The Spirit of Sir John A. at rest in Kingston - Google Street View.

14 June 2011

Work Begins on Spirit of Sir John A. Train Foundation

Kingston Ontario - Work to prepare the new foundation for "The Spirit of Sir John A." begins this week in Confederation Park. The work on the new home for this icon of Kingston's industrial past is scheduled to be completed over the course of the summer with the move the engine itself expected to take place in mid-August.
 
Pipefitters Local 221 will soon be removing the Engine's tender box and cab for off-site restoration.
 
Next, the City will be shutting off service and relocating the Pay and Display machine ahead of excavation of the foundation site for the proposed new permanent home for Engine 1095, about eight metres from where it now stands.
 
Then, near the end of the month, caissons (a watertight structure used to work on foundations) will be installed to support a concrete grade beam foundation. Following the caisson installation, the rest of the site will be excavated and the foundation will be constructed using precast railway ties and steel rail.
 
All work involving digging will be attended by an environmental team and an archeologist.
 
Engine 1095 provides a crucial link to the City's industrial past having been built by the Canadian Locomotive Company Ltd. (CLC).
 
Formerly located on the Kingston waterfront, CLC was a major supplier of locomotives to the CPR, delivering nearly one-third of its fleet over a number of decades and making it Canada's second largest commercial builder at the time. Engine 1095 was one of the last batch of Ten Wheeler 4-6-0 class D10h to be built by CLC.
 
This project helps tell the story of Kingston's living history, one of the objectives of the Kingston Culture Plan available at www.cityOfKingston.ca/kcp.
 
Stay up-to-date on the restoration and move of The Spirit of Sir John A. at www.cityOfKingston.ca/1095.
 
Heather Denise.