Jun 17 - Smiths Falls walkabout
& the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario
Jen and I walked into downtown Smiths Falls this morning for coffee. We stopped at the Rideau Canal Visitor Centre on the way. As coffee was our first priority, we will visit this museum tomorrow.
After leaving the canal museum, we walked across the Beckwith Street bridge. See the heron standing in the calm waters? Beckwith is the main street in town. We walked on the shady side of the street to the Coffee Culture Cafe. Boy, it was hot!
We walked to the railway museum, but decided to not to go in, so we walked back to the park, completing the circuit you see on the map above. It's really nice to be in a park so close to the centre of town - everything is within walking distance.
I left Jen at the park and headed off to a plumbing wholesaler. I'd picked up a hand-held shower at Wallymart a few days ago. Long story short, we now have a shower in Ali. Pictures later (of the shower setup).
I then visited the railway museum. The museum is small, has a few old cars scattered around the property, a diesel switcher and steam engine, and a small number of displays inside. Cost is $6 but if you have the Smith Falls street map, you can save 50%, so that's me. Showed the coupon and got in for $3!
The Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario is housed in the old Canadian Northern Ontario railway station.
Here is a 1947 Cadillac sedan limousine that was rebuilt for railway use. There was even a turntable built into the frame so it could be turned around. It was assigned to the President of CP as a convenient, and comfortable inspection vehicle. It weighed 7 tons!
But the really interesting car was a converted Heavy Weight Sleeping Coach. This was the Dental Car.
In the 1930s the Ontario government funded a program to provide dental care to people in the remote northern communities, where the railway was the only means of access. In 1951 the car was converted into a Dental Car. As part of the conversion the men's smoking lounge became a kitchen, some beds were removed to provide a dental area, and two bedrooms with washrooms were created. The car functioned as a dental car until its retirement in 1977.
(From the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario brochure, with thanks)
Nurse's office
Nurse's bedroom
Kitchen
Bathroom
Dentist's bedroom & office
Lounge
Dental Area
Back at the park, our good friend Mary came over for a visit. Afterwards, we walked back into town with her, past the Rideau Canal Visitor Centre.
We said our goodbyes and headed back to the park.
