The ribbon is cut on the newly conserved Selkirk No. 5931 at Heritage Park on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Photo: Heritage Park
You might notice a shiny new-old train when you are travelling on 14th Street S.W. Heritage Park's "King of the Rockies" has been restored.
The park unveiled its newly conserved Canadian Pacific Railway Selkirk locomotive, No. 5931, on Tuesday morning. Hundreds of donors chipped in close to $67,000 to pay for the work as the iconic display had reached a level of “heartbreaking” condition, as one donor put it.
A crowd gathered at the locomotive, which sits in front of the park next to 14th Street S.W., for the ribbon cutting.
Donors who helped pay for the conservation pose with Selkirk No. 5931 at Heritage Park on Tuesday. Photo: Heritage Park
What $67,000 buys a 77-year-old locomotive
Crews stabilized and repainted parts of the boiler and cab, according to Heritage Park. Along the way, conservators found corrosion hiding under layers of old paint.
That's the risk with a locomotive that has been on public display since 1959: a fresh coat can cover a lot.
"Our Selkirk locomotive once helped connect communities across the Rockies," Brian Lanier, Heritage Park's interim CEO, said ahead of the unveiling.
Remarks at Tuesday's unveiling of Selkirk No. 5931. Photo: Heritage Park
Why it's the King of the Rockies
No. 5931 is a T1c Selkirk, built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1949. The class is named for the Selkirk Mountains, which the locomotives crossed on Canadian Pacific's run between Calgary and Revelstoke, B.C.
CP built 36 Selkirks between 1929 and 1949. Heritage Park says they were the largest and heaviest steam locomotives in the British Commonwealth.
The six T1cs were the last standard-gauge steam locomotives built in Canada for a Canadian railway. Diesels took over, and the last Selkirks came out of service in 1959. All but two were scrapped: this one, and No. 5935 at the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, Que.
Twenty-two years under an alias
No. 5931, painted as No. 5934, on display near Mewata Stadium on Jan. 31, 1960. Photo: Rosettis Studio (CU1132299). Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives, Glenbow Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.
Calgary's 5900 Club preserved No. 5931, and from 1959 to 1981 it sat on display in Mewata Park, disguised as No. 5934.
When redevelopment of the city's western downtown meant it had to leave Mewata Park, it moved to Heritage Park in 1981. The move was a painstaking process that involved laying custom track built specially for the relocation. It's been parked out front ever since.
Selkirk No. 5931 in front of Heritage Park, 1900 Heritage Dr. S.W. Photo: Heritage Park
