St. Thomas, Ontario - The Elgin County Railway Museum received a $20,000 donation today from the Colchester Fund, an anonymous fund within the Elgin-St. Thomas Community Foundation (ESCF). This contribution to the Museum’s Full Steam Ahead Capital Campaign, is designated towards the current roof replacement project.
The Museum, located in the former 1913 Michigan Central Locomotive Shop currently only has one third of its available floor space accessible to the public, primarily due to the deteriorating condition of the concrete paneled roof, which is original to the building. This limits visitors’ access to the impressive collection of rolling stock railway equipment showcased inside. Full replacement of the building’s concrete roof with a modern metal system is needed. To make the project, and fundraising more manageable, the organization has sub-divided it into three phases, mirroring the stepped roof-line of the building. This fall, the Museum plans to replace the roof over the centre section of its heritage building, increasing the publicly accessible floor space to two thirds of its 52,000 square feet.
“Our guests will benefit from an improved visitor experience. Their distance from the Museum’s rolling stock collection of coaches, cabooses and engines will be significantly reduced, and visitors will get the up-close experience so many of them have been asking for ”, says Executive Director, Dawn Miskelly, “We are very grateful to the Colchester Fund for its support to help make this project a reality.”
The total budget for the project is anticipated to be $654,250. With this contribution, the Museum’s fundraising efforts for the project are $500,000 to date. The organization will actively continue fundraising the remaining $154,250 for the roof replacement through to its completion. Donations can be made through the Railway Museum’s Managed Fund at the Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation, online at www.ecrm5700.org, or by calling or visiting the Railway Museum.
Source: Elgin County Railway Museum; photo: Cheque presentation - Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation Vice-Chair, Elaine McGregor-Morris (left) and Chair, Shawn Jackson (right) with Elgin County Railway Museum Executive Director, Dawn Miskelly (centre).
“Our guests will benefit from an improved visitor experience. Their distance from the Museum’s rolling stock collection of coaches, cabooses and engines will be significantly reduced, and visitors will get the up-close experience so many of them have been asking for ”, says Executive Director, Dawn Miskelly, “We are very grateful to the Colchester Fund for its support to help make this project a reality.”
The total budget for the project is anticipated to be $654,250. With this contribution, the Museum’s fundraising efforts for the project are $500,000 to date. The organization will actively continue fundraising the remaining $154,250 for the roof replacement through to its completion. Donations can be made through the Railway Museum’s Managed Fund at the Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation, online at www.ecrm5700.org, or by calling or visiting the Railway Museum.
Source: Elgin County Railway Museum; photo: Cheque presentation - Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation Vice-Chair, Elaine McGregor-Morris (left) and Chair, Shawn Jackson (right) with Elgin County Railway Museum Executive Director, Dawn Miskelly (centre).