With the official opening of the city’s trails now past, George Longden, who has been heavily involved with the route, is looking to get two new displays set up.
One display is a photo exhibit on the kiosk itself, showing various photographs of trains and bridges, with a photo by Darrell J. Priede, the army photographer that the bridge is named after, in the centre.
The other is the old railroad tool shed, which will display artifacts from the era.
So, Longden is looking for two things. The first is people’s pictures of trains and bridges; the other is artifacts to make a museum display within the newly-restored tool shed.
“I’m working with the Boundary Museum Society on the tool shed,” he said.
The shed will have a wire mesh door, so people can see inside.
Longden said that he wants to bring the museum out into the community.
“I’m hoping to make this into a sort of teaching area,” he said, bringing up information such as the time trains started coming through Grand Forks: 1899.
He also said the black train bridge, for instance, started out as a wooden bridge and was later updated.
The artifacts for the shed will have to come from the people who have them.
“If people have artifacts they would like to display in the tool shed, the Boundary Museum would like to have them donated, but they will be placed here,” he said.
Longden said they are looking for any artifacts, but particularly for a specific type of hammer that was used to drive spikes in.
The hammer has a long narrow pointed end on it.
“I’ve had no success at finding it,” he said.
So far, Longden said he has an old shovel, a bucket of rail nails and an old metal lunch bucket to put into the shed.
The shed itself is the original structure; it was moved and refinished by the Woodworkers Guild and so Longden assumes that most of it dates back to 1913.
“It, in itself, is an artifact,” he said.
He also just finished sending off a letter to Canadian Pacific Railways asking for use of the property behind the Station Pub to continue the Trans Canada Trail.
“We’re trying to get the process started to get a route through the area behind the pub,” he said. “That’s still CPR property.”
If you missed the Boundary Museum Society’s recent annual general meeting, then you can email your pictures or contact Longden at g.longden@gmail.com.