Elgin County Railway Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1988 |
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| Location | St. Thomas, Ontario |
| Type | Railway museum |
The Elgin County Railway Museum is an exciting place in St. Thomas, Ontario. It's a museum all about trains and how they move people and goods. You can see many old locomotives and railway cars here.
The museum is located in a really old building. It used to be a workshop for trains, built way back in 1913! This workshop was part of a bigger train facility. The museum took over the building in 1988. This happened after the last train companies, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, moved out. In 2009, the museum also got 15 acres of land around the railway.
The museum even has its own train tracks. These tracks run west and then south from the museum building. They are used for special events, like the yearly "Day Out with Thomas" ride. There's also an old train control tower nearby called the BX Tower. The museum looks after it, but the City of St. Thomas owns it.
Contents
Exploring the Train Collection
The Elgin County Railway Museum has a fantastic collection of trains. You can see different types of locomotives and railway cars. These vehicles show how trains have changed over time.
Awesome Locomotives to See
The museum has five main locomotives. These are the powerful engines that pull trains:
- Canadian National Railway #5700 "Hudson": This is a big steam locomotive. It was built by Montreal Locomotive Works. It's a 4-6-4 type, meaning it has four small wheels in front, six big driving wheels, and four small wheels at the back.
- Wabash #51: This is a smaller, 43-ton switcher locomotive. It was made by GE Transportation. Switchers are used to move train cars around in a rail yard.
- Canadian Pacific Railway #8921: This is a special locomotive. It's a Montreal Locomotive Works RSD-17. It's the only one of its kind ever made!
- London and Port Stanley Railway #L1: This is an electric freight locomotive. It's a boxcab style, built around 1915 by GE Transportation. It ran on electricity.
- Canadian National Railway #9171: This is an EMD F7Au locomotive. It was first built as an EMD F3 for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in 1973. It was updated and retired in 1989.
Cool Passenger and Freight Cars
Besides the engines, the museum also has several passenger and freight cars. Some are inside the building, and others are outside:
- Canadian National Railway Jordan Spreader #51041: This special car helps clear snow and spread gravel on the tracks. It was built right in St. Thomas.
- London and Port Stanley Railway Port Stanley Incline Cars: These unique cars were used on a steep incline.
- Norfolk & Western Railroad Caboose #555020: This is a caboose, a car where the train crew used to ride at the end of the train. It was built around 1976.
- Grand Trunk Western Railroad Caboose #77137: Another caboose, this one was built in Port Huron, Michigan.
- Canadian National Railway Baggage Car #7074: This car was used to carry luggage and mail on passenger trains. It was built in 1953.
- New York Central Railroad 10-5 Sleeper #10075 "Cascade Lane": This is a sleeping car from 1939. It had rooms for passengers to sleep during long journeys.
- London and Port Stanley Railway Electric Interurban #14: This was an electric passenger car. It traveled between cities, like a streetcar but for longer distances. It was built in 1917.
Miniature Train World
The museum also has a cool H0 scale model railroad. This miniature train set shows scenes from the local area. It's like a tiny version of the real railway world!
Images for kids
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Exterior of the museum on the west side, showing doors leading to the transfer table.
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Inside the museum, looking towards the south.
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A close-up picture of the CPR RSD-17 locomotive.
