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June 1, 2010

HEPC #46 Arrives

46feshopI am very pleased to announce that on June 1st, the NRM brought Hydro Electric Power Commission 0-4-0ST #46 back to Niagara for the first time since 1922.? She is spending her first night in the NRM shop in Fort Erie, indoors, for the first time in well over 30yrs.? There was a massive amount of work that has gone on over the past week to prepare for her arrival, from building, and ballasting track, creating a level surface on which to back the trailer onto, to prepping the engine for loading and movement from Orillia.it28b

I send out a big thanks to our members who have been able to assist with all this work, which couldn’t have been done without thier dedication to the Museum.? David Walmsley & Cecil Byers, the former owners of the engine were of great assistance in the loading?of the locomotive at thier site outside Orillia.? The backhoe performed very well, and the engine never would have made it on the trailer without the skill of both of these gentleman.

Villeneuve’s Steel Wheels of?Sudbury did the move for us.? Their trailer, which is designed to move railway equipment was the perfect fit for this job. Our driver, Rick, was great during the loading of the engine, and obviously takes great pride in his work.? The professionalism of this company is something that will make us turn to them again the next time we need equipment moved.? Everything went well, and the engine arrived safe and sound in Fort Erie.? Beam Excavating donated the use of a Caterpillar IT28B front end loader to assist with the unloading of 46 at the shop, and also shoved it inside when we were done with the photo ops.? The unload was done safely, and Sam, the loader operator, not only kept 46 in control at all times, but also handled her with care knowing the fragile state of the locomotive.

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The efforts of everyone involved made this move a great success.? This marked a major milestone in the development of the Niagara Railway Museum, and we hope to continue this progress with the arrival of our Plymouth diesel, ex-INCo electric, our boxcars, and our GTR caboose.? My thanks to everyone who made this happen.

Ken Jones
President