Toronto Railway Historical Association

The Toronto Railway Heritage Centre Operating Hours

The normal TRHC operating season is from April to October and the museum is now closed to the public until next Spring. From November to March, the miniature railway may occasionally operate on weekend afternoons subject to fine weather and volunteer staff availability. We want to thank the thousands of visitors who rode the miniature railway and donated to the TRHC during our 2011 season. Your support will make it possible for us to continue to celebrate and interpret Toronto's fascinating railway history.

Our hard-working volunteers will be busy all winter restoring our exhibits and preparing new displays for 2012. If you wish to join us in this endeavour, please contact us. We are always looking for new volunteers, no matter what your skill level. A desire to contribute is all that is required.

Weekend Report: Our first lit display case makes its appearance!

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Work continued this weekend on the TH&B van. We also made progress on the display cabinets. In the photos, we find a test of a lighted display case. The work teams this weekend were a bit smaller as other volunteers took in the Barrie Train Show where the TRHA again had a booth promoting the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre.

Posting by Russ Milland; Photos by Lance Gleich.

TRHA will be at the Barrie Train Show this weekend!

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The Barrie Train Show is happening this weekend (Saturday, February 18th and Sunday, February 19th, 2012) at the Bradford Greenhouses' Garden Gallery in Barrie, Ontario. This popular train show is well worth a visit.

The photos here are from last year's show. Above we see Dave Wetherald, a TRHA volunteer who now lives in Barrie, helping man the TRHA booth in last year's show. Dave and Derek Boles, our TRHA historian will again be communicating with the show visitors this year at our TRHA booth. Drop by and see us.

For more information about the show and over pictures from prior shows, visit the Barrie-Allandale Railway Modellers website by clicking here.

Posting by Russ Milland; Images by Dave Wetherald and from the Train Show website.

Copetown Train Show was a great success!

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Despite snowy road conditions between Oakville and St. Catharines, many die hard railway modellers and railfans turned out for this unique train show (see out earlier announcement by clicking here!). The TRHA was there with an updated presentation on a large TV screen in a booth staffed by Derek Boles, our TRHA historian.

Last year the crowds thinned out by lunchtime but this year they kept coming until mid-afternoon. Perhaps folks wanted to wait and see if they won the raffle for a complete HO CPR Canadian passenger train donated by Rapido Trains. As luck would have it, our TRHA Historian, Derek Boles was the lucky winner! As can be seen in the attached photos, Jason Shron and Dan Garcia of Rapido Trains were showing off a wonderful pre-production model of this magnificent train.

The show held many items of interest to train fans from a number of fine operating layouts large and small as well as exhibits by many local train dealers.

Posting by Russ Milland; Photos by Russ Milland & Stephen Gardiner

Donation: Print of a CP Unit Train in the Rockies!

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Recently, Ian Law donated a large four foot by eight foot print of a diesel hauled CP unit train working its way through the Rocky Mountains in western Canada. Unit trains are trains which are dedicated to hauling a specific commodity such as grain or coal.

We suspect that the original print was made for the CP railway and used to promote their service in the marketplace. Our thanks go out to Ian for the generous donation and to Dave Wetherald for using his van to fetch this item and deliver it to the museum. It is now on display on one wall of our Stall 17 display space.

Posting by Russ Milland; Photos by Dave Wetherald and James Rasor

Weekend Report: Two very quiet volunteers join the team!

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Saturday saw another productive work session unfold in the three stalls. Work continued on the TH&B van with the conductor’s stand frame put in place and further work on the roof and windows. A mock-up of some temporary display boxes looks terrific in the accompanying photos.

Volunteer Bob Dickson can also be seen admiring some mannequins (our new very quiet volunteers!) which he acquired that will allow us to display some of our donated railway uniforms. Meanwhile, the mannequins were attired in some old coveralls courtesy of two of our volunteers to check out how they would look.

Our thanks to the mens clothing store called “Got Style, The Menswear Store” at 62 Bathurst Street in Toronto who so generously donated the mannequins to the museum.

Posting by Russ Milland; Photos by James Rasor

CARM Copetown Train Show - This Sunday, February 12th, 2012

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The Canadian Association of Railway Modellers (CARM) was formed in October of 2003 to:

to inspire.
to foster fellowship among railway modellers throughout Canada.
to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and skills between railway modellers.
to promote the hobby of railway modelling in Canada.
to be inclusive of all scales and interests.
to work in co-operation with other organizations.

Each year, CARM host a small train show just west of Hamilton and north of Highway 403 in Copetown, Ontario. The show is focused on:

Operating Canadian prototype layouts
Displays by model craftsmen
Railway Special Interest Groups
Canadian Model Manufacturers Displays and Sales
Photo Vendors

Among these pictures from last year's show, we see that our TRHA portable railway simulator was a popular attraction.

This year, the show will be held this coming Sunday as follows:

Date: Sunday February 12th, 2012

Location:

Copetown And District Community Centre,
1950 Governor’s Road, just east of Hwy. 52
Copetown, ON

Time: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Admission cost: $6.00.
Refreshments will be on sale at the site and the the Copetown Centre is wheelchair accessible.

For more information and a map, you may download and print the train show flyer by clicki ng here. For more about CARM, click here.

The Toronto Railway Historical Association (TRHA) will also be at the show with a booth.

Posting and pictures by Russ Milland

Model Railroad Club of Toronto - Train Show - Feb 12, 19, 20 & 26

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The Model Railroad of Canada has a 74 year long history in Toronto having been founded in 1938. This month, they will again inviting the public to visit. Here is what they are offering as published in their brochure.

"The Romance of the Rails – large steam engines pulling streamlined passenger trains – sleek diesel locomotives in front of hot-shot freight trains – switchers busily sorting freight cars in the yards – mainline tracks snaking through rocky forested hills and scenic clear lakes.

Take a trip back with us in time to the late 1950’s: steam is still king – passenger service is frequent – diesel engines are the newest word in railroading. The CENTRAL ONTARIO RAILWAY is a thriving, bustling railroad in the heart of Eastern Ontario.

The CENTRAL ONTARIO RAILWAY, a world in miniature, is an “O” Scale (1/4”= 1 ft.) model railroad located in a 110‘ by 40‘ room. Trains travel over 5,000 feet of track, passing by hills, forests and lakes typical of Central Ontario, connecting two major cities each with full yard and engine facilities. Several smaller towns and villages are located along the way and a branchline serves a busy port where lake freighters regularly dock. Canadian National and Canadian Pacific trains appear regularly on Central Ontario track.

Come and spend an afternoon with us, and journey to another and another place. Enjoy the fun of model railroading."

The Club will be open on February 12, 19, 20 and 26th from 12:00 to 4:30 p.m. at 171 East Liberty Street in Toronto. Cash admission is $8.00 for adults, $4.00 for children and $5.00 for Seniors.

For more on the history of the club, click here to read an earlier TRHA News posting about the club or visit their website by clicking here.

Posting by Russ Milland; Photos from the Model Railroad Club of Toronto website.

Weekend Report: Further work on the miniature and full size vans!

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This weekend found a busy crew of volunteers working on further cleanup of the three stalls area and work on the roof of the TH&B van as shown in the pictures.

Also shown in the attached photos below is the miniature railway brake van under development. It clearly has progressed from when we last showed progress on the frame, wheels and axle boxes.

Posting by Russ Milland; Photos by Lance Gleich, James Rasor and Michael Guy

TRHA Website: "From the Archives" has expanded!

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Our archives of TRHA News postings contain a wealth of historical information. Most of the articles about railway history were researched and produced by Derek Boles, our TRHA Historian. These articles essentially form a part of the TRHA archives. Derek has inventoried those articles and provided us with the links so that Kristy Milland, our “webmistress”, has been able to expand our “From the Archives” section of the TRHA website with direct links to each of these items.

To access them, either click on the “From the Archives” button at the top right of any of our web pages or click here to gain immediate access.

Posting by Russ Milland