Fuchsia Dragon | [email protected]
Work has begun on the Spirit of Alberta to bring it back to the rails.
The 75-year-old steam engine, which used to call Jasper home, has been out of service and parked near Stettler since 2012, waiting for costly boiler repairs.
The Rocky Mountain Rail Society had initially planned to conduct the repairs after raising the entire amount of funds needed, about $650,000, but have now decided to move ahead with the initial stage of the repair.
The initial stage will cost an estimated $50,000, money that has come from a combination of Alberta Gaming and Liquor Casino funding and private donations. It will see contractor dfBioiler Tube Industries of Edmonton remove about 100 boiler staybolts that require replacement. The staybolts provide strength in sections of the boiler while allowing water and steam free flowing room to move.
Those bolts will be replaced in stage two of the repair plan, which the society will work towards funding after completing the first stage. Stage three is the repair of the boiler patches and holes.
Rich Graydon, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Rail Society, said: “We realize in the current economic situation it will be difficult to complete the project. We hope that our project will provide jobs for Albertans and demonstrate our commitment to doing our part.”
To date, the society has raised and spent about $182,000 on the project, $132,000 of which was spent on conducting metallurgical tests and developing a repair plan over the last eight years.
“It is incumbent on all Albertans and Canadians to do what they can in this time of economic need,” said Graydon.
“We hope that this small gesture will lead to other non-profit groups to look at their plans and encourage them to continue their missions.”
The 6060 locomotive was assembled in Canada’s Montreal Locomotive Works in 1944 and retired from active service in 1959.
It was “saved from the scrapper” by Jasper's Harry Home and placed on static display in Jasper in 1962 before being restored by CN Railway and used to haul steam excursions out of Toronto a decade later.
In 1980, the train was presented to the people of Alberta as a gift to commemorate the province’s 75th anniversary, and was restored by the Rocky Mountain Rail Society, participating in the Steam Expo in Vancouver in 1986.
In 1998, the locomotive began operations in partnership with Alberta Prairie Steam Tours in Stettler, Alberta. Its last year of service was in 2011. The Rocky Mountain Rail Society is now working to restore 6060 to service.
For more information on the Rocky Mountain Rail Society and locomotive 6060, go online to www.6060.org.
