THUNDER BAY — No sooner had the Lakehead Transportation Museum Society dedicated its new attraction on the Thunder Bay waterfront than its president was setting his sights on the next project.
Charlie Brown says the volunteer group is now working to add the historic James Whalen tugboat to its growing collection of key components of Thunder Bay's transportation history.
On Wednesday, the LTMS officially welcomed two Brill trolley buses of the type that served the former cities of Port Arthur and Fort William decades ago.
The buses are on display near the Alexander Henry, the former Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker that's been restored as a museum by LTMS members.
Brown said with the bus project virtually completed, "We're going to look at the James Whalen. What we'd like to do is bring it over from the Kam River Heritage Park and incorporate it with the rest of the artifacts that we have. We'll fix her up and make her look good again."
It's been suggested over the years that the tugboat is rather neglected in its current location.
Last April the 116-year-old boat developed a leak and almost sank at its mooring.
Brown said the starting point for acquiring the James Whalen is approval in principle from Thunder Bay city council.
"We do have plans on how to go about this...but we basically need city council to say 'Yes, we are in line with what you guys are doing,' and then we can move forward with the city on the expansion of the property and moving the tug over here."
Brown said it's important to preserve the things that were important in the history of transportation in Thunder Bay.
Without them, he said, the city "wouldn't exist as it does today."
Brown cited the role of the voyageurs who brought the fur trade here, followed by shipping, railways and the local manufacturing of transit vehicles.
"Transportation is the backbone of this community. We are in the middle of Canada. It's a hub...This is our history and we think we should be saving it, showing it off, and we should be turning it around and making it profitable as a tourist attraction."
He said many people might be surprised to hear the positive response to the waterfront display from visitors who have never been to Thunder Bay, saying "they are really impressed" with what the group has accomplished so far.
At this point there's no estimate for the cost of adding the James Whalen to the collection.
Brown said the bill will be nothing like what it cost to bring the Alexander Henry from Kingston.
"We moved it over 900 nautical miles all along the Great Lakes system. Yes, that one was a little pricey...This one is only a mile or two along the waterfront. Certainly we have the know-how and the manpower to do this in an economical fashion."
