Full steam ahead for historic engine
On the crisp, chilly morning of Feb. 20, a historic Wheelock steam engine, manufactured in 1888 by Goldie and McCulloch of Galt, Ontario, was moved from Bethesda Park to a secure storage facility in Concord. The town, with the assistance of the Steam Engine Club, plans to display the engine at Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum once space is available to accommodate it.
The museum acquired the engine in April, 2005 from the Ontario Science Centre, where it had been on display since 1982. It was used at an east Toronto lumber mill until the 1940s. Since sawmills and the lumber trade played a significant role in shaping Whitchurch-Stouffville; there were at least seven steam-powered sawmills operating in the former Whitchurch Township; this acquisition will be an excellent addition to the museum’s collection.
Schell Lumber and Anderson Haulage provided transportation services, and Barry’s Welding is storing the engine’s accessories. The massive flywheel is 10 feet in diameter and weighs over 4,000 lbs, and the cylinder and frame weigh an additional 5,500 lbs.
Do you know if the wheelock engine was owned by the John B Smith and sons Lumber Co? They had a 300 h.p. wheelock in there sawmill in Callander Ontario. Thanks Cliff Campbell