Cornwall Standard Freeholder 28 January 2026 Cornwall Locomotive Number 17 Gets Ticket to Ride Out 12 More Months of Fundraising Cornwall Ontario - Cornwall council has agreed to let the Friends of Engine 17 ride out 12 more months of fundraising efforts related to refurbishing and relocating the well known locomotive artifact within the city. The group provided a letter to the city dated December 2025, sharing that $56,000 has been raised to-date to support the local preservation of the locomotive, which the Ontario Land Tribunal had previously deemed to be an important heritage artifact. "We are encouraged to report that $56,000 has been secured through the generosity of a select group of donors and is currently held by the city," reads the letter. "We continue to seek additional support from corporate partners at the $10,000 level and plan to broaden our outreach to invite smaller donations from other supporters." In late 2024, Cornwall Community Museum and SDG Historical Society senior curator and administrator Brent Whitford made a pitch to council on behalf of the Friends of Engine 17 with a plan for fundraising and related cost estimates to move the artifact to the Benson Centre. Last April, the group of local heritage advocates was given the green light by council to proceed with its efforts. On Monday, Coun. Dean Hollingsworth made the motion to allow the group an extra year of fundraising. "The city, of course, has already committed $44,000 to move the train, which means we'd spend $44,000 and have really nothing to show for it," he said. In 2021, council decided in a 6-5 vote to gift the locomotive to the Eastern Ontario Railway Museum in Smiths Falls, and pay approximately $50,000 to move it there. The money for the relocation would come from $100,000 council added to the 2017 budget to repair Locomotive 17, moneys that should remain in reserves. "The idea of losing $55,000 in fundraising, and an additional $44,000 with nothing to show for it without giving the friends the opportunity to push ahead with this seems a bit premature," said Hollingsworth. "It seems crazy to watch all that money walk without giving the committee full opportunity." Many councillors praised the Friends of Engine 17 for its dedication and hard work. "A few years back, there was not too many people that wanted to wash their hands of this project more than I did," said Coun. Todd Bennett. "My main reason back then was, well, people seemed to complain nothing was happening with this thing, and nobody was stepping up to do anything about it either. In this case, I'm happy to say people have stepped up. And this is a lot of money you've raised. An extra 12 months is the fair thing to do, the right thing to do. Thank you for stepping up." While all councillors voted in favour of granting the extra time to fundraise, some shared words of trepidation. Coun. Sarah Good asked if there was a cost estimate for ongoing maintenance of the artifact. Cornwall's general manager of infrastructure and municipal works Michael Fawthrop explained there are no cost estimates at this time as they would vary dependent on the scope of the project. An operating budget dedicated to the locomotive's ongoing maintenance would be necessary, he assured, in order to prevent its degradation. "I have got great reluctance because that means one more winter in the elements. That train has been rusting away for years," said Coun. Elaine MacDonald, who ultimately supported the extended fundraising timeline. "I don't know at what point for our train the degradation outpaces the community efforts to salvage it in some way." The business plan proposal from the Friends of Engine 17 pegged the project at costing, in its entirety, $153,036. This includes $128,311 related to the locomotive itself, with a 2024 cost estimate for its refurbishment, and 2017 city cost estimates related to a track for the artifact to sit on, and its relocation. It also includes $24,725 related to two interactive display kiosks and two display cabinets. Locomotive 17 was acquired by the Cornwall Street Railway Light and Power Company in 1962, and retired by CN in 1971 when it purchased the Cornwall company's assets (Cornwall Street Railway Light and Power Co. is known as Cornwall Electric owned by Fortis Ontario). It had been used for those nine years to move railway cars around the city and is a testament to the electromotive engine and Cornwall's industrial past.   Shawna O'Neill. Kingston Whig Standard 13 March 2026 Two Station Buildings Along Montreal Street to be Demolished Kingston Ontario - It's the end of an era for two out of three railway station buildings in Kingston's downtown. According to a news release from the city, two of the buildings, located at 810 Montreal Street, will be torn down. CN owns the buildings and said that the structural integrity of the baggage building and the breezeway attached to the baggage building have deteriorated so much that any entry poses extreme safety risks. CN has informed the city that "demolition is the only viable course of action and that it will demolish these structures," read the release. CN has shared that it is taking this action under the federal legislation in effect on the historic railway station. For the public's safety, CN has installed fencing around the site to prevent access during and after demolition. While the two railway station buildings will be removed, CN has determined that the "stone railway station building" on the property does not need to be demolished and that restoration efforts will be explored moving forward. "The railway station buildings are designated as heritage buildings under both federal and provincial legislation. When the city designated the buildings in 1987 (under provincial legislation), CN was a Crown corporation. The intent of the designation, and its consideration within the North Kingstown Secondary Plan, was to protect the heritage character of the buildings if and when CN sold them and to ensure that any future adaptive reuse or development proposals considered the heritage character of the buildings," the release read.