Innisfail Model Rail Exhibit - preview for Alberta Central Historic Model Rail Project

Alberta Central
Historical Model Rail Project
Innisfail Exhibit

Ground Transportation
Heritage Preservation

The Innisfail Historical Village Model Rail Exhibit
A miniature replication of the history of the railway in Innisfail -
a preview of the much larger Alberta Central Historical Model Rail Project.

In August 2008 the Innisfail Historical Society was looking for ideas for a railway theme in the Bowden CPR station which had been relocated to the Innisfail Historical Village in 1974.

They had heard of the proposal for the Alberta Central Historical Model Rail Project and requested a proposal of a modified version to demonstrate the history of Innisfail. The former freight shed portion of the station building (about 600 sq. ft.) was being used to display miscellaneous artifacts and was not heated at the time.
small public display layout
A proposal was submitted to the historical society to develop the space as Phase One of the historical model rail project in a 2-level layout in N scale using two different time periods, focusing on the history of Innisfail and Bowden with the possible addition of Penhold and a diorama of the Mintlaw trestle.

Innisfail in the 1890s Ultimately, the society decided to go with three single level period layouts showing Innisfail in 1892, 1910 and 1960.

Innisfail model rail exhibit During the winter of 2008-2009, work was done to prepare the space for the new exhibit that included adding heat to the building, building the initial benchwork for the layouts and creating a facade of a CPR tuscan red passenger car to be used as the viewing panel for two of the layouts. A lot of the work was done by inmates from the Bowden Institution nearby.
model RR display Innisfail
A sneek preview took place during the summer of 2009 and the work continued over the winter on two of the layouts to be revealed to the public in May 2010. The 1892 layout is expected to be completed in the future.

News article: New exhibits call Historical Village home (Innisfail Province May 2010)
News article: 'Sleeper' village grand opening set (Red Deer Advocate May 2010)

1892 - The beginning of a regional centre    1913 - The headiness of rapid expansion    1939 - The glory days of passenger service
1955 - A year of transition and change     1986 - Modernization and rail relocation     Future - High speed rail and regional transit
Innisfail Historical Model Rail Exhibit         Historic Model Railway Concept      World-Class Model Rail Museums

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