Sign stolen from Sharbot Lake Railway Heritage Park

Aug 23, 2017

A Canadian Pacific Railway sign was stolen last week from Railway Heritage Park in Sharbot Lake. The enameled steel sign in the shape of a shield and beaver, approximately one foot wide, was attached above the door of the storage shed belonging to the Central Frontenac Railway Heritage Society. The person responsible for the theft would have had to climb a ladder and remove several screws.
The sign was noticed missing on Saturday, August 12, but exactly when it was taken is not known. Its location had been mentioned on the "Kick & Push Sharbot Lake" Facebook page on Friday, August 11, and there is some speculation that this led to the theft.

The shields were originally used in the 1940s and 50s on the cabs of the CPR's large steam locomotives and in passenger cars. This example was donated to the CFRHS in 2001, through the efforts of Russ Hoas who was the CPR's Road Manager in Smiths Falls at the time. It was mounted on the shed near the caboose museum in Railway Heritage Park in 2009, and is one of many rare and valuable railway artifacts being preserved by the CFRHS for public enjoyment and education. A similar sign was sold to a private collector in an online auction recently for $1400.