19 June 2009
Plan to Refurbish Tourist Attraction Gains Steam
Canadian Pacific Railway 4-6-0
Ten-Wheeler D10 class number 1095 rusts away in Kingston, Ontario.
Kingston Ontario - The city will spend $70,000 to
refurbish a major tourist attraction in Confederation Basin, despite a bid by one city councillor to postpone the work.
Councillor Mark Gerretsen wanted to cut the spending to restore the Spirit of Sir John A. locomotive until a work plan is available.
That triggered a heated exchanged with his colleague, Councillor Bill Glover, the lone councillor on the city's heritage committee,
who called the mere thought of not spending any money on the locomotive in the park an assault on Kingston's history.
"That's what this is about, killing heritage in this city," Glover said.
"That's clearly not my motive," replied Gerretsen.
"I would say it is the consequence," Glover retorted.
The money for the project, contained in the city's capital budget, will be spent on shoring up some parts of the locomotive to make it
safe and create detailed drawings for a permanent shelter around the old locomotive.
City commissioner Cynthia Beach said the locomotive will eventually become unsafe in its current position and work needs to be done to
ensure that eventuality doesn't come to fruition. The city, she said, also needs to get detailed costs about refurbishing.
Take the site on which the Spirit of Sir John A. stands.
The jet-black locomotive, No. 1095, has been a fixture in Confederation Basin for more than four decades.
The locomotive came to life in 1913, built in Kingston at the site of the former Canadian Locomotive Company, which today is better
known as Block D on Ontario Street.
The engine criss-crossed the country for Canadian Pacific Railway, spending most of its time in Winnipeg before coming to
the end of its line in Montreal.
The Canadian Junior Chamber of Commerce, better known as simply the Jaycees, paid $10,000 for the locomotive as a gift to the city in
1966.
But over its four decades in the park across from City Hall, little if any work has been done to keep it in decent condition. A group
of volunteers came forward to restore the locomotive, aiming for the work to be completed by 2013, in time for the 100th birthday of
No. 1095.
The overall cost of the project is estimated to be nearly $500,000, the majority of which will be covered through
donations.
Some councillors weren't interested in spending the $70,000 this year without a detailed work plan.
"I can't support spending $1 million on that project," said Councillor Ed Smith. "I don't feel like putting the money
in the budget until we have a realistic plan."
Glover said the ties binding the locomotive to the track will decay in a few years, leaving the Spirit of Sir John A. at risk of
tipping over.
"The facts haven't changed," Glover said.
The locomotive is a focal point for tourists and an important piece of the city's heritage, Glover said.
"The way we treat 1095 is absolutely the way we... treat our heritage," Glover said.
Jordan Press.
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