Ex-Canadian Pacific Railway 4-4-0 Standard back at work in Tottenham.

19 August 2011

Historic Steam Engine Back on the Rails Four Years and $150,000 Later

Tottenham Ontario - A piece of railway history is back in service in Tottenham.
 
Steam engine 136 returned to the rails this summer after undergoing a partial rebuild over the past four years.
 
For the past couple of Sundays, and for the annual "Flavours in the Field" event this past weekend, the historic engine 136 has brought people through the countryside from Tottenham to Beeton and back again.
 
Since it was taken out of commission in 2007, the boiler has been rebuilt and the jacket (the black metal covering the boiler) was replaced. The paint has also been brushed up, with gold leaf being used on the outside for some of the detail work.
 
"Really it's not finished yet, it still needs some other work done on it," said Eric Smith, South Simcoe Railway president.
 
Earlier this month, Smith said they took the locomotive on some test runs and deemed it fit to return to the South Simcoe Railway trip rotation.
 
For now, the steam engine is bringing people on the five-mile journey on Sundays and on holiday Mondays.
 
Restoration efforts have been challenging given the age of the locomotive.
 
At one time, Smith said there were 20 places in Canada to order parts from, but that's not the case today.
 
"We can't get parts, we had to have everything specially made," Smith said.
 
It takes time to have those pieces specially ordered. For example, Smith said ordering 18, 20-foot steel pieces from Oklahoma took a year.
 
Manpower is also a problem.
 
When the Canadian Pacific Railway rebuilt the engine, there would have been 200 tradesmen doing the work, which likely would have taken about 30 days.
 
Today, however, Smith said there aren't as many people working on the engine's repairs.
 
So far, it's cost $150,000 to rebuild engine 136. There's still work to be done on it and the South Simcoe Railway has a second locomotive, engine 1057, which needs attention as well.
 
The restoration work was done under Smith's watch.
 
He searched for and secured the parts and directed the dedicated group of local volunteers, who he noted all have day jobs.
 
Engine 136 was originally built in 1883 by Canadian Pacific and has been in Tottenham since 1985. Its first ride for on the South Simcoe Railway was in 1992.
 
While it's a lot of work to keep it in working order, Smith said it's all for the families.
 
He said train enthusiasts will stop in for a photo of the steam engine, but it's the family's that hop onboard. There's not much volunteers at the railway won't do for its passengers. Each trip is narrated and recently the volunteers even worked with a man wanting to propose to his girlfriend on the train.
 
It was worked out and marked ahead of time where Smith would stop the train and a sign was hung on the fence. Luckily for the man, she said yes.
 
The South Simcoe Railway season runs until the weekend after Thanksgiving (16 Oct 2011). During the season, trains operate on all Sundays and holiday Mondays. For the rest of this month there are trains operating on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. There are four departure times, 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., and 3 p.m.
 
For regular trips, the cost is $13 for adults, $11 for seniors, and $8 for children 15 years and under. Babies under three years not occupying a seat are fee.
 
Maija Hoggett.