Ch-ch-ch-changes

I came across some bonus photos this morning that I had forgotten I had taken back in April. I'm happy to share them, as I think they all tell a bit of a story about where this city is at from a railway perspective. 

Before I get to the found photos, I will share this image I captured along Conroy Road in the spring, which I found to be a bit of a surprise. It's an old Ottawa Central sign indicating that the Walkley Yard is private property. 

Interesting that CN didn't bother to pull down the OCR sign when it resumed freight services in the city years ago. That OCR sign is easily 10 plus years old. Amazing that it's still there. The day that I took this shot, Walkley Yard was essentially empty. It's quite sad to see that, even by our simple standards here in Ottawa, there is almost nothing to shoot, even from a distance, in the yard. CN seems to control most of its activities in the city out of its yard in Coteau. The old OCR building at Walkley is clearly vacant and is on the market. 

I hesitate to mention the fact that CN has long wanted to get out of its obligations to move freight in and out of Ottawa, as it has applied to discontinue service here. I have heard about attempts to establish short line freight service here but I cannot even venture a guess as to how serious these attempts are or whether this is a realistic possibility at all. Just know that it has been mentioned to me. 

For now, we continue to wait and see what will become of the limited freight operations in this city. After all, CN can service the steel mill in L'Orignal out of Coteau, which leaves just a few scattered customers in the Ottawa area, including Nylene Canada in Arnprior. That service is still mandated by the government, as far as I know. I can't imagine CN wants to continue providing that far-flung service, even with the line out to Arnprior being owned by Nylene and the land the line sits on by the City of Ottawa. 

Now onto some surprise shots. I was driving myself a bit mad the other day, trying to find some daytime images I knew I had taken of trains leaving Via's Central Train Station on Tremblay Road. But I couldn't find them anywhere on my hard drive. It turns out, I had yet to download these images from my camera. So, I was happy to review them and I can now share them.

This shot was taken from the Belfast Road overpass of an eastbound corridor train making its way along the Alexandria Sub toward Montreal. The presence of F40s and LRC cars is sure to become more and more scarce in the coming months, so I suppose getting in a last few shots will be necessary. I do like getting shots from this overpass, although the power wires are a pain.

I also like framing shots from this vantage point, with the curve in the line and the signals on either side. Looking at this shot, it makes me realize just what an awkward fit the F40s are pulling LRC coaches, when compared to the original Bombardier LRC locomotives, which were the same height as the coaches. But the F40s have served Via spectacularly over the decades. 

This image below shows you just how many visual distractions can get in the way of a shot at the main railway station if you don't work your camera's zoom lens and position your shot between the many wires. 

You can see that the train to the right is a double-ender with a P42 facing east and an F40 facing west. I couldn't really get a decent shot of this train, because, had I moved further down the bridge, my shot would have been obscured by brush. So I figured I would take a shot with everything in the frame. I count five wires in this shot, not to mention the light standard.

Also back in April, I had an appointment on St. Laurent Boulevard so I ducked behind the Canada Museum of Science and Technology to see what the Bytown Railway Society had on its tracks outside. 

The maintenance of way equipment was out in the spring sunshine, including this CP plow and the 1919 vintage Central Vermont crane. I believe the CV crane has been put up for adoption by the BRS so it can find a home at a museum where it can be enjoyed. I made sure to get a shot of the builder's plate, which shows it was made in Bay City, Michigan.
 

It would be a shame to have this old piece of MoW equipment leave the city.

 

However, if you follow BRS on Facebook, you will know that the society is bringing an old E.B. Eddy steam locomotive back to the capital region from its current home at Exporail in Delson, Quebec. Of course, E.B. Eddy and the paper and matchstick industry was a major source of railway business in downtown Hull up until even the 1990s. Back in the final days of CP Rail's presence in Ottawa, the railway still served industry on the riverfront in Hull via the Prescott and Ellwood Subs and the former Prince of Wales Bridge. I recall watching these freight trains rumble through Carleton University when I was in residence there in 1996 and 1997. If only I got a few shots of them when they still operated! Oh well.

One final note to readers and fellow railfans. My blog has unfortunately been hammered with spam comments for the better part of a year. I am growing tired of keeping tabs on these spammers and bots. I have tried to regularly clean out these messages (there have been upwards of about 400 or so). I have not been able to stamp this out so I will be moderating comments for the next little while to hopefully ease this process.

I apologize for anyone that might disagree with this approach. I can say that I have never once deleted a comment from someone because of what they might have said. Everyone has been generally respectful since I launched this blog. The only comments I have ever deleted are spam. I am hoping this additional step will help stop the influx. We'll see.

As always, I'm open to your suggestions and comments via the comments section or you can email me if you want.

hammond.michael77 AT gmail dot com

Michael 

 

 

 

The long, slow, strange journey of an antique passenger coach to Smiths Falls

The pandemic was cruel to so many people and many organizations, needless to say. I don't mean to minimize the impact it had on those who were sick or lost loved ones. But from a business standpoint, it was especially cruel to organizations like the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario in Smiths Falls. This museum is a tenacious operation that is the product of the success of its volunteer efforts. I love this place. The people who work here or lend their time are second to none. They are dedicated and passionate. This place does not exist as it is now without its volunteers.

That was why it was cruel that the pandemic put a huge dent in the museum's plans to showcase its new piece of rolling stock in 2020, a turn-of-the-century dining car once belonging to the Intercolonial Railway and later the Canadian National.

The car is so long, it's almost impossible to get a good shot of it from up close. To get a proper shot of it in profile, I had to take a less-than-ideal shot from across the parking lot. And yes, that is my family's RAV4 blocking some of the shot. I should have thought ahead when parking!

This old dining car could be one of the oldest pieces in a railway museum in Canada. It was built in 1899 by the Wagner Palace Car Company of Buffalo. If that company name doesn't ring a bell, perhaps its purchaser is more familiar: Pullman Standard. Pullman bought Wagner just a year after this dining car was built.

The car was used on the Intercolonial Railway between Halifax and Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec, where the ICR connected to the old Grand Trunk Railway. Even though the car now bears the Canadian National script, it clearly did not belong to the railway when it was first used, as CN didn't exist until June 6, 1919, when it was founded and was given control over several failing railways (GTR, Canadian Northern for example).

The car itself was beautifully cared for by the Bytown Railway Society for years before it was transferred to the Smiths Falls museum before the pandemic. The car, according to the museum website, has five tables on either side of the aisle in the dining area. 

Interestingly, the builder plate for the car can be seen in the dining area on the floor. Beneath that brass plate, there is a kingpin, which is part of the wheel (truck) assembly. It's interesting that the builder's plate is found on the floor above the kingpin. I can't say I have seen that before.

Many of these details I picked up from researching the car. The last time I was at the museum, this old dining car's interior was off limits, due to pandemic restrictions.

As you would expect, the car also had a kitchen and storage area for staff. Cooking was done with the aid of charcoal. To load the food and supplies, the car had a hatch where crews could slide the food and supplies directly into the kitchen and preparation area. 

Originally, the car was lit by hanging kerosene lanterns, as you might expect from a car built at the turn of the century. There was also an emergency cord strung up on the ceiling, for emergency stopping purposes.

There are a few bits to this car's recent story that you might not know. First, the car was brought to the museum with the goal of using it as a cafe of sorts to generate extra revenue for the operation. Sadly, that was not able to happen due to the lousy timing of the pandemic and the strict health measures that prevented the dining car's use for food service.

Second, as you might imagine, the process of getting this car to Smiths Falls was also a chore. You might think it would be easy enough to ship the car on a special move down the old CN Smiths Falls Subdivision, but this was not possible.

Why? Well, the Bytown Railway Society no longer has access to the rail system, as its rails at the Canada Science and Technology Museum are no longer connected to local tracks. This has been a topic of conversation among railfans in Ottawa for years. Ask the BRS officially and they will tell you that this is not in their plans, nor is it a priority for the museum, I would imagine.

I say this without any malice. But I know many people are frustrated that a group like the BRS has no way to host excursions as it once did. I have spoken quietly to a few members of the society in the past and they told me that they wished there was a way this connection could be re-established.

Also factor in the times we live in, where the liability and the changing priorities of railways make it much more difficult to facilitate third-party excursions. I can't imagine this would be an easy proposition, given how busy local rail lines are with Via Rail trains. It's true that CN doesn't own much trackage in Ottawa anymore, but I can't imagine the company would be thrilled with a third party making use of what little of the Beachburg Sub is left. And when you factor in the 10 mp/h speed restriction on the Nylene Canada-owned Renfrew Spur, you can see the potential legal and operating issues that would get in the way of excursion runs.

All that to say, the old dining car had to be brought to Smiths Falls in two pieces on special trucks that are sometimes used to move houses. It's a sad commentary on what has happened to the rail system in Ottawa that a rail car cannot be moved by rail to Smiths Falls, even though a rail connection is very much in place.

This brings me to a final, somewhat sombre, point. The Bytown Railway Society can only do so much with the limited trackage it has in place at the museum. Still, the group has done some great events and continues to be a beacon of preservation. It still has some great pieces that are safely stored in the new museum collections building. It's a much better setup for the group than what it had previously. But the reality is, without any way of being able to do excursions or generate revenue through events, its options are limited. That is my opinion, anyway. BRS still publishes Branchline Magazine and the annual Canadian Trackside Guide. It also hosts history presentations.

If you follow BRS on Facebook, you will have noticed that it was putting out feelers on this wrecker (above). I was lucky enough to see this car out on the tracks last year. It's a wonderful old relic of the days when railways had full-fledged work trains. I'd hate to see this piece of history go, but it appears as though there's only so much room for what the society has.

You might also recall that the society's old CN passenger car is now residing in a New England rail museum, where is is paired with coaches just like it. I remember following the BRS's Facebook updates on the restoration of this coach. Again, I was lucky to catch it out on the tracks behind the museum last year. I'm glad I got this image, because it was the only time I was able to see this car in person. I'm sure it will be put to good use in New England, but it's still sad that it had to go at all.

The next time I go to the Smiths Falls museum, I'm hoping to get a better look at the inside of the old dining car.

It makes me wonder if we can't do more for rail preservation and history in Ottawa. We do a great job honouring history in this city in so many other ways. Why not honour our rail transportation legacy, like we do our aviation history? Also, given the collection of cars the science and tech museum has in storage, possibly there's an opportunity here to look at a transportation museum connected to the aviation museum?

We've spent money on worse ideas!

Summer observations in Eastern Ontario

From time to time, I collect some random sightings into an observations post. Mostly, the posts centre around Ottawa, but I'm happy to have a few images from Kingston, so this post will be an Eastern Ontario post. However, I do want to start with a bit of news from Ottawa.

Farewell, 4977

You may have noticed, if you follow this organization on Facebook, that the Bytown Railway Society has found a new home for its old heavyweight Canadian National coach 4977. The BRS officially moved the old coach off the grounds of the Canada Museum of Science and Technology this week, where it began its long journey to the Railroad Museum of New England. It's noteworthy that it had to be trucked down to the States.

Those who do follow BRS on Facebook know that this group has worked diligently for 11 years to refurbish the old coach. They also chronicled their progress on Facebook regularly, so all of us history nerds could appreciate their painstaking progress. When the job was officially done, the group brought the old coach out of its storage area at the museum. I was lucky enough one day to be in the area in the spring, so I took a couple of photos of the old car.

This is what the old coach looked like on Feb 29, as it was resting on the BRS tracks near the museum on a frigid sunny afternoon. I walked along the car and marvelled at how great it looked. The BRS obviously did absolutely everything it could with the funds and manpower it had to bring this old antique car back to life. I would imagine that it will get further cosmetic treatment at its new home in Thomaston, Connecticut. 

The New England museum says 4977 will join some other pieces of CN passenger history on its grounds: heavyweights 5046, 5089, 5114, 4980. 

Of course, this is a somewhat bittersweet moment for the society and for railfans in Ottawa. The harsh reality for BRS is this group does not enjoy a connection to active rails like it once did. There was a time when the society chartered railfan trips on local and regional rails. Of course, times change and priorities change. 

The rails in and around Ottawa have been significantly pruned back by CN, which has shrunk the size of the old Ottawa Central footprint to the point where only the passenger links into and out of the city are the only rails left, with some exceptions. There's the trackage out to Orignal, the Walkley lead, Walkley Yard, a bit of the Beachburg Sub and the old Renfrew Sub. That's almost it. The rest of predominantly Via Rail territory.

Also, I can only speculate here, but I would imagine the prospect of granting BRS access to Via trackage in the area is likely fraught with difficulties, liability issues, timing challenges and likely resistance. That's just a guess. I can't see today's railways having the same attitude toward sharing its rails with charters like they once did. I can only imagine the potential liabilities that would need to be ironed out. Then there's the physical connection, which is nonexistent.

So the coach will go to a museum where it can be enjoyed. A reason to pay a visit to New England. Also, it makes me grateful that I had a chance to see this antique up close before it left Ottawa for good. 

A Bit of luck in Kingston

Earlier in July, my family took a break from the whirlwind of trying to sell our house, pack, and move to a new house. We visited family in Stratford, which meant a long drive on Highway 401. When we were driving through Kingston, we were lucky enough to catch an eastbound freight train right around the area where the CN Kingston Subdivision parallels the highway. My wife in the passenger seat was a good sport and tried to get a few quick glimpses of the mixed freight as it rumbled by in the opposite direction.

This is what you get when you are travelling at 100 km/h in the opposite direction of a freight train. The visual hazards are everywhere so you take a few shots and hope for the best. CN ES44DC 2299 leads the way with trailing unit C44-9W 2659 pulling a lumber car. 

She even managed to capture an image of an old BC Rail boxcar with its door open. 

Stretching the Eastern Ontario boundary definition

All right, this last image is most definitely not Eastern Ontario, by the classic definition, but I thought I'd add it in as it is east of Toronto. On the same trip west to Stratford, we saw a number of GO Trains as we headed west on the 401. As we were driving through the eastern suburb of Ajax, I snapped this quick shot of an eastbound commuter train from across the 401. I've made this point before but I will make it again. Taking photos of trains with no visual distractions in your image is fine, but I often find these images don't give you any context.

I've tried this year to take photos with the context attached, meaning to place the subject in your frame alongside something that gives you an idea of the five Ws. (who, what, where, when, how). That is an old lesson from my journalism school days. Approach everything with the 5 Ws in mind, even if one of the Ws is an H. I like that there are cars in the shot. It tells me this was taken on a busy highway near a city. Context!

I was actually going to finish this post with a few images of Via Rail's evening train that I usually come across each week when my daughters are at a nearby dance class. With my wife off Wednesday evenings this summer, many of my railfan excursions were curtailed by the more urgent needs of settling into our new house. This past week, I had a clear window to catch a few trains, hoping that one of them was a new Venture, but one of the trains was quite early and I missed it while the other I was unable to catch since I was busy at Costco. O for 2. 

In the coming weeks and months, I plan to share the prolific amount of railfanning images I was able to get on that trip to Stratford, including a very rare grand slam of a photo where I caught four different railway liveries on four different engines in a single shot.

Stay tuned.

Let's give thanks for the Bytown Railway Society

In my years since I started blogging, I've come across the Bytown Railway Society regularly, mostly through social media, but also in casual conversations or through research. Chances are, if you are looking into the history of railways in Ottawa, you will come across someone from the society who either knows the history or was part of the history.

A while ago, I had an appointment on St. Laurent Boulevard, in Ottawa's east end, which gave me the chance to have a quick glance at the society's historic rolling stock collection outside the Canada Museum of Science and Technology. Those who have been to this museum know there is a great steam engine exhibit inside, which to my eye seems to be one of the most popular features. The society can be thanked for this exhibit, which explains the history of passenger trains and steam-driven machinery.

Then there's this beauty out in front of the museum, which was recently moved, complete with the laying of a temporary track to get it to its new spot. Again, the society did yeoman's work in this move. And the newly refurbished 4-8-4 6200 looks better than it has in years. 

Ottawa winters can be incredibly harsh, so seeing this old machine with fresh paint, a new bell, an operational headlight and vivid number plates is a wonderful thing to behold up close. It gives you an idea of why people of a certain vintage hold steam engines in such high regard and why these mammoth machines continue to be a source of inspiration. Again, this engine's new lease on life can be traced back to BRS.

When you make your way to the small BRS rail yard stashed away behind the museum storage building, you begin to appreciate the time and effort these people have put in to preserving railway heritage in a city that has largely forgotten about railways. In my opinion, there's a huge opportunity to be had in introducing visitors to the museum to these old antique pieces of rolling stock. I can imagine a small tour and explanation of these cars and an explanation of their role in keeping Canadians moving would present a wonderful and interesting hands-on learning opportunity. That is what museums are for, right?

I don't mean this as a criticism of the museum or the BRS. There are a number of priorities for the museum in curating an interesting collection that tells an overall story of innovation. Railways are only one piece of the science and tech story. However, it strikes me that having this collection in storage is a missed opportunity.

I think back to the museum's older iteration, before its renovation. This caboose was part of the railway display. Now, the display only features two steam engines. Again, it's a small quibble and I'm not criticizing anyone per se. I love the museum and I have great respect for the Bytown Railway Society and its members. I'm just saying that I think there's an opportunity for so much more storytelling here and who better to tell the story of railways that the society?

This brings me to a memory. Back when the Canadian Pacific brought its business train into the city a few years ago, where it was largely hidden away from view and guarded at Walkley Yard, there was a palpable buzz among railfans over the presence of history in the city. I remember getting a few long shots of the train from Conroy Road, which was the closest I could come to the train, as the friendly CP police officer stood nearby (really, he was great, we chatted and he was cool).

The next day, I camped out along the Smiths Falls Sub at Fallowfield Station, waiting for the train to makes its way out of the city and was joined by a member of the Bytown Railway Society. We talked about the society's new space in the museum archives building, which is a state-of-the-art facility and a fitting home for this railway equipment. However, I remember sensing the frustration in his voice over the fact that the museum is no longer connected to an active rail line.

For those who might not know, the Bytown Railway Society was once quite active in arranging heritage train excursions along the trackage around Ottawa. Some of these excursions made their way along the Alexandria Sub while others plied the rails of the Smiths Falls Sub and the now torn-up Beachburg Sub into Pembroke. Even as recently as about 10 years ago, I remember there was chatter about planning for another excursion, but so much has changed with railways in Ottawa, that the society now finds itself working with great facilities but no connection to active rails. 

The Society's latest project was its extensive work to refurbish this old CN coach. Those who follow BRS on Facebook, as I do, will remember that the society documented the extensive work of its Dirty Hands Club in getting this old heavyweight six-axle coach back to its former glory. It looks great and I would think it could serve as a wonderful reminder of what railway transportation used to be like. However, I was a bit sad to see chatter on Facebook about which group would be prepared to take on this coach and give it a good home where it can be appreciated. 

Personally, I would love to see it stay with BRS and be put into use on local excursions. The society, in my opinion, would be an ideal operator or partner for these types of excursions, if given the chance. However, the prospects for this are slim. Even the old Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield steam train is a distant memory on the old CP Maniwaki Sub, as municipalities there struggled with bringing that line back into operation following storm damage. The end result was the line was scrapped (some would say predictably) and the equipment sold off. 

My point is there doesn't seem to be a lot of appetite to support this type of moving, living history, at least among those who would have the power to make it happen. I'm sure the society would jump at the chance at either hosting or partnering on some form of excursion or even rail tour initiatives from the museum.

My point here is not to criticize anyone or any organization, especially BRS. Rather, I am trying to express that I believe local rail history and the society deserve better. I appreciate that they have new digs, which is a huge step up for them, and deservedly so. 

However, what happens when you have all this expertise, knowledge and volunteer power, but nowhere to really make proper use of it? Well, think about the BRS refurbished coach that now resides at the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario in Smiths Falls. It's a great place for this old antique, where it can be appreciated.

But I can't help but remember the conversation I had with a society member who seemed to be a bit disappointed that this old coach had to go to Smiths Falls at all (and by truck, he mentioned, with tongue firmly in cheek). Again, it's a great outcome for this car, but I think it also represents a bit of a loss for those talented people who worked so hard to get it back to its former glory.

Many railfans know the BRS as the publisher of the Canadian Trackside Guide. I'm not old enough to remember when the society was a regular operator of special steam excursions and other heritage train rides. BRS is also active at area train shows and in arranging rail heritage discussions.

I do not mean to speak on behalf of anyone in saying this, especially the Bytown Railway Society, but I think many people in Ottawa are missing an opportunity to make use of this organization and its collection.

It can be as simple as people regularly touring the equipment as part of their museum visit. It could be something far more ambitious like re-establishing the rail connection at the museum and possibly starting up heritage excursions again.

I understand that there are many, many logistical and legal issues I am not accounting for here in this simplistic view.

But wouldn't it be great if we were able to better appreciate our history and allow the Bytown Railway Society to do what it does best without limitations?

March Break tonic for a weary railfan

Those who are familiar with this city know that our light rail system has been delayed (yet again). For those keeping score, that's three delays now and more than a year past when we were supposed to "Get Ready for Rail" as our transit system continues to promote.

Meanwhile, the city has handed one of the principals responsible for Phase I, SNC Lavalin, the keys to Phase II at a price tag of $4.6 billion, or $1.2 billion more than expected. And, despite the legitimate concerns from city councillors about how the second phase become so much more costly, we are getting very little in the way of explanation from city officials. It's amazing to me that people that are public servants would do their best to avoid answering legitimate questions about something that is so critical to the future of our city. I should also mention that the extension of the Trillium Line (you know, the O-Train line that is actually operating) is also likely to come in over budget.

From the outset, I have wondered whether this city really thought through its options for relieving traffic congestion, especially when it had a pretty decent rapid bus system that, with a few tweaks, could have served the city well for decades to come. In other words, rail is great when it addresses a real need. In Ottawa's case, I have never seen a clear reason why its light rail plans were somehow better than a revamped Transitway bus system.

Did I mention that one of the reasons the first phase of the Confederation Line is being delayed, if you believe some people, is that testing has shown that the trainsets could not cope with severe winter conditions? I really do hope that was one of the first things considered when this massive project was first floated.

Okay, so the point is, it's not a good time to be a railfan or a rail booster in Ottawa. The city, by the way, is about to have its appeal heard in the case of the Prince of Wales bridge, which it neglected for more than a decade before someone took Ottawa to task for severing the bridge from the old Ellwood Subdivision.

Man, I keep meaning to share a few things I saw this week when I took my family to the Canada Science and Technology Museum, but the bad news keeps piling up. Well, let's lighten things up. Here's a scale model of the old CN/Via Rail turboliner that is hanging from the rafters in the museum. It's up so high, getting a decent shot is tough.

One thing I noticed when looking at this model is that there is a single axle between the middle passenger coach at the end power units. Was this part of the design of the actual Turboliner? Any experts out there who know?

Here's another interesting item that I saw in the steam engine exhibit. There are so many transportation related items in this exhibit, it's sometimes hard to see everything, but I saw this dramatic image of  Hudson type locomotive that is firing up before it heads out into the night. I suppose if I was a steam fan, I would be more enthralled with this photo. As it is, I think it's a cool shot.

I made sure to get a good shot of the golden rodent on the side of the CP steam locomotive.

Here's a little bonus for kids. They are giving away cardboard cutout steam locomotives for kids to take home. Remember those Via Rail LRC cardboard trains? Same concept. My older daughter asked for one. Brought a tear to my eye!

This reminds me of Bullet Nose Betty back in Sarnia.

Finally, the museum has a special exhibit right now, including an 1874 streetcar that once prowled the early commuter rail rights-of-way in Toronto. It was built in New Rochelle, New York.

The exhibit mentioned that the cars were pulled by horses, which had its limitations, obviously. The horses would often get tired, so the operators had to keep a rather large stable of horses at the ready to relieve the ones pulling the cars. You think your commute is slow now? Imagine what it must have been like in 1874!

Anyway, I really enjoyed my time at the museum this week. I hope to get out there and see some actual rail action this week, as it has been too long for me since I've been trackside. At the very least, the museum offered a little bit of comfort for me after months of shaking my head at what's been happening here in Ottawa.

Canada Science and Technology Museum, Part II

As I wrote about earlier this summer, I finally made it out to the newly renovated Canada Science and Technology Museum with my family. While there, I made sure to get a good look at the railway exhibition. Happily, there’s a few more rail-themed treasures for those interested.

Read Part I here.

When you enter the museum, the Artifact Alley awaits you, which is an interesting combination of a number of items that all fall within the theme of science and technology. For example, a sled is displayed prominently, which showcases how it was built to cut through heavy snow.

There are a few railway items in this part of the museum, although you have to really pay attention because there are so many items competing for your attention. I found the signage in this part of the museum not as helpful as it could be in identifying the whereabouts of certain items.

The best example is a scale wooden model of the old CN Turbotrain. The signage mentions the train, but you have to really search around to find it hanging high near the museum’s ceiling.

There’s also a sign that points out an old Canadian Pacific Railway sign, although once again, I had to search around before I found the old sign behind a number of other artifacts.

The highlight in this section of the museum (at least for me) was an old stone surveyor’s cairn from the era when the Canadian Pacific route was being mapped out from Northern Ontario to B.C. I was amazed that the cairn has been preserved all these years. A fascinating relic from the earliest history of the CPR.

Of course, you can’t go to this museum as a railfan and not check out the massive steam locomotive on the front lawn. This old beast has always been a popular draw. In recent years, it was beginning to look a little worn due to the harsh beating it takes from Ottawa weather.

Happily though, the Bytown Rail Society has worked hard to make a number of cosmetic restorations to this old engine. You can see it in the front headlight and number boards. About the only thing missing is the bell on the side of the engine, although I can imagine a bell would be too tempting for a thief.

I've blogged about this engine before, which you can read about here.

I've been back to this museum since my initial visit this summer, since I had family visiting in Ottawa. For those who are visiting Ottawa with children, this museum has a little bit of everything, including lots of things to touch.

Canada Science and Technology Museum, Part I

I finally made it out to the new Canada Science and Technology Museum so I could take in the new railway display. The last time I went to this museum was well before the museum was radically renovated.

The steam engine display has always been one of the highlights of this museum, so I was excited to see what the new display looked like.

Before I get to my impressions of the exhibit, I have to commend the efforts of the Bytown Rail Society and their efforts to maintain these beautiful old giants. The old steam engines look great in the museum. The work this non-profit group does to keep rail history relevant in Ottawa is inspiring.

The new display doesn’t skimp on facts. The old steam locomotives are supported by numerous signs and information displays that put steam technology in its proper context, especially from a technological point of view. The displays really do explain to visitors just how much steam-powered trains served to build this country and drive the economy and innovation. In this respect, the display does an excellent job of educating people.

The new signage is sharp and the display as whole has a much more modern feel to it, which seems fitting, given this really is a brand new museum.

Just like before, you can sit in the engineer’s chair in one steam locomotive and even play around with some of the valves and levers. The cab also has a fake coal fire burning, which is a nice touch, since it drives home the point that these massive machines were living, breathing monsters.

You can also walk into the cab of another locomotive, but the controls and seating are behind a glass display.

All in all, this is very much a carryover from the old steam display. My oldest daughter loved being able to sit in an engine and touch all the controls.

The display is also supported by a number of railway related artifacts and bric-a-brac.

However, I have to say I was a little disappointed that the display no longer features the old Canadian National wood-slat caboose. I think that keeping this in the display and possibly adding a passenger coach, like the coach the Bytown Rail Society has been busy restoring, would have given visitors a much clearer picture of what it was like to travel by rail in the golden era of railways.

I also found that some of the signage around the locomotives prevents visitors from taking unobstructed photos of the locomotives. That was a real nuisance for me, although I am probably much pickier than the average visitor.

Other than those issues, I was nonetheless impressed with the display. I wonder, though, if having a rail museum in Ottawa might be a better idea than this display. After all, we have a spectacular Museum of Aviation, so why not rail? I think these types of museums appeal to more than just transportation buffs.

I mention this because there were a few other rail-themed items in the museum, which I will save for another post. I will also save some more specific information about the locomotives and other items in the display.