MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
On behalf of my Council colleagues, I take great pleasure in welcoming our citizens and visitors to Huntsville on the occasion of the Huntsville Model Railway Exposition. The volunteers of the Huntsville Train Station Society are to be congratulated for creating an event which touches so many individuals eliciting memories from most everyone - especially in a northern town where many families worked on the railway or those who had a model train set as a child! We are proud to host this event in our brand new Don Lough Arena at the Canada Summit Centre, which is right next door to Muskoka Heritage Place and the Portage Flyer Train. Enjoy the model trains AND ride our 100 year old Portage Flyer! Sincerely, Claude Doughty, Mayor, Town of Huntsville
Welcome to one of Ontario’s most beloved fourseason destinations—the Town of Huntsville and the Township of Lake of Bays! Please feel free to visit our Tourism Information Centre in the Town of Huntsville foyer, located at 37 Main Street, East. One of our tourist officers will be happy to assist you with any questions you might have. Visit www.huntsvilleadventures.com to view a complete list of community events ranging from the IronMan 70.3 to the Huntsville Festival of the Art’s performances. We hope you enjoy your time in Huntsville and do visit again! Sincerely,
Kelly Haywood, Executive Director Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce
The Huntsville Train Station Society Welcomes You to Our First Model Railway Exposition! Over the Father’s Day weekend visitors to the Canada Summit Centre will enjoy the sights and sounds of model railway layouts operating throughout the Don Lough Arena. Enthusiastic avid model railroaders travel at their own expense from across Ontario to share their passion for model trains. A model railroader can be many things and wear many hats—you don’t even need to physically own a train to enjoy the hobby! You could simply rent a DVD or purchase a magazine to learn about model trains. But if you want to create your own layout, your imagination is your limit! You do however require varying degrees of a number of skills. These include occupations such as architect or draftsman, carpenter, electrician, artist, landscaper, painter and dreamer, to name a few. One also needs a lot of patience and good eyesight (or at least a very strong magnifying glass). For your children we have a special workshop with supervised, hands-on children’s projects, including a constructible model of the historic Huntsville Train Station as well as jig-saw puzzles in the shape of an old steam engine. There’s even a model train on the floor the kids can learn to run! So enjoy the show—meet some new people who want to share their interest with you. And perhaps remember your childhood train and how much fun you had playing with it!
Thank you for coming! Sincerely, Lucille Frith, President
WEEKEND EVENTS SCHEDULE SATURDAY MAY 18, 10am to 5pm SUNDAY MAY 19, 10 am to 4pm Model
railway layouts operating throughout the day Children’s Workshop 11:30 and 1:30PM *Please register for Children’s Workshop as space is limited Food and beverage service available all day NMRA (National Model Railway Association) – demonstration of modeling techniques all day
History of the Huntsville Train Station In the late 1800s, there was great interest from different communities to be on the route for the railway. Thanks to many factors, including lobbying by concerned citizens, the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway through Huntsville was opened in 1886. This railway became the Grand Trunk and in 1924 it became park of the Canadian National Railway and the current station was built. The railway contributed greatly to Huntsville’s growth and prosperity, transporting goods and passengers on up to twenty trains each day. Steamships relied on the railway to bring passengers, mail and goods to Huntsville before taking them to their destinations on the northern Muskoka lakes or by the Portage Flyer connection over to Lake of Bays. By the 1950s highway and vehicle improvements resulted in a decrease in railway traffic. The station was no longer a focal point in the transportation network and began to fall into disrepair. The present brick station, built in 1924, was designated a heritage railway station in 1988 under the Ontario Heritage Act. The Town of Huntsville acquired the station from the Canadian National Railway in 2003. Since then, the Huntsville Train Station Society has worked hard to re-establish this important heritage building which is used as a passenger waiting room for Ontario Northland Railway.
Refreshments and Barbeque available from the Rotary ‘Party In A Box’ directly outside of the arena!
The Huntsville Train Station Society would like to thank the following for their support of our Huntsville Model Railway Exposition Bill Corrigan, Jon Snelson, David James, Sea Austin, Martina Schroer, Bill Annand, David Starkman, Trevor Frith, Dave Powley, Curtis Prebble and many others who helped out when they were needed! Brian Samuel, Raymond James for sponsoring the school children’s train murals; Rotary Food Service; John Finley and Town of Huntsville Staff; Doug Sullivan, the New Bickley Ford for sponsoring the children’s workshop projects; Kelly Haywood and the Huntsville Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce staff; Cory Buckindale and the Canada Summit Centre staff; Rob Rolston, Rolston’s Home Building Centre; David Crawford, Riverside School; Peter Ayles, Muskoka Renewable Energy; Cory Joiner, Muskoka Rent-All; Muskoka Futures for their community funding assistance; CN Safety Program; Teacher Art Forester and students of St. Dominic’s Secondary School, Bracebridge; Johanne Stewart, Dreams Becoming Reality; Jack Stewart, Big Print; Ontario Northland Passenger Rail Service; Rotary Food Service; World’s Greatest Hobby; Metroland Media, Cottage Country Communications, Moose FM And a big thank you to everyone who attends the show, we hope you enjoy it!
Join us in 2012 for our model railway show which will be expanded to create Muskoka Heritage Transportation Days, planned to include modes of transportation from Huntsville’s past!