CN 79339 Steel Caboose - Ashcroft, British Columbia
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 50° 43.190 W 121° 16.825
10U E 621384 N 5620080
79339 has come to rest in Ashcroft's Millennium Park, AKA Heritage Place, between Railway Avenue and the Canadian Pacific mainline running through Ashcroft.
Waymark Code: WM146Z8
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 05/02/2021
Views: 0
This Centre Cupola Steel Caboose is CN No. 79339, one of Canadian National's 79200-79349 series of cabooses. It was built for
Canadian National Railway by
Hawker-Siddeley in their
Canadian Car and Foundry plant in Thunder Bay, Ontario in June of 1967. There are known to be at least 17 of the 79200-79349 series extant in collections across Canada. We have none of the caboose's history but believe it may have been retired in 1993.
Hawker-Siddeley was a British manufacturer which was formed in 1935 as an aircraft manufacturer. During World War II the company produced many of the aircraft which won the air war over Great Britain, including the
Hawker Hurricane and the
Supermarine Spitfire. Following the war, Hawker-Siddeley, through several subsidiaries, branched out into the manufacture of a diverse array of products, including the Canadian designed and built
Avro Arrow (then the fastest interceptor aircraft in the world), light rail transit cars, railway rolling stock, railway locomotives, aircraft and locomotive engines, trolley buses and even a small 10 Kw nuclear power reactor.
The Thunder Bay subsidiary where this caboose was manufactured, originally
Canadian Car and Foundry, exists today as
Bombardier Transportation Canada Inc.
Heritage Place Park is a well maintained interpretive park decorated with artifacts and buildings representing the history of the region. Within the park are a series of short walking paths with interpretive signs marking each exhibit that documents the early days of the railway and mining industries.
The park is a wonderful place to visit while in Ashcroft with huge trees, shaded benches and picnic tables. Throughout the park are several murals and mosaics. When we were there the visitor center and washrooms were open. There is parking on both sides of the park. The park is approximately 2 acres in size, though it is long and narrow.