A big thank you to

for
the gifting of the 200+ item collection of the
now-closed
Calgary & Edmonton Railway Station Museum
to the Forth Junction Heritage Society in September 2018
This collection is currently on
loan to the
Innisfail Historical Village
until the
Forth Junction Heritage Society can build a facility to exhibit and
interpret these artifacts and the history of the Calgary &
Edmonton Railway (1890 to 1907) as
part of a planned transportation-themed group of attractions in
a family-oriented rail park in the Red Deer - Innisfail area.
The
artifacts and materials in the Calgary & Edmonton (1891) Station
Museum Collection were originally acquired by the Junior League of
Edmonton to display and preserve in its 1981 replication of the
original C & E combination station that stood in several communities
between the two cities including Strathcona, Red Deer, Innisfail,
Olds, Lacombe, Wetaskiwin, Airdrie, Carstairs and Leduc. None of
those stations have survived.
The Collection is illustrative of significant events, techniques,
personalities and surroundings in the history of the Calgary &
Edmonton station, the railway and the telegraph, concentrating on
the period of 1891 to 1907. The Forth Junction Heritage Society
intends to expand the research and interpretation of the C & E
Railway as well as to replicate at least one version of the original
station.
The Collection includes 23 items of station furniture and equipment
(including 4 8-foot benches, wall clock, wood-burning stove,
station-mounted semaphore signal, baggage cart, chairs and trunks),
41 items of other railway equipment (including various types of
lanterns, tools and containers), 22 items of office supplies, forms
and reference materials, 16 pieces of telegraph equipment, 18 pieces
of passenger train, dining and personnel supplies, 55
historic photographs, an art print, 27 articles of clothing and
personal items,
and 3 large display cases.
In addition, a few pieces not included in the collection but had
been loaned to the C&ER Station Museum have now been gifted to Forth
Junction Heritage Society including a large wall clock by the Legate
Family of Edmonton as well as a candlestick phone and station lamps
from the now closed Edmonton Historical Telephone Centre.
Transportation from Edmonton and temporary storage of the collection in the Red Deer area has
been made possible by a Culture Opportunities Grant of $2,950 from the City of
Red Deer.
This collection is now
on loan to the
Innisfail
& District Historical Village
at the Bowden
CPR station
for future display
See: The Plan for the 'Future
Re-Creation of the Calgary & Edmonton Railway Museum'
See: A comprehensive guide to the Calgary & Edmonton Railway 1891
Combination Station and Freight House -
'Mackenzie
and Mann influenced the design of Central Alberta's first railway
stations'
See: 'A
Study in Railway Architecture' - a planned series of
railway station replications
See: History of 'The
Calgary & Edmonton Railway'
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A section of rail from the original Calgary & Edmonton Railway
acquired through the co-operation of the Enderby BC Museum and
Canadian Pacific Railway is part of the Forth Junction Heritage
Society collection. The side of the rail is inscripted 'BV&Co 1890
C&ER'
The Society has also been gifted a switch lock from the former Red Deer CNR
yard by Skip Fuller of Red Deer,
telegraph equipment from
Olive Iddiols of Calgary and
a sculpture by Red Deer College student Melinda Setters from Rod
Trentham of Red Deer.
What we are
currently looking for:
We are currently looking primarily for any photographs and
plans related to
historic trails, railway infrastructure, trains and transit in
Central Alberta prior to 1985.
We are particularly interested in acquiring photos of the railways
in or near Red Deer:
along the Canadian Pacific Railway (formerly the Calgary &
Edmonton Railway)
between Calgary and Edmonton at Red Deer, CFB Penhold, Penhold,
Innisfail, Bowden, Olds, Didsbury, Carstairs, Crossfield, Airdrie,
Blackfalds, Lacombe, Morningside, Ponoka, Hobbema, Wetaskiwin,
Millet, Leduc and Strathcona;
along the Canadian Pacific Railway branchlines in Central
Alberta to the communities of Prentiss, Clive, Tees, Alix, Nevis,
Erskine, Stettler, Wimborne, Torrington;
along the former Alberta Central Railway (Canadian Pacific
between Red Deer and Rocky Mountain House) including Red Deer, Mintlaw, Sylvan
Lake, Benalto, Eckville, Hespero, Condor, Alhambra and
Rocky Mountain House/Lochearn;
along the former Lacombe and Northwestern Railway,
the former Lacombe and Blindman Valley Electric Railway
(Canadian Pacific between Lacombe and Leduc)including Gull Lake,
Bentley, Rimbey and Bluffton;
along
the former Canadian Northern Western Railway (Canadian National
between Mirror and Nordegg) including Red Deer, North Red Deer, Sylvan Lake, Eckville, Rocky Mountain House,
Nordegg/Brazeau, Burbank, Prentiss, Joffre, Alix, Mirror;
and along
the former Grand Trunk Pacific (Canadian National between
Mirror and Three Hills) including Mirror, Alix, Ardley, Delburne, Lousana, Elnora,
Huxley, Trochu.
Photos and plans of any railway stations that ever existed in
Red Deer County and photos of steam locomotives in Central
Alberta.
Photos of Bridges are especially welcome, especially the
Red Deer ACR, Red Deer CNR, Red Deer CPR, Mintlaw CPR, Horse
Guard/Medicine River CPR, North Saskatchewan Rocky Mountain House
CPR,
Briggs CNR, Blindman CNR, Blindman CPR and Ardley CNR.
Contact
fjpark1@shaw.ca
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