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TORONTO HAMILTON &
BUFFALO |
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LOCOMOTIVE
RESTORATION |
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A short history of the TH&B locomotive
#103 |
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Locomotive #103 is a 2-8-0 Consolidation type steam
locomotive, built in 1910 by the Montreal Locomotive Works. It
operated in South Central Ontario until 1956, when it was retired and
put on display in Gage Park in Hamilton Ontario. The engine and
tender sat in the park unsheltered for 21 years. It was
maintained by the Hamilton Parks Department and a group of volunteers from
the Upper Canada Railway Society for that time period. It
suffered extensive damage over those years and finally Westfield
Pioneer Village offered to purchase it from the Parks Board for
$1.00.
On January 17th, 1977 the locomotive was moved to
Westfield Pioneer Village near Rockton Ontario. The trip took two
days and two one hundred ton floats. Two fifty ton cranes
were used to lift the engine and tender onto the floats and the same
equipment to off-load it on the new site. The locomotive is now
positioned with the TH&B caboose #58, built in 1907 and the
Jerseyville station built in 1897. Down the track from the station is
the Summit tool house which contains a four man hand car.
Other than the locomotive all the TH&B equipment is in good
condition and we felt it was now time to do the same with the
103.
In the fall of 1997 a small group of volunteers were
formed with the idea of refurbishing the 103 for static display. After
over forty years of minimum maintenance a lot work was expected
before the job would be completed. With financial help from the
Friends of Westfield, the Conservation Foundation of Hamilton and
Westfield Heritage Village, it was hoped to
be completed by the end of 2000. The job was definitely bigger than anyone
expected and here in 2004 we look forward to it's completion in May
of 2005 when we hope to have our official completion ceremony.
There will still be many small jobs to do, so If anyone in the Hamilton area is interested in helping us
complete the project we would be pleased to
hear from them. Just send me an email or visit us on any Saturday at
Westfield....
Charles Doubrough
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The TH&B 103 in Gage Park before 1977. |
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Removing the cab on a cold day in January 1999. |
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Our volunteer crew hard at it.. |
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The 103 as it looked when it arrived in Westfield in
1977. |
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Associated Links:
GRAND
TRUNK RAILWAY OF CANADA ( Pictorial of Stratford Motive Power Shops)
BLASTERMASTER (Contributors to the 103 restoration)
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Rededication Day
for TH&B 103 was held on
Page by C Doubrough
