On December 22nd, two technicians from Western Mechanical mixed cement grout and packed it in under the turntable pivot base to provide the permanent support. That's Nick mixing and Rob working in the confined space below the turntable centre. Last Friday, December 28th, Rob and I took the table for a test spin and timed it at approximately one minute, forty-five seconds for a 180 degree rotation.
. Pictured above at the left and in the centre is the Santa Train operating on the Port Stanley Terminal Railway on December 16th 2007 at the height of an early winter snowstorm. At the right, we have a picture (from the picture collection of a globe trotting couple at this website) of a seasonal Christmas exhibit somewhere in South America which offers a humorous takeoff on a famous picture of a century ago of "the French passenger train that didn't stop soon enough". . The Board of Directors of the Toronto Historical Railway Association wishes all of our volunteers, partners, supporters and readers a Merry Christmas and a safe and satisfying holiday season as we look forward to an exciting 2008!
A Major Milestone: Turntable Spins for 1st Time in 19 Years
Click on arrow to view the movie! . Yesterday, Dave W. and Michael G. ran the turntable through a full 360 degree rotation on one air motor - just as it is supposed to run. This clears the way to complete the pivot grout work on the coming weekend. . If our dates are correct, this is the first rotation for the turntable in 19 years. This is a major milestone in our initiative to restore the roundhouse and evolve the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre! . by Michael Guy, TRHA
Nestled in between the Rogers Centre and the railway corridor there is a powerful monument in the form of part of a railway trestle which acknowledges the contribution of thousands of Chinese railroad workers who were key to the building of the first railway across Canada. Here is the what is written on the plaque at this wite:
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Memorial to Commemorate the Chinese Railway Workers in Canada . "Dedicated to the Chinese railroad workers who helped construct the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia thus uniting Canada geographically and politically. . From 1880 to 1885 seventeen thousand men from the province of Kwangtung, China came to work on the western section of the railway through the treacherous terrain of the Canadian Rockies. Far from their families, amid hostile sentiments, these men laboured long hours and made the completion of the railway physically and economically possible. More than 4,000 Chinese workers lost their lives during construction. With no means of going back to China when their labour was no longer needed, thousands drifted in near destitution along the completed track. All of them remained nameless in the history of Canada. . We erect this monument to remember them. . September, 1989" . Photos by Russ Milland, TRHA
Progress continues to made on the restoration of the roundhouse and the turntable. Western Mechanical continues to fine tune the turntable and the track in the pit as we move towards making the turntable fully operational.
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Yesterday, as shown in the middle picture above, the six wash-rack columns and associated parts were loaded aboard a truck bound for their new home at Exporail, the national railway museum of Canada. In the picture at the right, Dave W. stands at what we expect will become the rear loading entrance to the future museum space in the machine shop. The third photo shows one of four new hinged blanking plates fitted over the CLC-Whitcomb locomotive's steps to discourage folks from climbing aboard. We will be applying some interpretive text to these plates to explain the history and purpose of the locomotive.
. This week we had to remove a 39 foot track panel from in front of the CLC Whitcomb to allow Steam Whistle Brewing to take delivery of several new beer tanks. Today, the TRHA's contractor re-installed the missing panel and re-lined the track with the turntable centre. The big loader equipped with forks made easy work of nudging the track into the right place. The white line is a measuring tape hooked over a pin placed in the centre of the turntable deck to serve as a centre line.
Completing the salvaging of artefacts and materials!
Click on each picture for a closer look!
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At the above left, we see the team of Russ M., Dan G., Michael G. and Dave W. who assembled last Saturday at 9:45 a.m. to pretty much complete the salvaging of artefacts and other useful materials before the area is emptied by the restoration company. In the middle photo, the TRHA's inventory of 7 1/4" miniature railway trck is being moved from the area under renovation to the safety of another part of the roundhouse. At the right, we see that the newly opened up space has been pretty much cleared out of materials and debris at this point.
. Each year, The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) has Holiday Trains which hit the rails on December 1st visiting over 100 communities in seven states and six provinces to raise food, money and awareness for local food banks. Bring your cash and food donations and support your local food bank. To date, they have raised $3 million dollars and 1.6 million pounds of food. This year's entertainers and musicians include Wide Mouth Mason, Melanie Doane, Tracey Brown, Colin Linden, Mike Norman, and Ennis. . Here is the part of the schedule relevant to the Greater Toronto Area:
Toronto: Monday, December 3rd at 6:45 p.m. at 56 Mill Street near commuter tracks in the Distillery District
Vaughan - Intermodal Terminal: Monday, December 3rd at 9:00 p.m. at north west corner of the CPR crossing at Nashville Road, near the old grain elevator.
Hamilton: Tuesday, December 4th At 8 to 8:30 p.m. at the Western approach to Kinnear Yard opposite Gage Park.
Cambridge: Wednesday, December 5th at 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Former Galt station, 10 Malcolm St.
Woodstock: Wednesday, December 5th at 7:45-8:45 p.m. on the CPR main line, 199 Winnett St.
For more information on the other 100 stops, schedule changes and more pictures, visit the Canadian Pacific Railways website here:
