It may not be as big or as elaborate as the Canadian Railway Museum (Exporail) at St. Constant, QC, but I found this museum (in St. Thomas, Ontario) very impressive, nonetheless.  The extensive variety and vintages of the equipment on the site is worth the visit.  The site included several interesting steam locomotives, a variety of switchers and MLW's one-and-only RSD17.

These photos were taken on August 17, 2005.

The visit started inside the ex-Conrail shop that houses much of the museum's collection.  Here's the restoration area, where a couple of steam engines are being restored.

GE box-cab electric L1, formerly used by the London & Port Stanley and built in 1915.

N&W caboose 555020, built by the Internation Car Co. in 1976.

GTW wooden caboose 77137, built in 1891 and rebuilt in 1922.

This is a one-of-a-kind locomotive built in 1957 by the Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW).  It's ex-CP RSD17 8921, currently undergoing cosmetic restoration.  The unit was retired (somewhat reluctantly) in 1997 due to truck problems that could not be repaired, and CP actively searched for a museum to display it.  The ALCO equivalent of this locomotive sold in the U.S. is the RSD15.

Right front truck detail.

A view of the radiator shutters at the rear.  The pips at the top of the hood are for the turbocharger intercooler.  MLW roadswitchers of this era can be told from their ALCO counterparts by the lack of notches in the hood corners for the numberboards.

A view of the air reservoirs on the right side.

Reading 2100 is a 4-8-4 that was rebuilt from a 2-8-0 in 1945.  This locomotive is operational.

Firebox detail.

Here's the drawbar that would normally connect the tender and engine--here separate.

CN 5700 is a class K-5-a 4-6-4 built in 1930 by MLW.  Locomotives of this type, while common on the CP, were not often seen on the CN, since the railroad favoured 4-8-4's.

A view of the firebox and cab.

The tender.

Wabash 51, a GE 43-ton switcher built in 1939.  Although restored to its original Wabash paint, this locomotive passed through five more owners before arriving at the museum.

TPHX 21002, a lone tender sitting outside the museum.  This was used as an auiliary tender for Reading 2100 (above) when it operated later in 2005.

Cars from the London & Port Stanley Incline Railway.
TPHX 21002, a lone tender sitting outside the museum.  This was used as an auiliary tender for Reading 2100 (above) when it operated later in 2005.

This 70-tonner was built in 1950 and was originally used by the Pacific Great Eastern (later BC Rail and now part of CN).

A view of the truck under the cab.  Most trucks have cast frames; these ones are welded.

STCR 1437 "Midway" is an ex-CP coach built in 1923.  It was formerly displayed at the Museum of Science and Technology at Ottawa.

STCR 15000 is an ex-VIA business car acquired in 2002.

STCR 60504, an ex-CN Diner built in 1920.  It arrived at the museum in 2001.

Truck detail.

STCR 37, an ex-Casco tank car that arrived at the museum in 2002.

A battered CN gondola.  The number is 137673, but that can hardly be made out amid the stenciling and faded paint.  This car was donated to the museum in 1997 and was built in 1975 by National Steel Car (NSC).  Many cars of this type are still in service with CN.

SW9 52, an ex-Ontario Southland (OSRX) SW9 that was originally built for the Chesapeake & Ohio.

Boxcar 301 was formerly used by the Port Stanley Terminal Railway (PSTR) and was originally Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo 3450.  It was built in 1953 by NSC.

565342 was originally owned by CN and was built by NSC in 1953.

361 is an air dump also previsouly owned by PSTR and built by NSC in 1958.

 

Michael Eby 2005