All aboard! Visitors to the B.C. Forest Discovery Centre near Duncan will now have a new train to board, and admire.

After four years of being the little engine that could, Ron JeskeyB次元官网网址檚 six-car train static display including the locomotive is now complete.

B次元官网网址淚 was just looking for something to do, I like to find old junk and see what I can make out of it,B次元官网网址� said Jeskey. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 great to see it come together. When I first started this project, I wasnB次元官网网址檛 thinking about a train, I just wanted to make something out of the junk IB次元官网网址檇 found.B次元官网网址�

Jeskey, who is now retired, is originally from Oregon and moved to Canada in 1975. Between both sides of the border he spent 33 years as a music teacher in the public school system. Upon becoming a volunteer with the B.C. Forest Discovery Centre just over 14 years ago, he became a different kind of conductor for special events and occasions on the trains, which he has loved doing for the past 10 years.

Jeskey said when he first got on track with this project he started in reverse with the back little red metal dump car that came from Mount Sicker, followed by the three wooden mine cars that came from Tsable River mine. The little red ore car used to be pushed out of the mine to a hopper where the ore fell down into a larger wooden car.

B次元官网网址淚 started to gather up some of the iron, and built the back coal car first, and then the next three wooden cars, followed by the little crew car which was caved in when I first came across it,B次元官网网址� said Jeskey. B次元官网网址淚 used to go around on a train as a conductor, and IB次元官网网址檇 see all that junk laying along the tracks B次元官网网址� it was mostly the iron; the wood was gone and rotted out but I was able to make use of the rusted iron, and axles. I knew where all the pieces were, I would just go and gather up enough to make a car, build it, then IB次元官网网址檇 go back and gather up enough to make another one.B次元官网网址�

Jeskey says that he did nearly 95 per cent of this project on his own, but when time came for a few others to lend a hand with lifting heavy axles, or placing plexiglass windows in the crew car they were happy to oblige. Volunteers included Arnold Alksne from Penelakut Island who did the fine painting on the plates on the engine by hand. The locomotive, which originally came from James Island in 1937, was acquired by the BC Forest Museum in 1980.

B次元官网网址淎s the project developed, I figured I had almost everything, all I needed was a locomotive, so this one, which was already here on the property, was a rusty mess, so when we had a crane on site a while back, I had them pick it up and put it on the tracks so that I could work on it,B次元官网网址� said Jeskey. B次元官网网址淲e have a decal coming that says CIL which was the name of the company on James Island which manufactured dynamite until September 1998.B次元官网网址�

Jeskey says that the locomotive used to be down at the Forest Discovery Centre playground until the authorities made the decision that for safety reasons that might not be the best fit. Jeskey, who gets a kick out of seeing kids playing around, laughs that they must have been looking for something to do because the gas tank, mufflers, and motor were full of gravel when he first got his hands on it.

B次元官网网址淲e had the motor out of it to get it all cleaned up, but itB次元官网网址檚 frozen,B次元官网网址� said Jeskey. B次元官网网址漌e could always get another motor for it, some of the guys are thinking about it.B次元官网网址�

Jeskey noted that the Forest Discovery Centre was closed after Sept. 23 while they get set up for Halloween, and their night train rides in October. While his new creation wonB次元官网网址檛 be in loco-motion anytime soon, it will join the other trains on site giving visitors the opportunity to walk around and admire them, and their history.

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B次元官网网址淎fter three days, IB次元官网网址檒l push the whole thing back under the covering and weB次元官网网址檒l keep it there over the winter,B次元官网网址� said Jeskey.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not completely done with this yet; weB次元官网网址檇 would like to put more windows in the crew car and so on, but we got it this far and the CIL decal will be added to it later this week. ItB次元官网网址檚 been a real sense of accomplishment for me; it all came from a pile of junk which was either being ignored or hauled off, and I thought shoot, maybe we can make something out of it.B次元官网网址�