ExpoRail, also know as the Canadian Railway Museum or Le Musée Ferroviaire Canadien, was our group's planned outing for Monday. It was only a half hour's drive away. Traffic was not heavy. We had not known what to expect from commuter traffic on a weekday but it was not bad. Perhaps that is because it was a national holiday in Canada – their Thanksgiving Day – or perhaps because we set out a bit later than the peak commute window.
The museum had indoor exhibits as well as outdoor rolling stock displays. There was a streetcar line circling the grounds available for riding. One of its stops was a rail station for visiting.
From the parking lot we crossed a set of railroad tracks to enter the first main building, #1 on the site map.
Shortly after entering the first building we paused for a group photo by a huge wall mural of nearly life size locomotives. If you look closely just above Frank's head is the banner stating "The Great Gathering". How did they know we were coming? The Great Gathering can also refer to an event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the world speed record for a steam locomotive: 126 mph set by the Mallard on July 3, 1938. The locomotive Dominion of Canada, visiting from the United Kingdom, was a special guest at the original gathering nearly 80 years ago – before any of us were even yet born.
As we proceeded further into the depths of the extensive the main building, the backend of a caboose sported this fall display. It was a reminder that this was indeed Thanksgiving Day in Canada.
We also learned that cabooses have a unique lighting system. Just call it FRED, an acronym for Flashing Read End Device.
We walked between the parallel tracks of rail cars, reading signs along the way and boarding those cars outfitted for interior visits.
We all took turns sitting in the engineer's seat. Here are John and Joe in command at the moment.
As a teacher Sue was particularly enamored with the School Car. It made the rounds throughout the countryside, bringing books, instructions, and teachers to children and adults in areas where there were no other educational options. The school car remained parked on a siding for about a week and the cycle was about 4 to 6 weeks before a repeat visit. Adults had evening classes, could borrow books, play bingo, or listen to music. Children were schooled during the day and left with homework. Can you imagine the poor kid who procrastinated and left 6 weeks of homework until the day before? I can remember many a stressed out Sunday night back in my school years and that was only a few days worth of backlog.
After the movie we wandered outside for more exhibits. Our plan had been to delay going outdoors until the afternoon when the weather would have warmed up a bit. There had been no need, the weather was pleasantly warm and sunny all day. We boarded the streetcar, more for the experience rather than to shelter us from the weather or to shorten a walk.
Our group had a brief discussion on why the lid on a suitcase was tapered and did not merely have a straight across line. Even though we opened it and looked inside we did not come up with any explanations. Googling did not afford me any logical reasons either. It remains a mystery.
Those slant top windows almost give a kind of chapel appearance to the train station.
A couple of specialty cars were of note with the main building. A1"Terrier" was a 0-6-0T type steam locomotive designed to transport passengers to and from the suburbs. When it was modified with a longer, larger boiler it became an A1X. The real claim to fame of an A1X is that it is the model for Thomas the Tank Engine loved by children throughout the world. Just imagine it painted a cheery bright blue and you will see what I mean. Note the round porthole type windows in the cab, the domed bell housing, and the smokestack.
We also passed an elaborately, impressively scrolled, viewing car dubbed a "golden chariot".
We browsed an exhibit about dining on trains and the specialized cars for that service. This next photo reminds me of a fifties soda shop with stools next to the counter for order shakes, sundaes and ice cream sodas. I liked the black and white historic photos on the back wall and the engineering graphic type flooring and wallpaper.
Some of us perched on the seats, trying them out for size and comfort, and studying the various dinnerware made specifically for each railroad line.
There was even a specially decorated children's menu.
I mast have been inspired by the dining car exhibit because when exiting the gift shop I bought a book of Canadian Railway Recipes.
I was amused because one of the staff, a young man who had run the film, was pleased that I was buying the book and took the time to leaf through the book with me and point out what his two favorite recipes were that I should definitely try, a chicken dish and a dessert.
In the main building there was a mezzanine area that offered a sweeping overview of all the railcars and locomotives lined up on the floor. We went up there to see what we had seen. It took me two photos to get them all in. I never have gotten the hang of that panorama feature on my iPhone.
Concluding we had seen them all, we were quite saturated. We'd even climbed down into the pit at F on the map and inspected the under carriage of a railcar. Signage explained the method used to swap out a truck containing a set of wheels needing replacement or service without having to lift a multi-ton railcar from the tracks for clearance. I'd never considered it, but I realized you cannot jack up a railcar like you can jack up an automobile to change a tire.
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