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August 20, 2011

E-7 cosmetic restoration

While the weather is still great, I felt it was time to start making some progress on equipment restoration.? The Plymouth is a fairly easy project, but is currently undergoing restoration to operating condition.? HEPC 46, our steam locomotive, needs some extensive cab work before the cosmetic can begin on that.? So, the only piece remaining is HEPC E-7, our electric locomotive.? It’s a very slow process, using an angle grinder with a wire wheel to remove in some spots 7 layers of paint! The good thing about this is that there is no actual rust, only surface rust, which cleans up fairly well with the wire wheel.

Stripping the paint, the slow way!

The body is being taken down to the bare metal, and will be primed and painted a coat of black, which is what it wore when in service in Niagara Falls back in the 1920’s.

Down to the bare metal, waiting for primer.

Track work is also progressing at the site, with more ties laid for track 2.? Rail has been placed, but is not yet gauged and spiked.? Just waiting for the rest of the roadbed to be cleared, and we’ll be into the turnout.? Site cleanup is also moving along.? The old storage trailers along the south side of the building have been moved.? The grass has been cut around the turntable, and soon a section will be cleared out so we can see what condition the pit was left in when it was filled in.

Lots going on at the Niagara Railway Museum Inc.? If you have some spare time, and want to come out and help, we have lots of tasks that can be taken care of.? No skills necessary.? Just drop us an email to set up a time.? Weekends are the normal work days, but some members do head out there during the week.

July 23, 2011

Colorful day

Well, today ended up being a very busy day at the shop.? We had a few people through the doors, and got some work done as well.? More of the grass was cut, and some interior cleaning was done.? Outside, things were just as busy.? Within an hour 4 trains went through, including CP.? CN had 2 sets of power around the yard, but one set had left late morning.? The power that stayed was parked right beside the long out of service scale.

CN 2235/8917 at the scale

Just before lunch, the Norfolk Southern came across, with a pair of BNSF units.? I managed to snap a shot of them as they were grabbing a cut of cars from track 1, before heading to the north side of the main to grab the steel slabs.? As I watched the NS train pull into the yard, I spotted a very rare hopper car, now marked as RFMX, but formerly Conrail, and before that Penn Central.? The Conrail markings were painted out, but the Penn Central ones are showing up quite well.

BNSF 7389/4314 power the NS trainPenn Central hopper in Fort Erie

Penn Central hopper in Fort Erie

A very busy July

We’re now well past the halfway mark in July, and a busy month it has been.? It all started with Canada Day July 1st at Optimist Park.? We had our normal 2 table display, and promoted the new location for the NRM.? It was a fairly decent turnout, but it didn’t seem as busy as previous years.? With Canada Day out of the way, we then focused on our second open house of the year at the NRM shop in Fort Erie.? We had very good weather for this open house, but our crowds were still down a bit.? The Ontario Northland Railway Historical & Tech. Society, and the Southern Niagara Model Railroad Club both had a display at the event, which is always great to see.? My thanks to the guys from both groups who come out and take part in our events.

ONRH&TS display

The locomotives were all kept indoors again for this open house.? 46 once again had her headlight installed, and looked pretty good considering the deterioration.? While visitors couldn’t get into the cab on E-7, we did take some of the window panels off and allow them to see the inside.? Work on the interior has started, and if all goes well, the cab will be open for viewing in 2012.? The Plymouth was once again open for viewing, and is always a hit with the kids.

HEPC 46

The Museums HO Scale layout was also running again, this time with newly donated equipment.? The NRM secured a large donation of HO Scale Canadian prototype cars and locomotives from a local man in Niagara.? All of the equipment is currently in storage, and is being documented.? This equipment will be great for the model railway that we plan to construct.

HO Scale layout

My thanks to everyone who came out and helped at the event. Despite a lower than expected turnout, it was still a good weekend.? The next Open House is September 10/11, 2011, 10am to 4pm at the shop, 21 Warren St. Fort Erie.? For more information, please contact the Museum.

June 23, 2011

NRM Secures Museum Property!!

It is official.? After some 14yrs of trying to find a permanent home, the Niagara Railway Museum Inc. has secured a long term arrangement for the use of the former CNR diesel Shop and surrounding property in Fort Erie, Ont.? Plans are already underway for the rebuilding of the shop, starting with new windows to help keep the weather out. We have started our fundraising efforts, and are accepting donations for various projects.? The big one is the building fund.? The money raised for the building fund will go directly towards the upkeep of the shop itself.? The equipment fund maintains and restores our locomotives and cars, and the general fund goes towards everything else, like artifact acquisition and restoration.? If you would like to contribute to the NRM, please click on the Canada Helps like on our main page, for a secure online donation.

In other news, the next Museum Open House is coming up fast.? July 2, 3 & 4, 2011, 9am-4pm.? All 3 locomotives will be on display, there will be model train layouts, Ontario Northland Histocial Society, Southern Niagara Model Railway Club, motorcar rides, and other displays that are still being worked on.? Come on out and support Railway History in Niagara, as the Niagara Railway Museum Inc. works towards creating a Museum to showcase the vast railway heritage of the entire Niagara Region.

May 22, 2011

NRM May Open House

The Niagara Railway Museum had its first open house of 2011 on May 14th/15th.? Despite a lot of work being done during the week by members to get the facility cleaned up and ready to go, it was a very poor turnout for the event.? Saturday saw rain on and off for the day, although we did have some visitors through.? Sunday was even worse as it rained the entire day.? Saturday morning saw one of the workers from our new neighbour, Attar Metals, http://www.attarmetals.com/ who recently took over the former car shops at the west end of the property.? We were trying to find a way to pull the Plymouth diesel forward to allow visitors access to the cab.? Milton from Attar Metals?offered to bring down their brand new Volvo front end loader to pull it forward for us.

Attar Metals Volvo makes easy work moving the Plymouth

Those that did brave the weather to visit us were impressed with the progress, and could see the benefit to having this building as our home.? The Plymouth was even fired up periodically throughout both days to show the work that has been done to get it running.? The Ontario Northland Historical Society & Southern Niagara Model Railroad Club also came out for the weekend with their HO Layout and displays, and Dean Brown was selling his railway DVDs as well.

My thanks go to everyone who helped prepare the shop for the weekend, and who came out to help work the event on both days.? Despite poor weather, we still put on a great display.? Our next open house at the shop will be July 2, 3,4, 2011.? We’re working on new displays for that weekend, so keep checking back on this blog for the latest info.

April 22, 2011

A very good Friday

The back of the Plymouth before painting

It was a very good Friday out at the shop.? Despite a small 4 man work party, a significant amount of work was done.? William and Eric worked on cleaning more debris out from some of the corners and from under racks, and by the end of the day, it was looking pretty good.? Ken Sr. was working on sealing up the office window panels, and did a bit more painting on the shop walls.? Ken Jr. spent the day working on the Plymouth and E-7.

Half of the back of the Plymouth cab was worked on,with the rust bubbles being removed and rough paint smoothed out. By the end of the day, a coat of grey primer was applied.

Primer applied

A set of ditch lights off an Ontario Northland F unit have been acquired and will become the new headlights for the Plymouth.? The?Plymouth will also have a bell from a VIA F40PH added in the spring.? If all goes well the

rest of the back wall of the cab will be done by the May open house, showing good progress on the locomotive.? E-7 got a bit of attention, just testing out the paint remover.

A small section of the cab was taken down to bare metal and a coat of primer applied.

E-7 with the new dock plate and paint test.

We also cut a dock plate to allow safe passage between the work platform and the locomotive. This needs to be a bit wider for safety, but will be good for the volunteers to get over the 10″ gap between platform and locomotive.? The final thing was the donation of a large set of steel steps from Paletta International.? They are tearing down the old Chef Boy R Dee plant in Niagara Falls, and these steps were once used to cross over a conveyor system. They’ve been outside the plant for a while, and were donated this week.? While not suitable for public use, they will be good for members to use to work on equipment.

Our new work stairs.

CN SD70M 8927 at Fort Erie, April 22, 2011

April 1, 2011

Recent happenings

With the snow finally starting to disappear, NRM Members are back out at the site on a regular basis. Projects are starting to be worked on again, and the site is being cleaned up, to be ready for our May Open House. The Plymouth diesel is recieving quite a bit of attention right now with the cab interior being worked on, replacing the rotten wood floor, and damaged air piping. One of our members has also had the seat recovered, to go along with the work he’s been doing inside the cab. We are hoping that the engine will at least be able to be “fired” up for May, to show the progress being made. Track work is scheduled to begin shortly too, as soon as the ground thaws enough to allow more of the roadbed to be removed. The first plan of attack is to continue the south track into the #8 turnout, that will be connnected with the middle track of the shop. There will be a lead stretching towards the CN Fort Erie South spur, which we hope will eventually connect back up with that line. For now it will give us a much needed switching lead to move equipment between the 2 tracks.

Other events/projects include the 1st Annual Niagara Railway Museum Golf? Tournament.? This event will be held on May 29th, 2011 at ICC?in Stevensville Ont.? Information and an entry form for a foursome can be found on our website.?? Come on out for a great day of golf, OR, come on out afterwards for the steak dinner.? The NRM gets a portion of each meal and golf foursome.? For other events the NRM is taking part in, please see our events page on the NRM site.? Still lots going on including the Crazy About Trains weekend at Puddicomb Farms April 31/May 1, 2011.
Interior work will include painting, and finishing off the architectural plans for the office/display room. There are lots of things going on out there in the spring, and if you’d like to become involved, please drop us a line. We’ll tell you who to contact, and when the work days are.? We are currently seeking out funding for these projects, and are always looking for any financial contributions to make this plan a reality. All donations are eligible for a Charitabel Tax Reciept, and donations can be made safely and securely by following the link on our main site (www.nfrm.ca).

March 9, 2011

11th Annual NF Model Railway Show

Well, despite Mother Nature dropping a wonderful 6″+ of snow overnight, and making the roads all over the region very treacherous, the 11th Annual NF Model Railway Show was still a decent success.??4 vendors were not able to make it due to the road conditions, but those that did make it to the show had no complaints.? This was our first major fundraiser of the year, and it is always a great help to the Museum.? This years show once again had vendors from across Ontario, selling everything from photos to videos, to model trains.?We also had 4 layouts, Z, N, HO,?& G.? ?The NRM had a display as did the Fort Erie Historic Railway Association, a group raising funds to cosmetically restore and preserve CNR 4-8-4 #6218 in Fort Erie.? My thanks go to all the vendors who made it out to the show, and of course to all of our hard working Museum volunteers that gave up their day to work the NRM table, canteen, door and kitchen.? Our next major railway show is our Fall Model Railway Show which will be held on October 30th, 2011, at Optimist Park Hall.?

Also, stay tuned for more info on the first Niagara Railway Museum golf tournament.? Details will be coming shortly.

February 22, 2011

Niagara Falls Model Railway Show

The 11th annual NF Model Railway Show is now just a few days away, and it’s shaping up to be another great “spring” show, with 4 layouts, and vendors from across Ontario, selling everything from trains to t-shirts, collectibles to historic items.? There is definitly something for everyone.? Admission is still just $5 with under 12 admitted free with a paying adult.? As always, the best railway chili around will be available.? All proceeds go to support the Niagara Railway Museum, so come out and support the NRM as we proceed with our goals of creating a Railway Museum the entire Region can be proud of.

February 5, 2011

Despite the ongoing snowfall, and cold temperatures, there are still lots of things going on with the Niagara Railway Museum.? Our next display will be at Niagara Square Shopping Centre in Niagara Falls, on February 18, 19 & 20, 2011.? We are one of many local history groups taking part in this annual display of local heritage.? The event runs during mall hours, and there is always a lot to see (and learn).

After that, we have the 11th Annual Niagara Falls Model Railway Show on March 6th, at Optimist Park Hall in Niagara Falls.? The show runs from 10am-330pm, and features model railway vendors, layouts, and railway displays from across Ontario.? There is something for everyone, and the best Railway Chili around.? This is our major fundraiser for the year, so come on out and support the Niagara Railway Museum.

The Museum is still seeking funds for the move of the flanger, and for the purchase of track materials.? If you would like to donate to the NRM please see out website.? If you would like to become involved with the Museum in any way, a volunteer form can also be downloaded right from the website, or stop by any of our upcoming events and talk to one of our volunteers.

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