‘You’re going to be able to experience it’: Restoration of CN 2747 continues in Transcona

Horejda said construction on the enclosure around CN 2747 has gone very quickly so far. (Source: Zach Kitchen, CTV News)

A historical preservation project in Transcona is chugging along nicely, but planners say there is still a way to go before a new home for CN 2747 is complete.

Built in 1926, the nearly 100-year-old steam engine has been sitting in Rotary Heritage Park on Plessis Road since it went out of service in 1960.

Transcona Museum curator Alanna Horejda said the train has historical significance. “CN 2747 was the first steam locomotive built in the western region by CN, and it was built right here in Transcona.”

CN 2747 has been sitting in the park for nearly 63 years, exposed to the elements with only a chain-link fence surrounding it. Horejda said the museum was able to purchase the engine in 2015, and immediately began restoration plans.

“We had a full condition assessment completed on the engine to find out what do we need to do to repair this,” she said. “We didn’t just want it to rust away.”

The assessment results were not good, “It said if we did nothing, within 10 years it would likely be scrap,” Horejda said.

She and the rest of the “Save CN 2747” committee created a plan to build an enclosure around the train to protect it from the elements and restore it to its former glory. “We’re taking it back to what it looked like when it went into the park,” she said.

The next step was launching a capital campaign in 2021 to raise the money needed to pay for restoration and construction costs. So far, they’ve brought in more than half of the $606,300 needed.

Horejda said construction on the enclosure has gone very quickly so far.

“A lot of the wooden elements have been replaced, we’ve had welding repairs done, we had it completely blast-cleaned and repainted,” she said.

But she added there is still a lot of work to do.

“We have to get our concrete pad poured, we need to put up the new fencing, the new stairs need to go in, the lighting needs to go in, the landscaping around it, the paths need to be done,” said Horejda.

She said they hope to have the interactive display complete sometime this summer.

“People can actually get up and go around it, were going to have stairs built so you can actually walk up and get into the cab,” said Horejda. “So instead of just looking at this piece of history, you’re going to be able to experience it.”

Horejda said CN 2747 will be open to the public during regular, weekday hours. She said they have a lot more planned for the site. “There will be interpretive panels along that back wall inside … in the future were thinking of having a mural along that exterior rear wall.”

She said it’s an important piece of Transcona history. “Without the railway there is no Transcona.”

More information about the project can be found on the Transcona Museum website.