The Niagara Railway Museum (formerly the Niagara Falls Railway Museum) is a railway museum located in Fort Erie, Ontario. Founded in 1997, it was created to help preserve and promote the railway history of the Niagara region.
History The museum's collection initially began in 1994, and was made up of various photographs and railway paperwork. In August 1996, they purchased their first rail vehicle, an ex-Canadian Pacific Railway track motorcar. The museum itself was founded by Ken S. Jones in 1997, as the Niagara Falls Railway Museum.
In 2001, Canadian Pacific donated three of their heritage 40 foot long boxcars to the museum, which were sent to Welland in December, before being put in storage at Brookfield Siding in the CP' Fort Erie subdivision a few months later, eventually arriving to the museum in October 2003. In 2006, the museum acquired their first steam locomotive, HEPC #46, which had been used to construct the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Station in the early 1920s and was the last surviving locomotive from the station's construction.
In March 2010, the museum relocated to the Canadian National Railway's former diesel workshop in Fort Erie, which had been built in the early 1950s, and was at one point one of the busiest industrial yards in Canada, before being decommissioned in 1989. On top of restoring the workshop, museum members also relayed track outside the workshop, which had been removed after its decommissioning.
In July 2023, two ex-JŽ class 62 locomotives were donated to the museum by Marineland, which had originally been acquired from Yugoslav Railways in 1981 by the park's founder John Holer for a proposed train ride at the park, making it one of only two places in Ontario with at least four steam locomotives, along with the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa.
Collection Locomotives Number & name Type Builder Built Status Notes46 (48)Cooke Locomotive and Machine WorksSeptember 1920Under cosmetic restorationBuilt to help with the construction of the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Station.H.K. Porter, Inc.July 1943On static displayFireless locomotive.62-118JŽ Class 62 Đuro Đaković1955On static displayOriginally purchased by Marineland from Yugoslav Railways in 1981, donated to the museum in July 2023.62-129JŽ Class 62 Đuro Đaković1955On static displayOriginally purchased by Marineland from Yugoslav Railways in 1981, donated to the museum in July 2023.GE 25-ton switcher GE TransportationJanuary 1948OperationalBuilt for Iroquois Construction.11GE 50-ton switcher GE TransportationSeptember 1954OperationalBuilt for National Steel Car.E-7 (102)50-ton electric National Steel Car and Westinghouse Electric Corporation1919Under cosmetic restorationBuilt for the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario.MDT 40-ton switcher Plymouth Locomotive WorksMarch 1953Under restorationBuilt for the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario in Niagara Falls. Donated to the museum by Babcock & Wilcox in 2007.66-ton Vulcan Iron WorksApril 1937On display2 ft gauge locomotive, built for Inco's operations in Port Colborne. Privately owned, used for parts.86-ton Vulcan Iron Works1945Under restoration2 ft gauge locomotive, built for Inco's operations in Port Colborne. Privately owned.
Rolling stock Number & name Type Builder Built Original railway Status NotesX-759 (3775)Carpenters Boarding CarNational Steel Car1913Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo RailwayUnder restoration401258 (50721)40ft steel boxcarCanadian Car and FoundrySeptember 1956Canadian Pacific RailwayArtifact display car401639 (57600)40ft steel boxcarNational Steel CarMay 1960Canadian Pacific RailwayWorkshop and storage car5797440ft steel boxcarNational Steel CarJune 1960Canadian Pacific RailwayDisplay and store car2676GondolaNational Steel CarFebruary 1966Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo RailwayUnder cosmetic restoration56323CabooseCanadian National Railway1935Canadian National RailwayUnder restoration56452Snow flangerGrand Trunk RailwayDecember 1923Grand Trunk RailwayAwaiting restorationFrames and bogies onlyIngot carOn display2 ft 6 in gauge car
Motorcars Number & name Type Builder Built Original railway Status Notes21ESylvester Steel ProductsCanadian National RailwayUnder restorationPrivately owned.187-49A-4DFairmont Railway MotorsAugust 1981Canadian National RailwayIn storage, out of service191-55A-4DFairmont Railway MotorsCanadian National RailwayIn storage, parts onlyA-4DFairmont Railway MotorsCanadian National RailwayIn storage, parts only189-34A-4DFairmont Railway MotorsCanadian National RailwayOn display, under restoration2700-19CBIWoodings Railcar Limited1985Canadian Pacific RailwayOn displayPrivately owned1702 77CR-7AFairmont Railway MotorsToronto, Hamilton and Buffalo RailwayIn storagePrivately owned"Dale"M14Fairmont Railway Motors1940sChesapeake and Ohio RailwayOn displayM19Fairmont Railway Motors1950sCanadian National RailwayIn service, on display1701 63M19Fairmont Railway MotorsToronto, Hamilton and Buffalo RailwayIn storagePrivately ownedM9gFairmont Railway Motors1950sCanadian National RailwayOn displayPrivately owned
Maintenance of way vehicles Number & name Type Builder Built Original railway Status NotesCraneBert Pyke LtdCanadian Pacific RailwayOut of service, storedPrivately owned.Gang trailerFairmont Railway MotorsCanadian National RailwayUnder restorationMOW 01Heavy steel lorieRailcar Canada1980sCanadian National RailwayIn service, storedHi Rail truckGMC1987Norfolk Southern Railway (ex-Trillium Railway)OperationalMOW 02Metal lorieSylvester Manufacturing Company1980sCanadian National RailwayIn service, storedMOW 03Metal lorieRailcar Canada1980sCanadian National RailwayIn service, storedPassenger trailerFairmont Railway MotorsIn serviceSingle stone grinderNordberg Manufacturing Company1939Canadian National RailwayOperational, on displayPrivately owned.MOW 4Wood lorieFairmont Railway Motors1960sCanadian National RailwayUnder restoration
Other exbibits 2TMA Trackmobile, built in 1970 by the Whiting Corporation in Harvey, Illinois for Kennecott Utah Copper. Operational. Motive Power Tractor #456, built by Pettibone and Mercury Truck & Tractor Company for the Canadian National Railway. Out of service, on display. The cab of GMD F7 #9173
References
External links Official website