The Crossbuck - Wainwright Rail Park

The Crossbuck
Wainwright Railway Preservation Society
President & Newsletter Editor:
Don McGuire
1st Vice President: Phil Valleau
2 nd Vice-President: Dennis Lever
Treasurer: Kim Pierce
Secretary: Bev Valleau
Charitable Registration 89975-6456 R001
Spring 2008
Box 2972, Wainwright, AB T9W 1S8 Phone: (780) 842-3138 Fax: (780) 842-5811 www.railpark.org email: info@railpark.org
CN caboose undergoing restoration
Photos by Kim Pierce
Restoration of CN
caboose #78492 is
well underway at
Wainwright Rail Park.
Repainting of the exterior
began in 2007 utilizing a grant
from Museums Alberta. A
paint sprayer, purchased under
this grant, will see ongoing
use in our restoration projects.
All window frames were
rebuilt, and new glass
installed, as a review of CN
diagrams showed several
windows to be inaccurate for
the time period we wanted to
represent. Herb Bradley and
Don McGuire rebuilt the four
side windows plus all the
cupola windows (including
screens). Proper pile weather
stripping was also applied to
the sliding cupola windows
Paint was ordered using
formulas and diagrams
supplied by well known CN
historian Stafford Swain, of
Winnipeg, MB.
Don McGuire and Phil
Valleau primed and painted
the caboose. Sides and ends
were painted morency orange
and the roof and frame painted
mineral brown to depict the
scheme of the late 1950Õs. A
large maple leaf stencil was
borrowed from the Alberta
Railway Museum, in
Caboose, Continued on page 2

Buffalo Adventures tours available
After a successful first season,
Wainwright Rail Park will again
partner with the Wainwright.
Buffalo National Park Interpretive
Centre Foundation in hosting Buffalo
Adventure Tours.
Last year we hosted tourism
specialists from Travel Alberta, along
with other local and regional officials
and guest in three hour dry run tours.
Public tours will be available June 9-
15, June 23-29, July 21-27 and August
11-17.
Each Adventure is led by a local
resident who is either still actively
working in or newly retired from the
field that their Adventure covers. These
are not summer students who have
memorized a set speech; these are true
westerners with a genuine passion for
their work and their way of life. They’ll
make you feel welcome from the
moment you arrive and leave you
wanting more on the day you have to
depart for home.
Current Buffalo Adventures include:
Rails across the West – discover the
origins of Wainwright and
countless other prairie towns by
visiting a railway interpretive park
featuring authentic equipment
Caboose, Continued from page 1
Edmonton and the green leaf and white
lettering was applied. Ron Rogers at
R2’s Signs made a stencil using a CN
diagram for accuracy for the spelled out
Canadian National under the windows.
Paint work was completed and
windows installed before the first
snowfall last fall. Further work on the
caboose interior will start in 2008.
Thanks to everyone who has played
a part in this project to date.
CN Caboose #78492 was built in
1943 by Canadian National Railways at
their Pointe St. Charles Shops in
Montreal. It was built from an aging CN
boxcar (# 342834), which was originally
built as Grand Trunk 22634 in 1912.
Photo by BuffaloAdventures.ca
from the Grand Trunk Pacific and
Canadian National railways. This
is Wainwright Rail ParkÕs portion
of the tour package.
A tour of the Former Buffalo
National Park and the German
officer Prisoner of War (POW)
camp in Wainwright, now
operating as one of Canada’s most
advanced military training bases.
In the 1970s CN converted the car
for maintenance of way use as a rider
car to ferry workers from the town
where a work train was tied up, to the
job site. The bunks were replaced with
wooden benches, the table and
conductor’s chair were removed along
with most other interior fixtures.
CN donated the caboose to the
Wainwright and District Museum in
1989, and for years it sat in the park
adjacent to the museum in the former
CN station in Wainwright.
The Museum transferred the caboose
to Wainwright Rail Park in 1996 and its
move was documented in “The
Crossbuck”, Spring 2007 edition.
A herd of buffalo at the entry gate
reflects the origins of the base, the
former Buffalo National Park.
Orientation for your remaining
Buffalo Adventures continues at
the old train station beside the main
trans-Canada CNR line.
Bodo Archiological dig– uncover the
true Aboriginal culture of the plains
at one of the richest archaeological
dig sites in western Canada.
Buffalo Past and Present – examine
an operating plains buffalo ranch,
find out how today’s buffalo
wranglers go about their work, see
buffalo up close, and learn about
their history and habitat from
experts in the field. Also sample
bison cuisine and see some buffalo
leather products.
Kemah Ranch Ruins – step back into
the past and experience life as it
was on the western Canadian
prairies a century ago.
Food from the Land – the modern
agriculture industry in harmony
with nature. Tour farm land and
learn how grain crops and grasses,
through methods of rotational
grazing, are used, in today’s food
production. Also visit a working
cattle feedlot.
Up Close and Personal with Buffalo
– see grazing wood buffalo, eat
bison burgers, explore the
differences between plains and
wood bison and learn about the
story of their conservation here in
Wainwright.
Jewel of the Prairies – tour AlbertaÕs
largest rural neo-Gothic church
and cemetery, and hear stories
about the German settlers who
built it by hand in 1922.
Antique tractors – climb on 85
historical John Deere tractors at
Glen Rock Farm and learn all
about life on prairie farms in the
years after the horse.
To book your Buffalo Adventure
visit www.buffaloadventures.ca
Spring 2008 Page 2

Wainwright to celebrate 100
years of rail history
Wainwright celebrates its centennial
this year with many activities planned
for July.
The village of
Wainwright
was established
on July 14,
1908, on land
owned by The
Grand Trunk
Pacific Railway
through it’s “Town
and Development
Company”. The
name “Wainwright”
was chosen in honor
on William Wainwright,
who at the time
was the Second Vice-
President of the GTP.
The railway arrived in
Wainwright on July 21,
1908.
The week of July 14 -
20 has been designated
Wainwright’s Centennial
week, with events taking
place throughout town.
Wainwright Rail Park will
celebrate the arrival of the Grand Trunk
Pacific Railway (later merged in the
formation of Canadian National), on
Sunday, July 20.
We are planning a full day of
Wainwright Centennial activities
Thursday, July 17
Freedom of the town ceremony –
early afternoon (Town Hall) –
Military Ceremony
Formal Gala –Time TBA
(Communiplex)
Fresh Air Cinema – dusk (Wallace
Park – Kinsmen Concession)
Friday, July 18
Taste of Wainwright – 4:30 – 7:30 PM
(Downtown)
Anglican Church celebration
activities at the
Rail Park, including a pancake
breakfast, tours of our railcars and
display buildings, and a historical
walking tour of some remaining footings
from early railroad buildings.
As a finale to Wainwright’s
Centennial celebrations we will include
Gilt Edge Homecoming 100 years –
free parking (no hook-ups)
Downtown Show and Shine, Doors
Open and downtown shopping
Saturday, July 19
Anglican Church breakfast/brunch
Gilt Edge breakfast
Party in the Park – 2 PM to 11 PM
(Wallace Park)
CN Safety Train “Little Obie” at the
Activities, Continued on page 4
the Canadiana Musical
Theatre Company’s
performance of “ The
Ties That Bind”. This
rip-roaring, boogiewoogie,
bluegrass
musical celebrates
how Canada's great
railway tied a
nation together.
During the show,
surveyors brave
the elements,
navvies blast
mountains, and
workers lay
miles of track
as they dream
of a rail
journey
across a
n e w
country.
The cast depicts
Sir John A. MacDonald,
Alexander McKenzie, Sanford Fleming,
William Van Horne, Andrew Onderdonck,
A.B. Rogers, and a score of
others.
The venue for this show has not been
finalized, but we hope to have use of
the Communiplex Theatre for the
evening of Sunday July 20.
The Canadiana Musical Theatre
Company is based in Vancouver, and
there are substaintial costs involved in
bringing these performers to Wainwright.
We are currently canvassing for
sponsorships for this and other
centennial activities. For further
information call or email us.
As a bonus, Allen Desnoyers,
director of the Canadiana Musical
Theatre, has agreed to the troupe
performing selections from the show
outdoors at Wainwright Rail Park earlier
in the day.
Page 3 Spring 2008

Little Obie coming to Wainwright
CN’s Safety Train “Little Obie” will
make his first appearance in Wainwright
on July 19 during the Wainwright
centennial ”Party in the Park”.
Little Obie, is a scale model of a real
locomotive and caboose on which
young children can ride. Measuring two
metres (six feet) high, Little Obie travels
to CN communities in Canada and the
United States to promote safety.
Constable Robert Greer, Community
Safety Officer with CN Police, has
confirmed that “Obie” will be in
attendance, as part of Wainwright Rail
Park’s contribution to the Centennial Party.
Little Obie, the brainchild of former
CN employee Paul Rose, is a scale
model of a CN locomotive, complete
with a flatcar and caboose. It was
Activities, Continued from page 3
Party in the Park, 2
PM-8 PM
Sunday July 20
8-10 AM
Pancake breakfast.
10:00 AM
Wainwright Rail Park
display buildings and
cars open to public.
1:00 PM
Historical tour of CNR
Wainwright Yard (tour
includes remaining
concrete footings of
structures from the
steam era and is done in an area
well away from any active tracks).
2:00 PM
Music by Allen Desnoyers and the
Canadiana Musical Theatre Co.
3: 00 PM
Demonstrations of order hooping
and tracklaying using antique track
tools.
4:00 PM
Music by Allen Desnoyers and the
Upcoming
events
Wainwright Trade Show & Sale
April 11 & 12,
Wainwright Communiplex
designed and built in CN's Memphis,
Tennessee facility. The success of this
program is due to CN employees who
keep a busy schedule with Little Obie,
conducting educational programs at
schools, parades, county fairs and other
community events in CN communities
in Canada and the U.S.
Canadiana Musical Theatre Co.
5:00 PM
Wainwright Rail Park closes.
7.00 PM
Canadiana Musical Theatre
Company “The Ties That Bind”.
Note: This schedule is not firm and
is subject to changes
Check our website www.railpark.org
for updated information.
Calgary Supertrain 2008
April 19 & 20
www.supertrain.ca
Look for Little Obie at Wallace Park
beginning at 2:00 p.m., Saturday July
19. Members of the Wainwright
Railway Preservation Society will also
be in attendance, helping children board
for rides on the train, and handing out
railway safety information.
All aboard!
Recent
donations
Coleman Scholarship and Grant
Foundation, $500.00;
In memory of Charter Member, Mike
Gormely, $500.00 in donations;
Builders photos of 1923 Canadian Car
and Foundry CNR sleeping cars
donated from the Coo/West
collection. The donation was
arranged by Christopher Greenlaw,
Ottawa, ON;
Wendy Burton, Irma, AB, railway
books and photos donated in memory
of her father and WRPS member,
Horace Ward;
Ed Frissell, CNR Recreation Association
records from Wainwright
dating back to the 1950s;
Larry Gawel, Melville, SK, CNR
caboose chair.
Wainwright Centennial
July 14-20, 2008
Spring 2008 Page 4

Grand Trunk Pacific
progress, summer 1908
J.H. Gano photos
(Top) The bridge crew is erecting the truss
bridgework for the river crossing on the
Battle River Trestle nine miles west of
Wainwright. Note the timbers supporting the
steel work over the river until the trestle
work on the west side is completed.
(Bottom) The”Pioneer” tracklaying
machine is laying the GTP Main line near
Wainwright. The photo was taken
near where the overpass now crosses the
west end of the CN Wainwright yard.
John Gano, the Grand Trunk Pacific’s
photographer, travelled west with the
building of the railroad and settled in
Wainwright. Gano’s photos of the GTP and
of Buffalo National Park were world
renowned.
Page 5 Spring 2008

WRPS Vice President, Phil Valleau, throttles
up a speeder at Wainwright Rail Park, as part
of a tour in conjunction with Buffalo
Adventures. Along for the ride are Cindy
Guay, Marketing Director, and Brad
Dr. Doug Crapo, Tourism Business Specialist with EXCELoration Corp., drives a spike.
Spring 2007 Page 6
Design & Typography Compliments of InPrint Communications, Edmonton
Maxwell, Industry Marketing and
Communications Coordinator, both from
Alberta Central Tourist Destination Region,
andDr Doug Crapo, Tourism Business
Specialist, with EXCELoration Corp.
Photos by Roy Pierce