Welcome aboard the Sharbot Lake caboose

Sep 01, 2011

Photo: CF Railway Heritage Society chair Sally Angle with Sheesham and Lotus

Town Crier, Paddy O'Connor, gave the official “All Aboard!” cry at the grand opening of Sharbot Lake caboose at the Railway Heritage Park on August 28.

It was a long day coming; in fact it was over one decade ago that the Central Frontenac Heritage Railway Society, whose mandate was to preserve the railway heritage of Sharbot Lake, was formed.

After many fundraisers and countless donations from the community, there now sits on a line of track at the park the newly refurbished Sharbot Lake caboose, which arrived in Sharbot Lake from VanKleek Hill in May 2010. Now freshly painted and boasting a brand new set of steps leading up to her steel deck, the caboose can now invite the public to peruse the multiple railway artifacts, photos and written histories that it now houses on permanent display.

Mayor Janet Gutowski congratulated all of the members of the society, past and present on behalf of the community and her colleagues for their fine work and then introduced C.F. Railway Heritage Society Chair, Sally Angle, who introduced members of the society. Angle thanked all of the generous donors from the community and also acknowledged two grants, one from the County's Economic Development Fund, and the second from the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, which both helped with the project.

Official Sharbot Lake Station Master, Gary Cooke, whose personal railway memorabilia collection was the original impetus for creating a museum to preserve the area’s railway heritage, cut the ribbon, along with Mayor Janet Gutowski, to much fanfare and applause.

Gary had worked on the railroad for 30 years as a section man, and his collection is now permanently housed in the caboose.

Guest musicians Sheesham and Lotus struck up the band with a fabulous set of their train-inspired banjo, fiddle and harmonica tunes, which struck the perfect railway heritage chord.

Sally Angle was thrilled with the turnout and said the response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive.

What's next for the society? “Right now we are just going to consolidate what we have here now; there are a few more renovations that need doing so we will continue to fund raise to complete them. We are also hoping to get a grant to enable us to hire a student so that we can keep the caboose open to the public in the summer months,” Angle said. Station Master Gary Cooke has his sights a wee bit further down the track, and he hopes that a coach and old steamer will one day join the Sharbot Lake caboose.

Gary Giller, vice president of the society ,said the community support for the project has been overwhelming and he looks forward to continuing to pursue the society's ongoing goal of constructing a cultural centre at the site.

The caboose will be open by appointment this fall, but not in the winter, as it will be too cold. Until then, anyone who would like to tour the caboose can call Sally Angle at 613-279-2777.