On November 5 Via Rail served notice to the Winnipeg Railway Museum that the part of Union Station they use will no longer be available. Their last day of operation will be December 31, 2021.
Via states that tracks one and two need to be brought up to safety standards. The station is undergoing extensive renovations to its exterior wall. The museum occupies 37,500 square feet in the station. Via states that they will continue to house the museum’s artifacts and they will be working with the museum to find a new home.
Union Station is a national heritage site. Heritage Canada regulations require Via to keep it in a good state of repair. The west wall of the train shed has been slowly deteriorating for several years.
Construction of the new wall is scheduled to begin in January 2022, at which time the Museum space becomes a designated Construction Zone requiring suitable PPE for all personnel. Only construction personnel will be permitted on site during the construction.
After the new wall is complete, the current Building Code Occupancy Requirements will apply, and the space the museum occupies does not meet these requirements. When the museum was opened in the early 1990's it was in accordance with the occupancy requirements of the building code at that time.
The plywood partition between Tracks 2 & 3 needs to be replaced with metal/concrete/glass, the electrical plant and lighting must be upgraded, the sprinkler system must be replaced, to the tune of $3,000,000 in order to qualify for an occupancy permit.
The museum is home to the Gateway Western Railway, operated by the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club. The contents of the Gateway are the property of the club. The structure that contains the Gateway is owned by the museum. No notice has been given as to whether or when the club will have to remove their display.
It has been a very rough year for Winnipeg’s model railroad and rail fan community. Along with the closing of the museum, the Assiniboine Valley Railway and Cellar Dweller Hobby Supply have also closed this year.
For more information on the closing of the museum, please go to the following links:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/railway-museum-relocate-union-station-via-winnipeg-1.6245828
https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg-railway-museum-closing-at-end-of-december-1.5660148
https://globalnews.ca/news/8363527/winnipeg-railway-museum-to-close-doors-dec-31-seeks-new-home-for-2022/
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/winnipeg-railway-museum-to-shutter-at-end-of-year-575720112.html
No comments:
Post a Comment