On Saturday July 7th 2007, members of the Niagara Railway Museum ventured north to the Private railway collection known as the Uptergrove Shortline Railroad. This trip, the first for 2007 served many purposes. It was originally a trip to help load our newly acquired Whiting 2TM Trackmobile, however, it turned into much more than that.

2 months ago, we spoke to a local businessman, who handles lift truck repairs, about moving the Trackmobile back to Niagara. Ted Lucas, owner of Lucas Liftruck Service in Thorold said he would gladly assist us with the move. The date was set, and we all arrived within 20 minutes of one another. The loading of the 2TM went well, and it was good to see that all 8 wheels rolled (4 road, 4 rail) despite the fact that 2 of the tires were flat. The transmission for this unit is currently being rebuilt by our own volunteers. While we were there, we also purchased a 400amp Miller welder, which Ted offered to load on his truck as well, and bring it down to his shop, along with the Trackmobile for storage.

The loading didn?t stop there. He also offered to take the air tank, steam dome, and coupler, on the truck, which saved us the trouble of trying to find out how to get it down here later. The members and board of the Museum would like thank Ted for assisting us with this move, and we are pleased that we are able to get more of our equipment down to Niagara for restoration.

Videos

Loading the Trackmobile (9.8 MB, Quicktime)
Moving HEPC 46 (20 MB, Quicktime)

We decided that while we were there, our resident welder and board member Steve Konig would weld some extra braces in the cab to help stabilize the cab for the eventual trip back to Niagara. Steve spent a few hours welding supports between the walls in the cab, along the coal bunker, and some spot welding on the floor and sides. At the end of the day, the cab was pretty solid, considering the amount of deterioration. We are hoping that the next trip north will be to load #46 and return her to Niagara.

The final item on the trip was to pick up another motorcar. Museum V.P. Aaron White decided that we needed a Sylvester Motorcar, a purely Canadian built car, in the collection. The Museum already owns 6 motorcars, and we felt that at this time, the acquisition of another car would not be possible. Aaron stepped up and said he would acquire the car and loan it to the Museum for display. The Sylvester, a model 21E, is in need of a total restoration, and will be another project on our list. The Museum cars are all Fairmonts, while 2 Fairmonts & a Woodings are on loan to the Museum. The new car will be the 3rd builder for display.

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