Northern Ontario Railroad Museum Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Centre

NORMHC Shot of Prescott Park, taken atop the "Sudbury Meteor" display.
Established	August 31, 1993
Location	Capreol in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
Visitors	approx. 13,000 per year

The Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Centre is a cool place in Capreol, Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It's a museum all about trains and the history of Northern Ontario. The museum works to save old items that show the history of the area. This includes the stories of the lumber, mining, and railroading industries.

History of the Museum
Prescott Park: Outdoor Exhibits
- Train Collection: Locomotives and Cars
Heritage Centre: Inside the Old Fire Hall
- Model Railroad Layout: A Tiny World
- Railroad Simulator: Drive a Train!
Gallery
See also

History of the Museum

The former CN superintendent's house serves as the main site for NORMHC.

NORMHC Heritage Centre, Formally the Capreol Fire Department. Also, the location of the NORMHC Model Railway display

The Northern Ontario Railroad Museum & Heritage Centre started in 1993. It was set up as a non-profit group. This means it uses its money to help the museum, not to make a profit. At first, the museum was in a train car called CN Caboose #77562. This was in Prescott Park. It had a small display of train items.

In 1997, the museum got a special house. This house used to belong to the boss of the Canadian National Railway. The museum turned it into the main building. Prescott Park became the outdoor part of the museum.

In 2010, the museum got money to build a "Garden of Life." This garden helps people learn about organ donation. A big donation from CN Rail in 2013 helped a lot. The garden is now finished and cared for every year.

In 2012, the museum got the old Capreol fire hall. This building was used as a fire station until 2010. It was built in 1923. Over the years, it was also a police station, a jail, and town offices.

Prescott Park: Outdoor Exhibits

Prescott Park is named after Harold Prescott, a former mayor of Capreol. This park holds the museum's outdoor train exhibits. You can see big locomotives and other train cars here. The park also has a large G-Scale model train track outside. There is even a play area for kids.

The Garden of Life is also in Prescott Park. This garden helps people learn about organ donation in Ontario. It works with the Trillium Gift of Life Network.

Train Collection: Locomotives and Cars

The museum has a great collection of trains. It includes four big locomotives. There are also six other train cars. You can also see mining cars, handcars, and speeders. Here are some of the trains you can see:

Locomotives:

Canadian National Railways #6077: A large steam locomotive from 1944.
Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway #219: Another steam locomotive from 1907.
INCO #101: An electric locomotive from 1919.
INCO #116: A powerful electric locomotive from 1948.

Rolling Stock (other train cars):

Canadian National Railways Caboose #77526: A caboose built in 1887.
Canadian National Railways Caboose #79231: A caboose built in 1967.
Canadian National Railways Rules Instruction Car #15019 Stadacona: This car was built in 1912. It is now used as a special "School Car" exhibit.
Canadian National Railways Warehouse-baggage Car #60049: A car built in 1953 for carrying goods.
Canadian National Railways Snow Plow #55208: A large snow plow from 1924. It helps clear snow from the tracks.
Canadian National Railways 30 Ton Crane #50392: A crane built in 1957. It was used to lift heavy things.
Vale Limited Hot Metal Car #5: A special car for carrying hot metal.
Vale Limited Slag Pot Car: A car for carrying slag, a waste product from mining.

Heritage Centre: Inside the Old Fire Hall

The old Capreol fire hall is now the Heritage Centre. It is one block east of the main museum. Here, you can see old vehicles being fixed up. This includes the town's first police car, a 1956 Dodge Fargo. It was used as a "paddy wagon" to carry people. There is also a 1929 Godferson Bickle fire engine.

The Heritage Centre also has the museum's library and offices. You can find exhibits about the history of the town and the area. New exhibits are shown here every year.

Model Railroad Layout: A Tiny World

The Heritage Centre has a huge HO scale model railroad layout. It opened in May 2017. This model train display is 1000 square feet! It is the biggest in Northern Ontario. It took two years to build. Volunteers from the museum and the Sudbury Model Railroaders Club built and painted it.

The layout shows tiny versions of Capreol town. It also has scenes from Northern Ontario. You can even see miniature versions of the museum's outdoor train exhibits!

Railroad Simulator: Drive a Train!

Also opened in May 2017, the Heritage Centre has a cool railroad simulator. It was made by RSI Simulators. You can use the simulator to learn how to operate a train. It's included in your admission ticket.

The simulator is set to "arcade mode." This makes it easy for visitors to use. But you can also try "engineer mode." This is the same setting used to train real CN employees! The scenery in the simulator is based on Northern Quebec. Soon, it will be updated to show the Capreol train yard and the town.