It has been a work in progress for almost 2 years. A move that should have occurred a year ago, but didn't because the contact we were dealing with was downsized so to speak. A summer of dealing with my original contact came up with nothing. So, the 3 ex-CP Rail 40' steel boxcars owned by the Niagara Railway Museum Inc. sat at the end of the old north siding of what was once part of the mighty Canada Southern/Michigan Central yard in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The cars have been owned by the NRM for 10yrs, and have spent the past 5yrs on that piece of track behind stored empty double stack cars. It was a mechanical department inspection of the well cars last week that lead to the phone call about our cars. It seems that the track they are sitting on will soon be removed.
All of this came about very quickly, 2 days actually. Details that were started but never finished, like extra insurance and car inspection were dealt with in record time. CP moved the cars to a new temporary location for the Museum, so we can move them by road the short distance to the Museum site. Why you ask? Simple, they are not allowed to be interchanged under AAR rules due to age, so CN refused them. CP runs past our Museum site, but has no access to the yard. So, they will now be loaded on a low float and moved the remaining distance to the site. Not an easy or cheap task. The Museum has started some fundraising to help offset some of the cost of the move. Thankfully we have some non financial support for doing some of the prep work around the shop for when they arrive.
Below are a few pics from the move on Tuesday. Next weekend we will access the cars and secure everything for the road journey. The move should take place by years end, as long as it doesn't, ugh, snow!!
Ken Jones
President - Niagara Railway Museum Inc.
http://www.nfrm.ca
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File comment: The cars are on the move for the first time in years. DSCN0261sm.jpg [ 173.01 KiB | Viewed 4058 times ] |
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File comment: With the cars ready to roll, they are pulled from the North track to tie onto the well cars for the next part of the trip. DSCN0268sm.jpg [ 166.29 KiB | Viewed 4058 times ] |
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File comment: Safe and secure at the temporary storage site, our 3 cars aren't pretty, but they are closer to home now. 100_3244sm.jpg [ 129.37 KiB | Viewed 4058 times ] |