Canadian National #6213's First Move since 1960

While not under her own power, she is moving from her long term spot in the midst of a concrete parking lot, where she has spent the better part of 50 years to a new home at the former Canadian Pacific Railway John Street Roundhouse, home to the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre, opening in 2010.


CNR 6213 in her pen at the CNE in 2004. She has been kept in very good shape by a small team of volunteers who have cleaned and painted her over her 50 years here. When delivered she came straight from the roundhouse down a specially laid spur which was then taken up after delivery.


Split from her tender, with it loaded on a trailer behind, #6213 still makes an imposing site up on the specially built trailer to move her from the CNE to her new home.


Sitting with her empty pen in front of her.

The move was scheduled to occur this week, but concerns over road loadings have delayed it a week, tentatively scheduled for late night next Wednesday/Thursday and Thursday/Friday, I hope i will be able to get out and get some pictures of that as well.

It is hoped and believed by the Toronto Railway Historical Association that 6213 has been well enough cared for over the years, that despite 50 years outdoors she could potentially be restored to operation, and after the move assessments will be made as to the state of the boiler to begin a fund raising drive at some future date.

For more on the TRHA and the Heritage Centre: http://www.trha.ca/

For more pictures of #6213 before she left her pen and ready to move on my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55976115@N00/tags/6213/

 

Good to see a fine looking machine being looked after -- going to the dark side I see -- the CPR roundhouse ! ahem .

cheers Richard

 

LOL, a Roundhouse and Turntable, regardless of who built it is a better home than a parking lot!!! The first phase of the move went off in the wee hours of Thursday morning, with the Tender arriving at Roundhouse park at 2:45am. The main move of the rest of the Loco is still on hold to early next week while the City Engineers review the route and a number of underground structures it has to pass over to reach the roundhouse.

I wasn't able to get out for the tender's move, but there are pics on the TRHA's website http://www.trha.ca/news.html

 

Glad things are starting to move... Literally! Where, exactly, was 6213's "pen"?

I am guessing the roundhouse is the one that houses the Steam Whistle brewery? I saw the roundhouse from the top of the CN tower when they were first building the dome and wondered then whether anything would be left for posterity. Glad it was and may well find another visit in order next year.

Is the signal box still there? (Think its called a switching tower in CA?)

 

The "Pen" was at the Canadian National Exhibition Grounds on the Toronto Waterfront, encircled on three sides by a concrete parking lot, and on the fourth by a heritage building called Stanley Barracks which used to house the Toronto Maritime Museum, which moved in 2000 and is now closed (though i think there are still street signs pointing people to it at the CNE.

Yes, the CPR John Street Roundhouse is the home of Steam Whistle Brewing (who have used the roundhouse and railway theme in all their marketing, their tap handles are turned aluminum in the shape of a locomotive whistle). When Skydome was built, the CNR Spadina Street Roundhouse was demolished as it was sited where the Dome is now, in its prime Toronto had complete Roundhouses for both the CNR and CPR right next door to each other. Anyone familiar with Flying Scotsmans winter in exile in Canada when Alan Pegler ran out of money will know she was a resident of the now demolished Spadina Roundhouse for the winter. I found a link to a shot online (not mine) of the two when they were still in operation in the Pre-CN Tower days http://media.photobucket.com/image/toro ... padina.jpg John Street which survives is cut off at the left side, Spadina St is in the middle of the image.

Steam Whistle has Stalls 1-14, the Toronto Railway Historical Society has 15-17 and Leon's Furniture is opening a store in Stalls 18-32 when the restoration is complete. Along with the Roundhouse and the restored 120foot turntable, the Concrete Coaling Tower shell remains, though in a different position than when the site was operational (no coal shoots or other equipment is installed at least, i don't know if it survives elsewhere) and a water tower surviving on site as original structures. The Signalbox, Cabin D which was stored behind the roundhouse has been moved out front to form part of the Heritage Centre and is being restored, as is the Don River station which has been moved to the site from another Heritage Centre in Toronto where it was moved for preservation many years ago. A level crossing keepers cabin is also on site and being restored.

I work two blocks away from the Roundhouse, i will try to run over at lunch and take some pictures of the construction around the Roundhouse and post them for you to see.

-Stephen

 

Glad to see progress , hope things go well with the city for the move of the loco , agree entirely that a roundhouse is better than a parking lot, had to get the CN to CP dig! - will the turntable be operable?
As part of the heritage movement in Canada always glad to see some positive moves to promoting the history of railways .
Any pictures you can get will be gladly received.

cheers Richard

 

The table is already operational, they were giving Turntable rides on the Doors Open Toronto Weekend of May 23-24 using a speeder car and a new custom built wagon for passengers. You can't see it from my shots, but you can from some of the ones on the TRHA website, there are new glass walls on the sides of the table for safety purposes.

Two shots, tough to get anything good at the moment with all the construction going on and the fences up.





I also tracked down the master plan image for the Roundhouse site on the TRHA website


http://www.trha.ca/2009/01/roundhouse-p ... -plan.html

 

Wow - never thought I'd see tracks there! It seemed like a site that desperately wanted to celebrate its heritage but was always at the door of the developer and never quite getting the funding it should. Glad its getting a positive outcome.

 

Thanks SG for posting the shots & site map , I did learn something from your earlier posts , never realised the CP & CN depots were so close to one another , I did visit the CN depot back in 1974 when it was in full use , it even had CN 6060 in the roundhouse, but never went to the CP depot, thought that it was situated out of town further - oh well missed that one, but good to see the structure still there -- hope to visit some time when I'm next in the ' Center of Canada' .

cheers Richard

 

Update, its 4:30 in the morning, having been up since 6:00am yesterday for work at my day job, being at work till 10:30 in the evening, taking an hours break for dinner and then down to the Waterfront, i tailed 6213 for the first 3/4 of her journey. I can happily report that aside from a tighter than hoped turn out of the parking lot, she has reached the home stretch. Two tight turns to get to the unloading point at the roundhouse are all thats left. Sadly, for me, i need a couple of hours sleep to go back to work in the morning.

Pictures as soon as i can post some.

 

I can report that 6213 safely completed her journey last night and is awaiting unloading in the next couple of days at Roundhouse Park.

A Couple of Pictures


The tight turn from the parking lot to Newfoundland Drive.


Onto the Lakeshore, off the Exhibition on her way to Roundhouse Park across the road from the CN Tower.


Under the overhead streetcar wires which have been lifted by a TTC Crew at Lakeshore Blvd and Bathurst St.


More from the night at my Flickr (a few yet to be posted as well):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55976115@N ... 13bigmove/

 

Thanks SG for sharing the photo's & your dedication to getting them in the middle of the night -- so guess there is no traffic in downtown Toronto after 10pm !!!!

cheers Richard

 

Cool pictures, you say the musuem opens next year ?

May add that to a travel plan !

 

The last shot is very cool.

 

That is my understanding. I am going to my first work party at the Roundhouse tomorrow morning, so i may have a better idea after that. If you come to Toronto, let me know, we can have a beer or hopefully i will be able to give you the grand tour of the Railway Museum once its open!

-Stephen

 

Just an update on work at the John Street Roundhouse and on 6213.

I spent my Saturday last weekend in the Cab of 6213 repairing the display wiring so that we can plug her in and light the lamps, marker lights and numberboards for display purposes (Media Event this past Monday). Not a bad way to spend only your second Saturday volunteering with the association, and i had a steady stream of visitors to the Cab as everyone else on site wanted to come by and visit to Cab 6213, it was her first working session day unloaded at the Roundhouse and the first chance for most in the TRHA to cab her. Shots of the Fireman's and Engineers sides of the cab below (opposite sides of the cab for those of you only used to UK cab positions)



And, as 6213 spent the weekend inside Stall 15 of the Roundhouse, it was the first time in 49 years that she didn't get wet when it rained!!! The shot below shows her inside with the lights on after i was done repairing the wiring.



As well, this week the work on laying the main 2000 foot running line for the 7,1/4 inch gauge Miniature Railway will commence, along with a possible Steam Test of the new locomotive being built for the line as she has passed all her boiler inspections and received a certificate from the Technical Standards and Safety Authority that the Boiler is good to go.

And finally, for all of you in the UK, just to let you know, the Health and Safety types have decreed that starting this weekend we need to wear High Vis vests when doing site work around the Roundhouse! So i guess on that count we are catching up with you as well!!

 

Excellent news - thanks for the update. The fact that they now want you in hi-vis means you must have made enough progress to start injuring yourselves with moving vehicles!

 

Great to see shots of inside the cab -- does anyone have the missing guages? -- would be nice to see cab complete, but realise it can get expensive sourcing all the needed bits .
We have the same scenario , everyone wants to get up to the cab - then the questions, what is that for , what does that do !!
Keep up the good work , nice to see progress on a Canadian loco

cheers Richard

 

As far as i know, everything was removed for safekeeping during her time at the Ex to prevent theft. I don't know when we will see the backhead restored with all the fittings, but i understand that it is in the cards at some point.