Throwback Thursday - On Display

Ontario Southland Railway locomotive 181 had been brought to St Thomas for Railway Days at the Elgin County Railway Museum in late August of 1999.

By Peter Mumby. 

At the time of the establishment of the Elgin County Railway Museum, the property was adjacent to a working CN yard.  This meant that when the museum held its semi-annual Railway Days, several tracks were available both for display and operation of equipment.  Having indirect interchange both with CP Rail and other CN lines meant that visiting units could be brought in for the duration of the show.  Of course, new additions to the collection could also be made using these same interchange routes.  CN has subsequently closed the yard, removed most of the trackage, and left the museum with no connection to the outside railway world.  Today the museum's only interchange partner is Port Stanley Terminal Rail.

At the time of today's photo (August 22, 1999), visiting units were still the norm on display days.  OSR RS 18u number 181, built by MLW in May 1958 as CP 8777, looks fresh and clean in the morning sun.  In a later post we will have to highlight the unit visible to the rear.