Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2016.002.043 |
Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
Description |
Hillcrest Lumber Company No. 1 shay locomotive in the rail shop. She is a 28 ton class "B" Shay locomotive. She was converted to narrow gauge specifications in 1920 with 8×8 cylinders and 29" wheels. |
Image File Name |
unk - Hillcrest No. 1 in Rail Shop - Duncan - 2016002043 - tiff600 - 001 |
Date (y/m/d) |
/ / |
Place |
Duncan |
Provenance |
From the Collection of Reginald T. Harrison. Digital only and not available for reproduction. Shay No. 1 was built by Lima Locomotive Works in December 1920. It worked for Hillcrest Lumber Company before being sold to to the Mayo Lumber Company in 1943. It then sat idle until 1947, when it was sold to the newly formed Osborn Bay Wharf Company, a consortium of mill owners (lead by Hillcrest Lumber Company), which operated a deep sea dock served by the E&N Railway’s Crofton Spur. While at Crofton, the locomotive was fired with coal. In 1963, the dock’s lease expired and No.1 was sent to Hillcrest Lumber’s new operation at Mesachie Lake to be converted back to narrow gauge and oil firing for donation to the Cowichan Valley Forest Museum (BC Forest Discovery Centre). 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. |
Photographer |
Harrison, Reg |
Search Terms |
Duncan Reg Harrison BC Forest Museum No. 1 BCFDC Collection Hillcrest Lumber Company Shay Rail Shop Grounds Class B Locomotive Lima Locomotive Works |
Collection |
BCFDC Institutional Memory |
People |
Harrison Stone |
Subjects |
Locomotives Maintenance Buildings & Structures Documentary, Cowichan Valley |