THUNDER BAY — Charlie Brown worries that the 117-year-old James Whalen will be scrapped unless it's removed from the Kam River Heritage Park in the near future.
It's why the president of the Lakehead Transportation Museum Society is pushing a plan to relocate the former tugboat to the society's exhibit site at the former Pool 6 elevator.
The James Whalen developed a leak and took on water last April, almost sinking at its berth on the Kam River.
The LTMS requires a small expansion of its leased city-owned property to safely display the historic vessel.
"We have a plan, but we need the city's permission to extend a small portion down to the water. We want to put the tug in front of the [former Coast Guard icebreaker] Alexander Henry," Brown explained in an interview Tuesday.
He said the water is very shallow in that spot, so dredging would be needed to float the James Whalen in.
After that, the site would be backfilled.
"It would basically be a dry land option...It would be there and it would never sink, and we'd never have a problem with that," Brown said.
The LTMS first needs a recommendation to council from the city's Waterfront Development Committee.
If the city agrees to the plan, Brown believes the James Whalen could be at its new home by next year.
He said "this is the easiest and cheapest option available to us," adding that "nobody's come up with any other options" for preserving the tug for posterity.
Besides the Alexander Henry, the transportation museum currently displays a pair of former Brill trolley buses.
Brown said a longer-range goal is to investigate acquiring the Via Rail passenger cars that are currently displayed at Kam River Heritage Park.
The LTMS will unveil more details about its five-year strategic plan at a news conference Wednesday.
