The Niagara Railway Museum was part of the Canadian Council for Railway Heritage Spring Conference held at the Halton County Radial Railway near Rockwood Ontario.  The meeting was hosted by the Ontario Rail Foundation, and brought together various railway groups from across Ontario, as well as Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  The main purpose of this meeting was to introduce the CCRH to the eastern groups (CCRH has primarily been geared towards the Museums of Western Canada), and to hep create a unified front in the world of Railway Preservation.  We had lunch while we took a trip on open car #326 to the end of the line and back.  Lorna from Ontario Rail lined up some great sandwiches and wraps for the trip.  Dinner was a great BBQ, complete with a home made cake marking the event.  After dinner HCRY ran the cars for the guests, and gave a few of them a chance to take control of the car and run it down the line.

Attendees were treated to lunch on board open car #327 (left) and after the days events were done, given a walking tour (right) of Barn 4, the Adam Beck Centre, which has allowed HCRR to get almost the entire collection indoors.

The lineup of cars includes Small Witt TTC 2786, Rail Grinder W-28, and Montreal and Southern Counties #107. (left) Montreal & Southern Counties #107 still looks great, indoors in the new display building (right). 

London& Port Stanley interurban #8 and Canadian Pacific caboose 437123 wait for the next trip to the other end of the line (left).  Niagara railway Museum member John Weylie takes a look at Lake Erie & Northern line truck M-6 (right).

 

All in all, it was a great day, and a great opportunity to see what some of the other Railway Museums are dealing with.  Halton County Radial Railway were excellent hosts, and the tour was a hit with the guests.  Lorna and the Ontario Rail Foundation also did a great job setting up this meeting. Thanks to everyone for their hard work, and also to those who took the time out of busy schedules to attend the day.

      It was another busy weekend for the NRM.  We took part in the Ontario Narrow Gauge show in Schomberg, Ont. on Saturday April 21st. This is a small show, focusing solely on Narrow Gauge railways, and features some amazing layouts and models.

     Along with a small display, we had a small 5/8" scale layout
(O scale track is 2ft gauge), operated by Ken Jones on display.  It was well recieved, but I know what needs to be done for next year.  Sunday was busy as well with the Woodstock Model Train show in Woodstock Ont.  The show was very busy, and we talked to many people, promoting the Museum and our upcoming open house at the end of May.

      On another note, our friends at the Toronto Railway Historical Association have been hit with a major snag in the development of the Roundhouse Museum.  The site is located right in downtown Toronto, with the CN Tower, Rogers Centre, Air Canada Centre, and Gardener Expressway surrounding it.  We wish them the best of luck through this unfortunate issue.  Please read the article at the link for the full story.

http://www.trha.ca/news.html

It's rather busy around the NRM shop this weekend.  Saturday saw the Jones's out and about, working on various projects.  First was our new permanent display board, which will live in the lower part of the shop floor.  The 4ft square display will feature photos and information about the shop, and the various railways around the Region.  The board is expected to be finished by the May open House.

In other news, with the first Open House of 2012 at the end of May, we have set the weekend of May 12 & 13 as spring cleaning weekend.  A skidsteer will be brought in, and any scrap, and non NRM items inside the shop, will be moved outside and taken off site.  The old machine shop equipment in the office area will soon be removed, which will allow us to focus on the rebuilding of the office portion of the shop.  Of course, there is still a lot of work to go before everything is done, but it's a good start.  There is a long list of things to do out at the shop, including scraping and painting, some building of displays, sorting of material, grass & site clean up, and just general maintenance.  Anyone who is interested in helping out, either through the week, or on a weekend, can contact the NRM and set up a time.

 

 

With the great weather this Easter weekend, I figured it would be a good day to go the shop and try to get something done.  There are a lot of little projects that need completion.  The thing is to find the one project that can be done in a relatively short period of time.  Today, that was the ex-CNR caboose stove which has been sitting in my shed for over 10 yrs.  There is some damage to the stove itself, but it is complete, and it really only needed a good cleaning and a coat of paint.  Each piece was wire brushed to get the surface rust, cobwebs, dirt, etc off, then was given a coat of flat black.  The base was painted silver, which is the colour it was when I received it. Plus, it stands out better when people are walking around the shop. 

The NRM has quite a few railroad signs as well.  While most of them are in storage, we do have some out at the shop.  I took 10 minutes today and mounted some of them to a 4×4 for display beside our crossing signal.  The round railway crossing warning sign is yet to be hung up, but will be by the May open house.

I decided to spend some time at the shop today, since the weather was so amazing.  My friend Chris Fox, from the Halton County Radial Railway came with me to take a look at the NRM’s Plymouth MDT40t. 

     HCRR just acquired a Plymouth MDT30t, for use as emergency power in case of a power failure, since they are an electric railway museum.

     While our Plymouth’s air compressor is being rebuilt, we are moving on with plans for the operation of the Plymouth this year, and that starts with new batteries.  We have the size, and we know the unit runs, so if all goes well, the batteries should be installed in 2 weeks. Still need a 12v alternator, and a few new pipes, but we should be close to running. While he was there, he took a look at our Fairmont A4d motorcar, which we have been trying to get started for use during the open houses since my Fairmont M19 will be down for repairs this year.  It was discovered, after trying to fire the Fairmont, that there was a starter issue. Chris removed the starter, took it apart, and found that the starter itself is no good.  Since our boxcars have yet to be moved, we don’t have our spare parts, so that car may have to wait for a bit.

      The NRM is still accepting donations towards our many projects.  Donations can be made right on our website through the secure server for canadahelps.org    Stay tuned to the blog for the most up to date information about the Niagara Railway Museum Inc.

It's hard to believe that in the start of February, we can be outside, working on track, in nothing more than a sweatshirt!  Neither the ground nor the stone needed to pack under the ties is frozen.  So, with that being said, the NRM's amazing 2 man track gang was hard at work today spiking ties and gauging track.

Roughly named, "building track with the Jones' " since it was Ken Jones Sr. and Ken Jones Jr. doing the work today.  We managed to spike up 16 ties.  This included lifting and tamping the ties, as they were all about 1"-2.5" below the rail, and then putting the track gage on, and spiking the ties.  16 doesn't sound like a whole lot, but with only 2 people, it was a significant amount for us.

We also spiked an additional 4 ties, which were ready for spikes, but for some reason, left out when we were constructing the track before. Despite there only being 2 of us out there today, it was a good day, and we got some much needed work done.  There are still another 12 ties on the other side of the crossing to lift and tamp, which will complete everything from the shop into the curve.  The rest of the curve will be done next, and into where the turnout will eventually end up, providing we can get the necessary switch ties.

Winter finally hit Niagara this weekend, an Fort Erie was not spared.  While there were a few inches outside, the interior of the shop was coated in about a 1/2" of fresh powder.

New work has also begun on the Plymouth MDT40t. An evaluation of the control panel has started, as has cleaning of the cab, to get it ready for repainting in the warmer weather.  Wiring for the electrical will be completely replaced, as the current wire has been in place for a few decades.  Best to start new to avoid any potential problems.  The air gauges will likely have to be replaced as well, but will at least be tested first.  Other gauges like oil, water, etc, are easy to find at any automotive store.  We are also looking into new batteries, likely about $500 for the pair as well as a generator/alternator, which we believe is missing.  The air compressor is being rebuilt and the fuel system has also been checked over.  Air lines and the air system have also been looked at, and some of the smaller pipes need replacing.  Once we are able to move the locomotive, we will move HEPC46 further back, and put the Plymouth over the pit to do some repair work on running gear and a wheel.  If all goes well, we hope to have the locomotive operational for 2012.  We are still seeking donations for the restoration, and any donation over $100.00 will get the donor a chance to be one of the first people to operate the Plymouth on our Museum track, once it's restored. Please feel free to contact the Museum for more information on this unique opportunity.

In other news, don't forget, the 12th Annual Niagara Falls Model Railway Show is coming up on March 4th, 2012, at the Optimist Park Hall in Niagara Falls Ont.  We will also have displays at the Ancaster TH&B Flea Market at the Ancaster Fairgrounds on January 29th, and will also once again be part of the 13th Annual  Heritage Showcase at Niagara Square Mall on February 17th – 19th.

Our first open house of 2012 will be held on the weekend of May 26th & 27th at the Niagara Railway Museum Inc. Shop in Fort Erie, Ont.  Come out and see our equipment, artifacts, and recent shop developments.  There will also be other displays with information coming soon.

Merry Christmas everyone!! I want to take the time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and promise a new update in 2 days, and more frequent updates through 2012.