This old ex Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) (later to become Canadian National Railway {CNR}) caboose stands near the Elmira Railway Station Museum at the little community of Elmira, PEI. Built in 1943, it is a wooden standard cupola design. Unfortunately we don't know the original number of the caboose, but given that it is on the Island, it must have been in the stable of the CNoR and the CNR. The story of its arrival at Elmira is below, reported by the Eastern Graphic, of Montague, PEI.
Construction of the Prince Edward Island Railway in the 1870s nearly bankrupted Prince Edward Island, forcing it into Confederation with Canada on July 1, 1873. At this time the railway became the property of Canada and was completed and operated by the government as the Canadian Government Railway (CGR). CGR was taken over by the newly nationalized Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) (later to become Canadian National Railway {CNR}) in September of 1918, meaning that this station was built as a CGR station but was operated for the majority of its working life by the CNoR and CNR.
The railway, through the latter part of the twentieth century, grew smaller as spurs were closed for lack of traffic, culminating in the closure of the entire railway on December 31, 1898. There is no longer a railway on PEI.
With the complete closure of the railway a few stations were repurposed into museums and/or visitors' centres, as was the case with the Elmira Station. Open as a railway museum from early June to late September, it has on display many railway related artefacts, maps and photos, both inside and out, including an old CNR caboose, possibly built in 1936. The track bed itself is now the major constituent of the
Confederation Trail system, a rails to trails project which runs from tip to tip of the Island.
Caboose rolls onto track at Elmira -
reminder of Island's train service
It has been many years since the railway operated on Prince Edward Island, but the train is back, at least in Elmira.
Members of the Friends of Elmira board and staff from Museums and Heritage were at the Elmira Railway Museum Wednesday awaiting the arrival of a caboose to the site
That morning two trucks operated by Seabrook Environmental Inc located near Kensington arrived – one carrying the caboose and another carrying the two sets of wheels that go underneath it. The caboose has a long history. Built in 1943, after being taken out of service it was located at McDonald’s in Charlottetown where it was used for children’s parties, and then it went to Kensington for about a decade before coming to Elmira.
The museum was once an operational train station until 1972, before opening as a museum in 1975. The original train station building is part of the site, but over the past number of years due to fundraising efforts from the Friends of Elmira the site has grown to include a miniature train system complete with one kilometer of track, as well as a canteen, washrooms, a replica of the old freight shed, and other renovations.
The caboose is another step in the development of the site.
David Keenlyside, executive director of Museums and Heritage, which falls under the Department of Community, Cultural Affairs and Labour, said the plan is to fully restore the train and open it to the public this summer. Roof work was completed before being delivered to Elmira, with restoration work to begin in the spring.
The actual delivery of the caboose from Kensington to Elmira cost Museums and Heritage over $12,000, Mr Keenlyside said.
From the Eastern Graphic