Living in the rail world
A 1920s wooden train compartment, kerosene lamps, station signs and railway signals depict a bygone age
CLIFTON, N.S. – Stepping into Andrew Blackburn’s basement is like stepping through a time warp.
He takes a seat in a 1920s wooden railway compartment complete with baggage racks, lit up by kerosene lanterns. It is exactly what the early colonialists would have experienced when they travelled across Nova Scotia and Canada to begin new lives.
“It’s something you take pleasure in collecting,” said Blackburn. “It puts you back into a time that’s before my life and you can just basically dream about how things operated back in the 40s and say ‘wow, this is what it looked like.”
He walks over to a cabinet filled with china plates and silverware, harkening back to a time when train travel meant full meals and gourmet-style food. Then, dishes were served by uniformed waiters and rail passengers enjoyed a proper restaurant experience.
“It was really a time we don’t experience anymore, where the railways had really fine dining and they basically tried to very well impress you to keep taking the trains,” said Blackburn.
He keeps strolling through his basement, its walls lined with kerosene lamps, old station signs and model train carriages. A stout wooden desk sits in a corner, the type that may have graced the station master’s office nearly a century ago.
“A lot of these predate my life,” said Blackburn, 53.
Blackburn first started collecting railway items with his father when he was 12. He began at a time when railway companies like CN were downsizing and passenger train services were also being cut.
He obtained his memorabilia from retiring railway employees, auctions and antique stores.
Recently, someone dropped off an old railway bell. Blackburn even keeps a full-sized signal in his garage and has an old handcar, used by track maintenance workers.
The handcar still works, as Blackburn wheels it out of his garage to show guests.
Just around the corner, taking pride of place in the yard, is a 1970s CN caboose. A quick peek inside reveals it has remained completely unchanged since then, with a small kitchenette and crew seating area.
“What I really enjoy now is finding items that you don’t know were out there and all of a sudden something shows up and it’s like, wow,” said Blackburn.
“It puts you back into a time that’s before my life and you can just basically dream about how things operated back in the 40s and say ‘wow, this is what it looked like.’”
Andrew Blackburn