The new display includes CP 5500 which received Cultural Property Designation on 15 Dec 2003.

7 November 2011

New Diesel Era Displays at Revelstoke Railway Museum

Revelstoke British Columbia - Come and celebrate the diesel era at the Revelstoke Railway Museum as we usher in new heritage rolling stock!
 
Join us at the Revelstoke Railway Museum on Wednesday, 9 Nov 2011, to witness the placement of six new heritage pieces of railway equipment in our outdoor exhibit area.
 
The move is the final stage of years of planning to augment current exhibits by adding an early diesel locomotive and era-appropriate rolling stock to present a broader interpretation of our region's railway history. With these exhibits, the museum will be able to represent not only the steam era but also the impact of diesel technology on the development of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The equipment was donated by the Canadian Pacific Heritage Equipment Committee and has waited patiently in the Revelstoke division's K-yard until the track was laid this summer in preparation for its transfer to the museum property.
 
The diesel locomotive, CP 5500, is significant in that it was the first SD-40 model locomotive produced by General Motors Diesel Division in London, Ontario, for North America and delivered to the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1965. The SD-40 model was the second generation of diesel power that would carry the company into the latter part of the 20th Century. CP 5500 received Cultural Property Designation on 15 Dec 2003.
 
Following the diesel will be a robot car, coal car, box car, tank car, and a double track snow plow. As its name suggests, the robot car is a "remote control radio sending and receiving unit" that housed equipment used to communicate between locomotives in a train consist. The coal car is the first of the 349000 series of steel gondolas to be preserved in a museum setting having been introduced in 1969 and just recently taken out of service. The significance of snow removal on the railway will be further illustrated by the double track plow that will compliment the single track wedge plow already part of the museum's collection. The newly added equipment will be displayed on 136 pound rail laid on concrete ties, another stage of development in railway construction and innovation to be included in the museum's interpretation of railway history.
 
On 9 Nov 2011, the day begins with final track preparation and the consist of rolling stock, now lined up and ready in CP's Revelstoke yard, will be pushed along the main line and rolled into place on the museum property by early afternoon.
 
The Revelstoke Railway Museum is extremely grateful to many individuals and organizations who have assisted with the project over many years, including CP, the City of Revelstoke, BC Community Gaming, Columbia Basin Trust, the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, Ed Jaatteenmaki, Dennis Holdener, Downie Mills, museum board members and staff, local contractors and suppliers, and many more.
 
Jennifer Dunkerson.