Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2021.088.008 |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Description |
From left to right: Pat Hosford (Patrick) Ron Cooke Beatty Davis George Williamson Bob Symington. The men are photographed alongside the boiler of Cowichan Valley Railway No. 25 as it was being rebuilt. No. 25 is also known as Samson. It was built in 1910 by Vulcan Iron Works. It is Class C-6, 0-4-0, Saddletank Engine and weighs 18 tonnes. No. 25 is typical of the locomotives that were used in the logging, mining, and sawmilling industries throughout British Columbia in the early days. |
Image File Name |
1998 - Crew with Boiler, 1998 - Duncan - 2021088008 - jpg72 - 001 |
Date (y/m/d) |
1998/03/18 |
Place |
Duncan |
Provenance |
No. 25 was used during the construction of the Great Northern Railway (now CNR) grade through the Fraser Canyon, and later to transport fill for the construction of North Vancouver harbour facilities. The locomotive saw little service after the 1920s and was facing the scrapper’s torch when purchased by Gerry Wellburn, BCFDC founder in 1955. Wellburn used it for a small tourist line that he had set up on his property there until the BCFDC was formed in 1967. It has been with the BCFDC ever since. Born in Yorkshire, England in 1900, Gerry Wellburn moved to Victoria and later to Duncan in the 30s. Since a kid, Wellburn had been an avid collector first finding interest in stamps. In 1963, the Cowichan Valley Forest Museum Society (CVFM) was formed, and Wellburn, with the help of friends like Hector Stone, moved his collection of forestry artifacts (and more) from his home in Deerholme to a 15-acre site in Duncan overlooking Somenos Lake. It took several years of organizing and planning before the first visitors were welcomed in 1965. The museum was officially opened the following year. The name was changed to the BC Forest Museum (BCFM) in 1973. Gerry visited the BCFM for the last time in 1991 stating that, "I think you're finally getting it right." In 1999, the name was changed again to the current BC Forest Discovery Centre. |
Search Terms |
Locomotive Boiler Samson No. 25 Cowichan Valley Railway Vulcan Iron Works 0-4-0 Crew Rail Shop Interior BCFDC Grounds Duncan |
Collection |
BCFDC Institutional Memory |
People |
Symington, Bob Cooke, Ron Davis, Beatty Williamson, George Hosford, Patrick |
Subjects |
Locomotives People Documentary, Cowichan Valley Maintenance |