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  Canadian Pacific rail bridge downtown Red Deer

Forth Junction Project
Our Current Collections
and Collections Policy

 
Forth Junction Project Vision Sharing Historical Perspective Ground Transportation
Heritage Preservation
Forth Junction
Heritage Society

Current Rail Heritage Preservation

Why Forth Junction?

Mintlaw Linear Park Proposal

Collection

 
A big thank you to
 


Now-closed C&E Railway Station Museum in south Edmontonfor 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.
 
Red Deer combination station 1891The 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'
 


original C&ER rail 1890A 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.
 


Our Current Collection:

     Summary List of FJHS Collection
     Detailed Section 1 - Railway Station Furniture & Equipment
     Detailed Section 2 - Railway Equipment
     Detailed Section 3 - Office (Supplies, Forms, Reference Materials)
     Detailed Section 4 - Telegraph Equipment

   

         Detailed Section 5 - Onboard, Dining & Rail Personnel (coming soon)
         Detailed Section 6 - Photos and Art (coming soon)
         Detailed Section 8 - Clothing & Personal Items (coming soon)

 

The process of cataloguing is a work in progress and subject to major adjustments
These links will be updated as this process continues.

 

A comprehensive collections policy has been developed and adopted
  

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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