifcant amounts of time and elbow grease to complete.
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This is Not a Picasso by James Rasor
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"Work on the TH&B Caboose went very well this weekend thanks to Bob, Lance, Richard and James. Test paints for the exterior were applied using two samples provided to TRHA by Benjamin Moore who has been generously helping us match the original red and the original yellow applied on top of the red. A small area is also being tested to see how different primer colours may affect the test paint before we make a final decision. Inside the caboose, work went very well with all the backside of the metal sheathing painted and all the new structural supports painted."
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As the F7 turns by Dan Garcia
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"First order of business was to check the flooring - any spots that we were a bit unsure upon installation last week we are no longer concerned with. The floor feels as solid if not more so than it did before. . After that, we got to work. Stephen ripped out the old wires from the ceiling conduits and ran twine in place, while Richard painted the outsides of the exterior doors - they look great. Richard also finished painting the steps into the nose, which should be able to be installed next week. The three of us then got to work on the various electrical door panels, Richard painting while Stephen and I prepped. We also removed the two interior engine room doors and did the same. All of the doors now have a coat of grey metal primer on one side, and will get the second coat next week. . Stephen also did some additional cleaning in the nose of the cab and painted the "kickplate" at the edge of the steps. I took a grinder to some of the bits of metal that were still sticking out a fair distance into the space allocated for the sofa."
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Posting By Russ Milland; Pictures by Stephen Gardiner, Lance Gleich and James Rasor
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Next TRHA Union Station Tour on Saturday, February 27th, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:51:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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The TRHA offers tours of Union Station on the last Saturday of each month at 11 a.m. Cost is $10 each payable on arrival for the tour. Reservations are not necessary and those interested should meet by the Traveler's Aid counter in the centre of the Great Hall at 10:50 a.m. For more about these tours, click here.

Field Report: Largo Central Railroad near Tampa, Florida

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:32:00 +0000

Click on the video below to watch the action!
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As Michael Guy continues to explore the miniature railways of Florida, he has posted this fine video of action captured on Friday February 19th at the Largo Central Railroad near Tampa Florida during their annual four-day long "Meet".
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Posting by Russ Milland; Video by Michael Guy
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Field Trip: Visiting the Central Pasco and Gulf Railway

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:56:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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Michael Guy is on a "busman's holiday" (as we used to call them) in Florida where he is spending some of his time visiting local miniature railway clubs. In the pictures above, we find Michael at the controls of a centre cab switcher very similar to the one that we are building.
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In the video below, we see some great train action at the Florida Live Steamers' February 15th meet at their Central Pasco and Gulf Miniature Railway. The passenger and freight traisn that they have built are very impressive models.
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Posting by Russ Milland; Pictures and movie by Michael Guy
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CARM Copetown Train Show - This Sunday, February 21st, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:33:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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The Canadian Association of Railway Modellers (CARM) was formed in October of 2003 to:

to inspire.
to foster fellowship among railway modellers throughout Canada.
to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and skills between railway modellers.
to promote the hobby of railway modelling in Canada.
to be inclusive of all scales and interests.
to work in co-operation with other organizations.

Each year, CARM host a small train show just west of Hamilton and north of Highway 403 in Copetown, Ontario. The show is focussed on:

Operating Canadian prototype layouts
Displays by model craftsmen
Railway Special Interest Groups
Canadian Model Manufacturers Displays and Sales
Photo Vendors

In the pictures above and below we find Jason Shron of Rapido Trains, one of the participating vendors, showing off his instant telephone pole product and a number of images of the fine modelling work on display at past shows.

This year, the show will be held this coming Sunday as follows:

Date: Sunday February 21st, 2010

Location:

Copetown And District Community Centre,
1950 Governor’s Road, just east of Hwy. 52
Copetown, ON

Time: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Admission cost: $5.00.
Refreshments will be on sale at the site and the
The Copetown Centre is wheelchair accessible.

For more information and a map, you may download and print the train show flyer by clicking here. For more about CARM, click here.
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The Toronto Railway Historical Association (TRHA) will also be at the show with a booth.
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Posting and pictures by Russ Milland
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40th Annual Barrie Train Show - Feb 20 & 21, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:10:00 +0000

Each year, the Barrie-Allandale Railway Modelers Association host a train show in Barrie, Ontario which is about an hour's drive north of Toronto. This year's show happens this coming weekend as follows:
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Saturday, Feb 20th, 2010 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
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Sunday, February 21st, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

at the Bradford Greenhouses Garden Gallery
Located at Highway 90 @ Hwy 27
Barrie, Ontario

They will have over over 18,000 square feet of operating layouts and 80 vendor tables.
In 2009, they had 25 vendors and 15 layouts participating. This year, we will be manning a Toronto Railway Historical Association booth at this show.
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Posting by Russ Milland

Weekend Report: Progress on Several Fronts!

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:21:00 +0000

Click on each image for a closer look!
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It was a very productive Saturday for us today! I believe we had a total of 10 people.
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A crew of four removed old structural wood from the west side of the caboose and prepared new wood. The entire steel sheathing on the one side has been primed and treated, and a full three-quarters of the vertical wood pieces are either installed or just about ready to install. All that is left is the horizontal stringer to be notched and placed. Much of the scrap wood that was in the caboose has also been cleaned out.
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Another pair of volunteers were hard at work bringing several long sections of rail into the stalls from storage under the water tower and then straightening them to prepare them for installation in the miniature railway depot.
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Two of us continued to work on the F7 diesle cab. We managed to get both sheets of the main floor prepared and installed. We also cleaned up many of the sharp edges that were located throughout the cab and in the future seating area. A couple of locations still feel a bit on the "soft" side, but the vast majority of the floor is as solid as it was before, if not more so. We also sanded and began painting the nose steps. They should be finished for next weekend.
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Posting by Dan Garcia; Pictures by Bob Dickson,, Lance Gleich, Stephen Gardiner and James Rasor
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Stratford, Ontario Acquires the CNR Shops for Redevelopment!

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:02:00 +0000

Click on each article for a closer look!
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The Kichener-Waterloo Record newspaper reported in an article titled "Staying on the Rails" on February 5th, 2010 that the City of Stratford, Ontario would on February 9th take possession of a 17-acre site which house the remains of the immense Stratford CN Shops. The city expropriated the site and agreed to pay $4.5 million, plus interest and legal fees for it.
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Stratford was a major railway centre long before it became famous for its annual Shakespearean festival. The shops were originally built for the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) in 1908 for the maintenance and repair of locomotives. The GTR became the Canadian National Railway in 1923 and took over the locomotive repair shops.
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The locomotive workshop is enormous - 70 feet wide, 50 feet high and 790 feet long. There are two wings, each more than 500 feet long. In all, there is about 159,000 square feet of space on the ground floor and 23,000 square feet on the second floor. The building itself covers about 11 of the site's 17 acres.
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The picture at the above left shows the shops in April of 2003. A few months later, the shops suffered a massive fire as shown in the middle picture leaving the shell of the facility left as shown at the right above.
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The City of Stratford plans to immediately deed 1.3 acres of the site not covered by the shops to the University of Waterloo's Stratford Institute for Digital Media Research.
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Controversy is now swirling around the need to assess the heritage value of the shops and decide on whether the shops themselves will be part of any further redevelopment of the site.
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For more information, read the Kitchener-Waterloo Record article by clicking here.
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Posting by Russ Milland; Pictures by Tom Landers

Full Court Press on the TH&B Caboose!

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:19:00 +0000

Click on each picture for a closer look!
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Bob Dickson reports on progress this week as a small team of volunteers decided to work during the week to accelerate the renovation of the TH&B caboose:
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"After some minor hiccups early in the week progress is finally starting to show. The learning curve is slowing and it now looks like we will again have walls in the TH&B caboose. Monday showed little progress. After a late start I was able to make a little headway and left for the GO train about 5:30. Tom Murison kindly sharpened our chisels and after a short 7:30 am meeting, Tuesday began. Jim arrived at 9:00 a.m. and together we pushed the envelope. We managed to cut some boards to the right size and began fitting pieces. Wednesday was more of the same as well as painting of the steel. By end of day Wednesday we had cut and fitted enough wood to make it look presentable. Hopefully by Thursday's end we will be smiling ear to ear."
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Posting and pictures by Bob Dickson

Rebuilding a Miniature Romulus 0-4-0 Quarry Engine

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:07:00 +0000

Click on each image for a closer look!
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A week ago, we fetched a 7 ¼" gauge 0-4-0 quarry-type coal fired steam locomotive from its storage shed in Hamilton, Ontario as shown in the picture at the upper right. This engine was built in the early 1980's to a popular miniature locomotive design by Roger Marsh known as the 'Romulus'. It is typical of the 2 foot gauge Welsh quarry engines used in slate mines and worldwide for light industrial railways in the 1900's. In the pictures at the above left, we see the engine in operation at the Golden Horseshoe Live Steamers track in Hamilton, Ontario and at Milton's Steam Era festival (middle picture).
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As shown in the remaining photos, the engine is now in the shops being overhauled for use next season as an additional engine on our miniature railway. Here we see it being dismantled in order to get at the boiler and chassis for maintenance work it to ensure that it is robust and safe for next season's operation.
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Posting by Russ Milland; Pictures by Stephen Gardiner & Russ Milland
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