Visit & Tour 2008 - (Page 15) Tourism Services & St. Thomas Times-Journal, February 2008 • www.elgintourist.com St. Thomas 15 Elgin County Railway Museum20 years old! 20 years! Hard to believe, but it is 20 years since a group of St.Thomas citizens gathered in Cliff Chaplow’s barbershop and laid the groundwork for the Elgin County Railway Museum. Founded in 1988, the railway museum features an extensive collection of locomotives, cabooses, rolling stock, and other artifacts, including a model railway that recall the city’s railway history which dates to 1856 with the opening of the London and Port Stanley Railway. The collection began when John Wise, the M.P. at the time, helped the museum acquire Canadian National locomotive 5700 from the National Museum of Science and Technology (now the Canadian Science and Technology Museum). It’s a huge steam Engine that was assigned to mainland passenger trains between Toronto and Montreal, and Toronto and Sarnia. You’ll find the museum in the former Michigan Central Railroad shops off Wellington Street at Fifth Avenue. With its large overhead cranes, it once was the locomotive repair shop in a huge complex of buildings running along the Canada Southern Railway, and later the Michigan Central and New York Central Railroads between Windsor and Niagara Falls.Today the red brick building is one of the last historic railway buildings that still stands in the city. The museum is open seven days a week from Victoria Day weekend until Labour Day. During the rest of the year it is closed except for special tours made by appointment. It is unheated in winter. Day Out With Thomas is being hosted by the museum again this year, and will be held at the St. Thomas-Elgin Memorial Centre on July 18,19, & 20 and 25, 26,27. In addition to train rides behind Thomas, there will be entertainment and all sorts of activities. For ticket information and other information, please call 519-6376284 or visit the website at http://www.ecrm5700.org So much to offer merely minutes away Southwestern Ontario’s Elegant Country Inn & Conference Centre • Convenient location • Free high-speed internet • Peaceful surroundings & a relaxed environment • 70 newly renovated guest rooms • On-site restaurant & bar • Beautifully appointed meeting and ballrooms • Full-service catering • Free continental breakfast • Complimentary parking Come in and see the differences since we started in 1988. See interesting displays of railway equipment and artifacts. The museum is open from Victoria Day till Labour Day from 10:00 am till 4:00 pm. Admission is $4 Phone or check the website for directions. F ood & Wine lovers can enjoy a glass of wine from our handpicked wine list, linger over lunch or experience an intimate dinner at Pasto's, our gourmet restaurant. Phone: 519-637-6284 • Website: www.ecrm5700.org Stoneridge Inn & Conference Centre 6675 Burtwistle Lane, Hwy 401 & Hwy. 4, London, Ontario N6L 1H5 Tel: 519-652-6022 Fax: 519-652-1150 Toll Free: 1-888-471-BEST (2378) www.stoneridgeinn.com Wellington Street, just west of First Avenue in St. Thomas http://www.elgintourist.com http://www.ecrm5700.org http://www.ecrm5700.org http://www.stoneridgeinn.com http://www.ecrm5700.org http://www.stoneridgeinn.com
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