100
|
SUMMER
2015
Stanhasanextensivebackgroundand interest in shipsof theGreat Lakes sooneof hisprojectswas
tobuild theSSManitoba. TheManitobawas an easy choice since the shipwas alsobuilt inOwen
Sound.CanadianPacific lost oneof itsboats, theAlgoma, in LakeSuperior in1885andneededan-
other ship to replace it. In1888 theycontractedPolson IronWorksof Toronto tobuilda steel vessel
to replace theAlgoma.Polsondecided tobuild theboat inOwenSound,on land justnorthof theCPR
railyards. Thiswas tobe the first steel shipbuilt inCanadaand shewouldbe the largest steamshipon
theGreat Lakesat the time. The riskyventure for bothCanadianPacificandPolsonhadanumber of
start-upproblems but onMay4th, 1889 the SSManitobawas launchedwithmuch fanfare in the
OwenSoundHarbour. TheManitobacontinued toserveOwenSoundevenafter theotherCPRships
moved toPortMcNicol.
Clive built the base and hand laid the true scale trackwhileMike delved into theworkings of gas
works.After thebasewascompleted, StanandMikeadded thewooden sidewalksanddocksmade
upof thousands ofmatchstick sized littleboards. Thedockswere then stained togive themanaged
appearance.Weall got together toaddgroundcoverand trackballast and test fit ourbuildings.
Cliveand Ieachkitbashedanengine. (Westartedwithanexistingmodel trainandmodified it to repli-
cate theCPRengines that came toOwenSound.) I foundadealona largenumberofNscalepeople,
but thenhad to re-dressandpaint them inoutfitsof theera. The feelingwas thataddingpeoplewould
make thediorama come to life. After placing figures all around the scene, oneof the fellows said, “I
think theentirepopulationofOwenSoundwas at theharbour that day.” If one looks hardenough,
youmay find: TomThomson, J. James (a local photographer)and Laurel&Hardy.
WayneBeutel specializes inmodelboatbuildingandvolunteered tomake theother shipson thedio-
rama,while JennaMcGuire from theNational ParkServicepainted theharbourwater.Afterall these
bitsandpieceswherecompleted, thebasewas transported fromClive’s home toGreyRootswhere
wecontinued to finish thedetails.
After sittingdownwith themuseumstaff itwassuggested that thedioramashouldhavea formalname.
Followingmuchdeliberation thename ‘Arrivals&Departures–TheCPR inGreyCounty’waschosen.
Thenwe set about researching the information for thewall panels thatwill complement thediorama.
Eachmodeler tooka subject and followedupwith findingphotosand informationabout that aspect
of theproject.Clive is the rail expert sohe tookon theengines. Brian followed throughwith thegrain
elevatorswhileMikedid thegasworksandStan theSSManitoba. Imadeuppanels forGreyCounty
and thediorama layout.
After five years of researchandover 8,000 hours of modelingwork theproject is finally complete.
Ourhope is that itwillgivevisitors toGreyRootsan ideaofwhat lifewas likeduring thoseheadydays
whenOwenSoundwas knowas theChicagoof theNorth.
|E|
Special thanks to : CliveMogan, Brian Swanton, MikeMarshal, StanMcClellen, Petal Furness and Karin Noble.
The interior of the second grain elevator depicts the
two types of elevator used in the early 20
th
Century.
Grey Roots visitors
will get an idea
of what life was
like during those
heady days when
Owen Sound was
known as
‘Chicago of the
North’.
LoadingManitoba - for sailing to the ‘Lakehead’.
The harbour was a busy spot back in 1910.
The diorama, ‘Arrivals & Departures’ is now at its
permanent location at Grey Roots Museum.
Followingmuch deliberation, the name
‘Arrivals &Departures – The CPR inGreyCounty’ was chosen.
