Freshly restored locomotive makes debut at Fort Erie RailDays
September 15, 2026 at 3:57 AM
Visitors to the Niagara Railway Museum’s annual RailDays event in Fort Erie got their first look this weekend at a 25-ton diesel locomotive restored in a new blue, grey and white paint scheme.
The locomotive is one of several restoration projects volunteers are tackling as the museum works with limited funding and a small volunteer base ahead of a major 30th-anniversary season planned for next year.
Museum founder Ken Jones said an equipment painter donated his labour and completed the locomotive Friday at the museum’s Warren Street shop.
Niagara Railway Museum founder Ken Jones stands next to a recently restored 25-ton diesel locomotive. Credit: Andrew Hawlitzky | Fort Erie Radio“A lot of museums are bigger and have more visitors than we do,” he said. “We don’t have the visitor count that allows us to put huge amounts of money into everything.”
Volunteers are repainting three Canadian Pacific boxcars and plan to paint the cab of CN locomotive 9173 before the end of the year.
“I want to be able to show progress when people come out,” Jones said. “I don’t want them to see, ‘Well, that’s the same as it’s been.’ We’re trying. We have a small group and we can only do so much with what we’ve got.”
The museum is a registered charity and relies on donations and volunteer labour. It does not own the former railway repair shop where its collection is housed.
Credit: Andrew Hawlitzky | Fort Erie Radio“It’s hard not owning your own home,” Jones said. “We would like to. I mean, this is a great facility to have for this. It’s a working shop. We do the repairs here.”
During the off-season, volunteers plan to continue rebuilding a donated model railway measuring 30 by 13 feet. Part of its main line has been reconnected since the layout was dismantled and moved to the museum last year.
Jones said the museum is also looking for younger volunteers who want to learn restoration work from experienced members.
Credit: Andrew Hawlitzky | Fort Erie Radio“There’s always skilled work or people that don’t have the skills,” he said. “There’s always something to work on, something to learn.”
The Niagara Railway Museum is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until October 3.
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About The Author
Andrew Hawlitzky
Andrew is a Niagara community journalist who has covered everything from local politics to annual festivals and breaking news. He works to make local news a platform where community voices lead the conversation. "If you don't like the news, go out and make some!"
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