After much discussion, councillors here have finally passed heritage designations for Old 81 and the Palmerston pedestrian bridge.
Council passed both bylaws on June 2.
Steam Locomotive 81
The Mogul type structure was built in 1910 by the Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston. It was designed for passenger service, numbered 1000, and could haul 12 passenger coaches.
In 1952, it was re-Christened 81 and came to Palmerston for branch line service.
The engine remains a memorial to the days when iron horses were stabled in the town. The unit now stands on a specially built piece of track, in view of all rail and highway travellers.
It displays six 63-inch drivers and it completed almost a half century of service to the transportation industry.
It was put on display in Palmerston in 1959.
It is now a historical feature in the Palmerston Lions Heritage Park and stands on a specially built piece of track.
The designation covers all the steel structure with its steam boiler, whistle, smoke stack, coal and water tender, lights, and gauges.
Restoration took place in 2008. It was copied from its operational days in the Palmerston rail yard and now sits as a tribute to the community’s railroad history.
This year, the locomotive will be 100 years old.
Pedestrian bridge
The bridge was built in 1911 to move pedestrian traffic over the tracks on Queen Street in Palmerston.
Originally, in 1910, there was a proposed subway to accommodate pedestrian traffic under the tracks. The bridge was designed to be eight feet wide and span the full distance over the tracks.
Blueprints are available for viewing at the Palmerston Railroad Museum.
Restoration in 2008 was supported by the province.
The structure is located in Palmerston’s Lions Heritage Park and is consider the number one railroad feature in the park.
In discussion of the bylaws, councillor Wayne Martin said he had handed out copies of Railfan & Railroad, a national magazine.
In it, there was discussion of the original 25 Mogul locomotives built for the Grand Trunk Railway.
Martin said that, incredibly, over 100 years later, seven of those locomotives still survive – and one of them is Palmerston’s 81.
Martin said plans are in the works to celebrate the locomotive’s 100 years on July 10 at 11am. “The unveiling of the history and the sign will happen that day,” he said. “It’s interesting to continue to gain the history of this.”
He added this year, volunteers have started doing things on it.
Councillor Rick Hembly noted that recently he spotted Bob McEachern at the train with a busload of students, teaching a bit of its history.
Ironically, while the train stands as tribute to Palmerston’s rail history, neither the Grand Trunk Railway which ordered the locomotives, nor the company which built them, still exist.
