490,000-pound Locomotive 6167 to be moved to Guelph park on Nov. 14

Locomotive 6167 is on the move.

The 490,000-pound steam engine that’s been sitting at Guelph Central Station will be moved around the corner to John Galt Park in front of the River Run Centre.

Moving day is scheduled for Nov. 14 when the 80-year-old engine and its tender will be lifted by crane onto a trailer before making the short trip to its new home on Woolwich Street.

At just a few hundred metres, the trip that’s about a five-minute walk will take crews nine hours to complete.

Macdonell Street will be closed from Guelph Central Station to Woolwich Street from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Woolwich Street from the River Run Centre to Macdonell will also face temporary closures during the move.

Guelph Central Station and all bus routes are relocating to Cork Street for the day.

Residents who are tempted to watch are being asked to stay home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. It will be streamed live on the Guelph Museums Facebook page.

Locomotive 6167 has had quite a history after being built in 1940.

It was used by CN Rail for passenger and freight service and during the Second World War, it hauled troops and supplies to the eastern ports.

On July 6, 1943, it was involved in a full-speed head-on collision that killed three people and injured several others. Despite extensive damage, it was repaired due to a critical war-time shortage of locomotives.

The engine continued service until 1960 when CN replaced all of its steam engines with diesel engines, but was still used for special excursions until 1964. In those four years, it carried about 40,000 passengers throughout Ontario, becoming known as Canada’s most photographed locomotive.

CN then gifted the locomotive to Guelph in 1967 in honour of Canada’s centennial.

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Following the initial hype, the engine eventually became an eyesore with no funding for its upkeep. But after years of being targeted by vandals and decay, a restoration project was completed in 2014.

The train is currently sitting on land owned by Metrolinx, which ended their lease with the city to make way for all-day GO train service.

Guelph city council approved $650,000 to move 6167 to its new home during budget deliberations last year.