Why are we "Saving CN 2747"?

The CN 2747 as it sits now in the Rotary Heritage park. Photo courtesy of Jim Kolson.

Editor's Note: As of February 2020, the majority of the urgent and high-priority repairs (as outlined in the CN 2747 was the first locomotive built in Western Canada at the Transcona Shops, which makes it unique and special to this community. The locomotive was built in 1926 when most people in town were employed by the shops or knew someone who was. It was a train that was built through the efforts of a community.

For close to 60 years, CN 2747 the locomotive has sat on permanent display in Rotary Heritage Park. Unfortunately, it has been heavily weathered and vandalized. No covering over the engine and tender means that it has dealt with weather conditions from heat and humidity to rain and hail, to snow and ice.

The insides of the locomotive, with the wear and rot in the wood seen here. Photo courtesy of Jim Kolson.

When the locomotive was acquired by the Transcona Museum in 2015, the museum started its preparations for a preservation project. The museum was informed by GP Heritage Consulting (who complete a conservation report on CN 2747 in May 2017) that CN 2747 had a lifespan of 10 years if no work was undertaken on the locomotive. The museum needed to act right away. A committee was formed and the "SAVE 2747" campaign launched to raise money for repairs and shelter for the train.

Damage from the weather on the top of CN 2747. Photo courtesy of Jim Kolson.

Since 2018, preservation work has been undertaken by a group of volunteers from the community. The work completed so far includes cleaning of the cab and tender of debris, repairs to the body of the engine and tender, new wooden components to replace the rotting ones, and weather-proofing for the winter months. Unfortunately, many of the original components inside the cab have either been broken or stolen by vandals, including dials and levers used to operate the train. Later this summer, the museum has plans to sandblast and paint the exterior of CN 2747.

Some of our awesome volunteers working on preserving CN 2747. Photo courtesy of Jim Kolson.

The museum has made the decision to preserve and not restore CN 2747. This means the locomotive will not be restored to an operational state, as this would be a practical impossibility at this

point. CN 2747 will be preserved back to the state it was in when first placed on display in Rotary Heritage Park in 1960.

For more information or to get involved with the preservation of CN 2747, please contact the Transcona Museum by phone or email.

---

Sources

Photographs courtesy of the Transcona Museum and Jim Kolson (Save 2747 Committee member).

Conservation Assessment of CN 2747 provided by GP Heritage Consulting.

Historical information on CN 2747 provided by Transcona Museum and Archives.