Trains for the Holidays - Part 1 - Dream Machines

The Holidays are now up on us and opportunities beckon for the train enthusiast young and old.  In this series of TRHA News postings, we will highlight several opportunities for we and our families to satisfy our love of trains in this festive season.

Dream Machines: The Art of Rowland Emett

The late Rowland Emett was a famed cartoonist for the Punch magazine in Great Britain.  He was also renowned for creating large kinetic sculptures which whimsically represented real life.  The Ontario Science Centre has perhaps the best collection in the world of these kinetic sculptures. Once each year and only during the Christmas season, some or perhaps all of these are brought out and put on display for children of all ages to admire and enjoy.

We especially mention them in this series because one of their Rowland Emett kinetic sculpture is of a passenger train.   Originally built for marketing purposes for the Potato Marketing Board in England, it was rebuilt to feature muffins and eggs rather than potatoes and was renamed from "Much Baking Halt" to "Afternoon Tea Train at Wisteria Halt" and eventually found a home at the Science Centre.

The brief video above was made a few years ago and provides a great tour of the Afternoon Tea Train at the Science Centre.

The Ontario Science Centre is featuring an exhibit of  "Dream Machines: The Art of Rowland Emett" from December 20th through to January 11th (closed Christmas Day). We have confirmed that Wisteria Halt itself is part of the display this year.

For more Science Centre information, click here.

Click on each image for a closer look!

Wisteria Halt Cartoon by Rowland EmetT

Wysteria Halt on a Bridge in England

15" Gauge Rowland Emett Train in 1951