ICYMI: 'The community has a lot of pride in what the railway workers did, and they don’t want the stories to be lost.'
Guy Hiltz stands outside of the Sydney and Louisburg Railway Museum. Hiltz was a former railway worker and president of the Sydney and Louisburg Historical Society and also served as the mayor of Louisburg. The Sydney and Louisburg Railway Museum celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday as part of events surrounding the annual Louisburg Crab Fest. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED/SYDNEY AND LOUISBOURG RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. - CONTRIBUTEDLOUISBURG, N.S.
“Once the railway was shut down in 1968, the building became derelict,” said Chris Bellemore, president of the Sydney and Louisbourg Historical Society. As the years went on, the historical society took control of the operations of the museum, but Bellemore said the families of former railway workers have been a big part of the society’s desire to continue to tell the stories of the railway.
Shown is one of the last steam locomotives in service for the Sydney and Louisburg railway on April 30, 1960. It was later retired by the Sydney and Louisburg railway to make room for modern diesel trains. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED/SYDNEY AND LOUISBOURG RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. - ContributedPrior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum was attracting 3,000 to 4,000 visitors each year with two to three guiding tours per day during the season.
“The Newfoundland ferries would come to Louisbourg because North Sydney would ice up,” said Bellemore. “The ferries would have to make their way to Louisbourg and people would go from Louisbourg to Sydney on the rail line and that was an important piece to the system.” The first trip of the Cape Breton stream railway occurred in 1973. The steam railway, which was run by DEVCO, used the former Sydney and Louisburg railway equipment and station. By the late 1970s, the operation was discontinued due to costs involved with running the service. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED/SYDNEY AND LOUISBOURG RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. - ContributedWith the age of the buildings, Bellemore said there’s no hiding the fact upgrades have and will need to take place as the museum moves forward.
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