A group of volunteers are restoring TH&B engine 103, a Consolidation (2-8-0 wheel arrangement) originally built in 1910 at the Montreal Locomotive Works (Builder's number 48837). The engine is now located in the Westfield Heritage Village near Rockton, Ontario. Charles Doubrough is looking for any engineering or other technical diagrams which may be helpful to his group in their restoration effort. You can contact Charles at the following address:
Charles[at]Doubrough.ca
(replace [at] in the e-mail address with @)
Number 103, originally number 52 and later number 72, had been selected from the TH&B roster for preservation in October 1956. The locomotive had been given an overhaul and a new paint job, recreating her original appearance (except for the road number). She was put on display in Gage Park and was later moved to Rockton for use in a Pioneer Village.
John Spring reported that 103 was "in derelict condition" in 1993. Charles and his fellow restorers have quite a job ahead of them, based on John's comment...perhaps you can help? Please contact Chuck if you feel that you can contribute some time or some money to help the restoration go ahead.
Click here to view the May 1997 newsletter.
Click here to view the August 1997 newsletter.
Click here to view the November 1997 update.
The restoration of Locomotive 103 is progressing well. Since we last met, staff and volunteers have located components from the locomotive that were stored throughout the buildings in the Village. In April, these parts were identified, recorded and are stored until we can begin restoration work.
We are in the process of preparing a work plan for the restoration project. The work plan will provide a clear goal of the restoration, the steps involved, and lay-out general guidelines for the project volunteers. We expect to have this prepared by mid-June, in time for the next meeting on June 17th.
Special thanks to everybody who has passed along information related to Locomotive 103, and the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway. We are still looking for any photos, plans or records that would come in handy during the restoration project.
With help from Dan Jianu, we now have a line drawing of the locomotive. This will help us keep track of all the pieces during cleaning and restoration. A shop drawing or blueprint for the locomotive would still help out quite a bit, so check all of your railway memorabilia. If you think you may have something we could use, please contact Charles Doubrough at (905) 389-8902.
We are looking for a shipping container to use as a temporary workshop/shelter. This would ideally be located near the locomotive to store tools and locomotive parts. If you know anybody who has access to a shipping container, please contact Darcy Baker at the Hamilton Region Conservation Authority, (905) 525-2181 ext.131.
We will have a volunteer orientation meeting at Westfield on Wednesday, June 17th, starting at 7:00 with a tour of the locomotive and Jerseyville Station. We will also be presenting the work plan at this meeting and scheduling dates to set-up the work area.
The restoration of locomotive 103 will be an interesting attraction for Westfield. Although we will be trying to screen most of the working activity from the rest of the Village, there may be quite a few visitors who want to know more about the project. If you think you have what it takes to answer questions and speak with the public, please contact Derek Firth, building parent for the Jerseyville Station, at (905) 385-1272.
On July 10th, a technician from Canadian Heritage visited Westfield to examine locomotive 103. Mr. George Prytulak, Conservator of Industrial Collections, has a wealth of knowledge about large artifacts and has consulted on locomotive restorations from Dawson City to St. John's. He will be preparing a report with detailed information about inventory procedures, cleaning parts, and surface treatments.
The information from Mr. Prytulak will form part of the work plan, which will be presented at the August 19th meeting.
The next volunteer meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 19th, starting at 7:00. As usual, the meeting will be held in the Ironwood at Westfield.
We will be presenting the work plan, and scheduling the first of many work groups beginning at the end of August.
Westfield will become a battleground on August 9th and 10th as Civil War re-enactors gather for the Battle of Chancellorsville 1863.
This annual event attracts thousands of visitors over the two-day weekend. The program begins at 10:00 am and goes until 4:30 pm. Admission is $6.50 for adults, $3.25 for children (6-12 years), and $5.25 for senior/handicapped. Children under 6 years are admitted free.
The caboose will be moved out from behind the station to block the view of the locomotive work area. Since it will be more visible from the Village we want it to look its best!
It has been several years since the TH&B caboose received a fresh coat of paint. Volunteers are needed to help scrape and prepare the caboose for painting. We also need a few people who are handy with a paint brush. If you can spare some time to work on this project, please contact Darcy Baker at (905) 525-2181 (ext.131).
We are going to begin bringing volunteers onto the site to start working on the locomotive. This project is unlike any other we have undertaken at Westfield, but we are lucky enough to have a large group of enthusiastic volunteers.
It would be nice to have everybody out, all the time, but realistically we have to start small and build toward larger groups. A work schedule will be passed around at the next meeting. We are hoping to begin with groups of 12 volunteers, and see how things go.
An original painting of Locomotive 103 has been commissioned from renound artist Larry Fischer. A limited number of prints will be produced for sale to the public. The proceeds from prints sold by the Conservation Foundation will go toward the restoration project.
More information about pricing and dates will be available at the August meeting.
"We have been very busy with removal of most of the piping under the boiler and the cab of the engine. It was recommended by Mr Prytulak Conservator of Industrial Collections that all openings be sealed before winter sets in. This is being attended to as we speak. A large amount of parts have been removed and stored at the museum. We will be cleaning these items in preparation for re installation in the future. That will be one of our main jobs over the winter months. The other aquisition is a 40 foot trailer that we have located behind the Jerseyville station. This will give us a work area out of the wind and a place to store and lock our tools.
"It is not all work though, we have our coffee break in the TH&B caboose which is heated slightly by our little electric heater. Naturally the conversation turns to railways somewhere along the line.
"We have a small group of dedicated people who come out most Saturdays and Tuesdays and it has made a big difference to the appearance of the locomotive and we have all learned a bit more about steam locomotives and our favorite railway.
"We are still looking for more help out there, so if anyone is interested in coming out to see what we are doing, just give me a call."
(signed)
Charles Doubrough
(905) 389-8902