Railway Coastal Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 2003 |
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| Location | 495 Water Street St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador A1E 6B5 |
| Type | Railway museum |
The Railway Coastal Museum is a cool place to visit in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It's a transport museum that teaches you all about trains and boats! The museum is inside the old Newfoundland Railway building on Water Street. Here, you can learn about the history of the Newfoundland Railway and how people traveled by water along the coast.
This special building was named a National Historic Site in 1988. This means it's an important place that helps us remember the big part the Newfoundland Railway played in the history of the province. It also got a special title as a Heritage Railway Station in 1990.
The museum has lots of interesting things to see. There are 40 different exhibits, a virtual museum you can explore online, and cool artwork. These displays show the history of the old railway lines across Newfoundland and Labrador.
The museum first opened its doors in 2003. It started with help from the Johnson Family Foundation, which later gave the museum to the City of St. John's. The museum is also famous for being "Mile Zero" of the Trans-Canada Trail. This trail is a huge path that goes all across Canada! In 2020, the city council said the museum might close because of money problems. But good news! In 2021, a group called Genesis Coworking Centre bought the museum. Now, the Railway Coastal Museum will stay open for visitors during certain times of the year.
Why No Trains at the Museum?
The Newfoundland Railway doesn't run anymore. So, the old train station where the museum is located isn't connected to any train tracks. All the tracks were taken up and used for other things. This means the museum doesn't have any real train cars or engines to show. The area around the museum has been built up with new buildings.
Other Places to See Old Trains
Even though the museum doesn't have trains, you can still find old railway cars and stations in other parts of Newfoundland. Here are some places where you can see them:
- Port aux Basques has old train cars and a station.
- Corner Brook has train cars at the Railway Society Of Newfoundland.
- Bishop's Falls also has some old train cars.
- Carbonear has a railway museum.
- In Avondale, part of the old track is used for trolleys.
- Trinity Train Loop in Trinity has a working section of track and a museum.
- Lewisporte is home to some train cars.
- Whitbourne has an old train station.
See also
