RAILROAD
Vancouver British Columbia - It comes with somewhat mixed feelings about this, but I'm happy to now be able to officially report that the National Railway Historical Society BC Chapter collection has officially been acquired by the Heber Valley Railway in Heber City Utah.
Four of the coaches loaded on TPDX flatcars are now ready to head South VIA BNSF.
The rest of the collection will follow in the coming months.
For the better part of fifty years the collection of coaches, and more recently ex-VIA FP9A 6300, have been dutifully acquired and attended to by founder of the NRHS BC Chapter, Terry Fergusson.
For the last 35 or so years the collection of coaches has been held indoors at the old Woodwards Warehouse in New Westminster that has ensured the collection maintain its pristine condition, with the exception of a few coaches that had to be stored outside.
Unfortunately time and politics have taken their toll, and it was time to find a new home for the collection, and the folks at Heber Valley Railway stepped up to provide that well deserved break and new home for the collection.
It is a large collection.
Larger than could be properly handled by lesser organizations, i.e., 1 locomotive, 23 coaches, 2 steam generator cars, and 1 boxcar.
Three of the coaches have already been disposed of, purchased by Canadian Pacific Railway to augment their business car fleet for parts.
The box car is to be scrapped.
The first of the coaches to leave the property is Coach 803 (Ex-CP Colonist Car 2806), Mount Cascade (Ex-SP Observation Lounge 2914), 301 (Ex-CNoR Combine 7244), and Lake Ontario (Ex-CP Sleeper-Buffet Lounge Lake Ontario).
The fleet is all road worthy, other than the fact all the coaches are equipped with plate wheels no longer authorized to be interchanged.
As such the coaches have to be carried to destination on appropriate flatcars.
The locomotive can travel on its own and will be the last to go since it's providing the power to switch cars around the warehouse tracks while the loading process takes place.
Finally, thanks are in order to my longtime friend and associate Terry Fergusson for maintaining this collection and all the lifetime of effort he has put into it.
This was his life!
It's sad to see things play out this way, but getting people on board to promote Canadian Heritage in the means required for this collection was a very difficult task.
Our heritage efforts by government and industry in this country are sadly lacking.
And so it goes to those who care at Heber Valley.
They have the means to ensure the longevity of this fine collection of railway history.
Our thanks and best wishes to them as well.
Andy Cassidy.
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