FORT ERIE HISTORICAL RAILWAY ASSOCIATION   P.O. Box 1064 Ridgeway Ontario, Canada L0S 1N0 (905) 894-8451

 

 

 

Why Do We Care?

 

It's all about People and our National Heritage!

 

This locomotive lets us literally touch the lives of the people who went before us, and is a tribute to them and their many accomplishments.

·       This country was developed into its present form by people using the railways. The prairies were settled by rail. The urban areas developed and were supplied by rail. Even the Lake Erie cottage areas were enabled and shaped by available railroad transportation.

·       Canadian Confederation was driven in part by railways. The Confederation agreements included provisions for railways throughout the country.

·       Canada was (and is) defended by railways. Since 1867 they have moved troops and supplies for every one of our nation's wars. Even before Confederation, the Canadian militia who engaged the Fenian invaders were brought to Ridgeway by railway train, on one of the routes this locomotive later operated on.

·       At the turn of the last century Fort Erie, like many others, was a rail town and over half of the people here depended on the railroad for their livelihood. Today, almost everyone here has an ancestor who was a railway man. This probably includes members of your family, regardless of where you live.

 

·       CN 6218 is a symbol of all of the railway workers who shaped our community and our nation.

·       We need to honor their commitment today so that our symbol of Canada's rail history will be preserved for future generations.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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