School On Wheels Railway Museum
Posted by: 
Simrebel
N 43° 36.338 W 081° 32.246
17T E 456627 N 4828212
A unique little museum located in Clinton, Ontario, Canada.
Waymark Code: WMENRA
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 06/20/2012
Views: 11
The School that Rode the Rails, by Elizabeth Willmot Kettlewell
Up in the sparsely settled bushland north of Sudbury, Ontario, many children of railway workers, trappers, prospectors and lumbermen received their education in schools on wheels.
The first* of these schools was a converted coach donated by Canadian National Railways in 1926. Its teacher was the late Fred Sloman of Clinton, Ontario, the man who later became known as the "Dean of Car School Instructors."
This experiment was evolved by Dr. J.B. McDougall of the Ontario Department of Education and by Mr. Sloman, both of whom had taught in Northern Ontario and felt a deep concern over the absence of educational opportunities in these scattered settlements. So successful was the experimental school that soon seven schools on wheels traversed more than 4,500 miles (7241 km) of railway line throughout the province's hinterland.
Each week, a CN Rail 'wayfreight' train moved the "school car" to specially-built sidings between Capreol and Folyet, where it would remain for five days or so. Pupils would then be left with sufficient homework to last until their school returned to them from a full tour of its 149-mile (240 km) schoolyard. More than 1,000 children graduated from this unique school, including Fred and Cela Sloman's own five children.
In 1940, CN Rail replaced the first school car with an 80-foot converted colonist car. Under the Sloman's direction, it was refurbished to meet the needs of both school and family living quarters. This new car, which was built in 1914, was numbered "CNR School on Wheels No. 15089," and served until 1964, when Fred Sloman retired and moved back to his boyhood home, Clinton.
Plans were made for the School Car to be exhibited at the 1967 World's Fair, Expo '67, in Montreal, Quebec and then to become part of a permanent railway museum. Unfortunately, before this could happen, vandals almost succeeded in destroying it totally, and for many years even its whereabouts remained uncertain.
In July 1982, when the car was re-discovered under private ownership near Toronto, Ontario, the Town of Clinton decided to purchase the former workplace of one of its most famous citizens, and on October 22, 1982, it was safely delivered to Clinton by CN Rail.
* there were actually two school cars that began service in 1926, the other with CP Rail, which got on track about 15 minutes ahead of the CN School Car.
Related links: [Web Link]
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