TIMELINE of RHODES CURRY
CAR "ALEXANDRA"
1877 Nathaniel Curry and Nelson
Admiral Rhodes establish a construction company at Amherst, Nova Scotia. Rhodes was the public face
of the company as it grew from a woodworking plant to one of the leading producers of
railcars in Canada.
1888 Rhodes Curry build all the
stations on the railway line between Pictou and Oxford. The contract was worth $45,000 and
included buildings at Scotsburn, River John, Tatamagouche, Malagash, Wallace, Pugwash,
Oxford and Oxford Junction. The Tatamagouche and Pugwash stations are the only buildings
to survive.
1888 Rhodes Curry is awarded the
contract to complete the construction of Halifax's city hall.
1892 Rhodes Curry supplied the wheels
for the massive carriage of the Chignecto Ship Railway and begins building hundreds of
cars for the Intercolonial Railway. More than 350 people were employed at the Amherst
factory, and in two years (1893-1895) the firm built 1200 freight cars and 15 passenger
cars.
1905 Alexandra built by Rhodes Curry
for Governor General Lord Grey (1904-1911) Over the course of its service it
becomes the official carriage of prime ministers Laurier, Borden, Meighen and King. The
car is named in honour of the new queen, the consort of King Edward VII.
1909 Rhodes Curry amalgamates with
Canada Car Company of Turcot, Quebec and Dominion Car & Foundry Company, of Montreal
to create Canadian Car & Foundry (CC&F) Nathaniel Curry becomes first president
of the new company that later becomes part of the Hawker-Siddley empire.
1910 King Edward dies.
1919 Alexandra is renovated into an
executive car for the Government of Canada.
1925 Queen Alexandra dies of a heart attack at
Sandringham UK.
1929 Alexandra becomes a Canadian
National Railways executive car assigned to Montreal.
1932 Alexandra's wooden exterior is
covered with steel plating.
1942 Alexandra is reassigned to
service out of Winnipeg.
1949 Alexandra is reassigned to service out of
Vancouver
1960 Alexandra is assigned to Saskatoon, and then
to Winnipeg.
1977 Alexandra is retired from service
1979 Modified for use on the Discovery
Train, Alexandra becomes the VIP car as the train travels across Canada.
1981 Alexandra is acquired by the
Museum of Science and Technology at Ottawa.
1986 The last train operates through Tatamagouche on the Oxford shortline.
1989 Alexandra is donated to the Town of Amherst as
part of the town's centennial celebration. The car was placed on track near the town's
railway station and then became the Town's tourist bureau on Highway 6. When the Trans Canada Highway was twinned it was moved to Fort Lawrence
April 2006 The Town of Amherst
declares Alexandra surplus to its needs
September 2006 Alexandra is sold by
the Town of Amherst for $100 to the Nova Scotia Railway Heritage Society
October 2006 Preparations begin to
move the car to the Tatamagouche train station. The station also built by Rhodes Curry is
now the Train Station Inn and has ten cabooses and other pieces of rolling stock many of
which have been converted into tourist accommodations. The station also contains an
extensive collection of railroad memorabilia.
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Web Design by David Othen and Rob
Chant.
Created 25 October 2006 -- Last updated 3 November 2006. |
