Elgin County Railway Museum to Launch Cycling Tours in St. Thomas
Photo: Andrew Gunn & Maddie King of Andrew Gunn Consulting Inc. and young & free press have arranged a donation of $15,000 to the Elgin County Railway Museum to launch cycling tours in St. Thomas. The Museum building can be seen in the background of the photo along with one of the boxcar murals on-site, a lovely piece titled ‘Many Faces’ painted by artist Jaclyn White in 2019.
Our team at young & free press is thrilled to help announce a new donation of $15,000 to the Elgin County Railway Museum to introduce cycling tours to St. Thomas! With the funds, staff members will purchase a fleet of new bikes, including two e-bikes, and coordinate guided tours that feature the rolling stock gallery at the Museum, the collection of large-scale murals in the city, and the St. Thomas Elevated Park. Further, in coordination with the Port Stanley Terminal Rail, there will be ‘bike & rail’ tours offered on select occasions. There have been many additions to the community over the past few years, and the time has come to showcase all these new features in a fun, interactive way! The bikes will start rolling this summer.
Statement from Andrew Gunn of Andrew Gunn Consulting and young & free press. “Our main goal this year is to allocate funds to projects that activate spaces around St. Thomas. Right now, there is a massive movement toward healthy living globally, and cycling is a beautiful way to see the city, get some exercise, and connect with others. Members of my team travelled last year in Amsterdam and Paris, and noted the dramatic shift toward building cities to facilitate all modes of transportation. In St. Thomas, we have been doing this gradually through the ‘Complete Streets’ program, and there is so much potential to do more. We could easily become a cycling city by building upon our network of trails and bike lanes. This contribution to the Elgin County Railway Museum allows staff to welcome guests to see the incredible collection of rail assets in the museum, and then go out to see the spectacular murals around the city and enjoy the views at the St. Thomas Elevated Park. The twist is that these tours will be guided and will add to the cultural life in and around the downtown.”
Wil Zufelt, Chief Operating Officer of the Elgin County Railway Museum, adds that “St. Thomas is what it is today because of the presence of the railway in the area, and so there’s great railway history all around us. These tours will give us the opportunity to bring attention to valuable historical spaces around the city and further public interaction with, and knowledge of, these places.”
Details regarding the tours will be made available closer to the launch date. Watch for more information at www.ecrm.ca and on the Museum social media platforms.
