Hello Everyone-

Sorry to not have posted this earlier, but things have been nuts around here. The former Grand Trunk Car Shops (the ones that replaced the original Fort Gratiot Car Shops, which burned in 1913) caught fire about a week ago. The usual "kids with skateboards" (I'm getting really sick of this type-casting of anyone under the age of 18, by the way) supposedly caused all the damage. Hmmm.....

Specifically, it was the main car repair building, which is fairly new (circa 1940's). The original coach shop burned down around 1980 or so, but much of the 1916-era shops are still intact, including the transfer table. CN leased them out to PDS Railcar, who folded in 2001. It has been empty since then. We at the museum have tried to talk with CN about preservation of some of the equipment (some of which survived the 1913 fire), but to no avail; we have been told they are still trying to find a buyer for the property, and we don't exactly want to destroy the potential of new jobs in the name of preservation, so where caught in a pickle. This being said, reports of tools walking out the door are pretty commonplace now.

TJ Gaffney

Link:
http://www.thetimesherald.com/news/stor ... 20007.html

Port Huron Car Shops Fire
tjgaffney@phmuseum.org

A link to the original story is below. There's a pretty decent picture on the side of the article I'll try to link to. I'll fill you in as I hear more.

TJ



Port Huron Car Shops Fire Story
tjgaffney@phmuseum.org