Remembering Cape Breton history
LOUISBURG, N.S. — There once was a time when railways were of common use to transport goods and services through industrial Cape Breton.
Although there are not as many operation railways on the island nowadays, a Cape Breton museum has made it its mission to preserve the stories of our forefathers who worked on the railway between Sydney and Louisbourg.
The Sydney and Louisbourg Railway Museum has been sharing the experiences and stories of those workers for 50 years — a milestone that was celebrated on Sunday as part of events surrounding Louisbourg Rises Again.
The museum, which features displays, artifacts and former train cars, was created in 1972, four years after the final train run of transport goods of coal and fish two and from Louisbourg.
“Once the railway was shut down in 1968, the building became derelict,” said Chris Bellemore, president of the Sydney and Louisbourg Historical Society. “At the time, Louisbourg was its own town and mayor and council were trying to figure out what to do with it. It was in bad shape, but retired railway workers and community members came together to lobbied to have a museum here and it was approved.”
With the idea of profiling the railway stories, the workers and community members volunteered to run the museum and began piecing together what they believed would help explain the historical significance of the railway service.
“They had railway cars as part of the process on display and they’ve become a big part of the museum even to this day,” said Bellemore.
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.
“The community has a lot of pride in what the railway workers did, and they don’t want the stories to be lost,” said Bellemore. “The community was certainly looking for a special place to tell these stories about the railway, but also the history of the town itself.”
Bellemore believes the museum is a staple in the community and the stories that are shared within the buildings are ones that leave a lasting impression on locals and tourists.
“Louisburg has so many important stories to tell beyond just the fortress,” said Bellemore. “Often the other stories of the community get overshadowed by what the fortress brings — it’s a great resource and it’s wonderful, but we want to make sure the community has its story told as well.”
IMPORTANCE OF MUSEUM
Prior 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.
Bellemore said the museum sets the stage for people’s experiences in the community because of its location as you enter the town.
“When people come down the Louisbourg highway, they don’t really see too much along the way with the forest, but the first thing they come across is the yellow caboose and that’s what attracts them to the facility,” he said.
The railway service was more than just a Sydney and Louisbourg operation. In fact, along with the transportation of goods, there was a time when it was used for passenger travel as well.
“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.”
Bellemore believes part of the reason for the service being discontinued in 1968 was in large part to the downturn in coal.
“It wasn’t used as much anymore and there wasn’t as much need for the rail,” said Bellemore. “In the 1950s, they completed the Louisburg Highway route and that made it easier to transport fish out of the town and at that point rail had already been in a downturn.”
Last year, the museum saw the majority of its visitors from Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada. However, this year, with restrictions lifted and travel resuming, the facility has been busier than ever with visitors from Ontario, Quebec, the United States and even overseas stopping in to learn more about the past.
STRONG SUPPORT AND UPGRADES
With 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.
The historical society, which has a core of 20 volunteers, has been able to secure government funding to the amount of $110,000 to help with work that needs to be completed at the museum, which also houses the Louisbourg Information Centre.
Along with government funding, Bellemore also noted the generous monetary donations the society has received, which has and will continue to go to improvements at the museum.
“We’ve been working on the caboose here, which is about a $40,000 retrofit to bring it back to what it was, and we’ve been able to cut leverage $30,000 so far with $16,000 of that being from private donations which is fantastic.”
The buildings, which have heritage status, include the former train station and freight shed. Bellemore said work has already taken place to fix a major roofing issue on the freight shed, but a bigger project is set to take place in the fall.
“We’re going to have to lift the station building to fix the foundation under it, which has not been touched since 1895,” said Bellemore, noting engineering reports have taken place at the facility. “It’s all basically on a wooden structure and it’s rotted over time and there’s a real threat to that building right now. We have the contractors in place and along with that we hope to make the building more accessible as well.”
The museum currently employs students for the summer months. The buildings are located on municipally-owned property and Bellemore said they have a good relationship with the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the tourism season. Because of upcoming work, the museum is expected to close for 2022 in mid-September.