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From an extensive archival library of information dating back to the early days of the railroad on Cape Breton Island, the Orangedale Railway Museum has assembled an exhibit on the railway’s contribution to the development of this area and to the building of a nation.
Central to the exhibit is the museum itself, built as a railway station in 1886 for the original Intercolonial Railway (ICR). Now one of the oldest railway stations in Nova Scotia, the Orangedale Railway Museum retains many of the unique construction features and building designs of this era.
The recorded voices of retired railway workers and other locals tell the story of rail transportation in Cape Breton against a visual backdrop of locomotives, the Orangedale Railway Station and other images such as the Scotia ferry crossing the Strait of Canso. In their own words, the people recount past generations and local characters.
A history of railroading on Cape Breton Island details the locomotives that worked in or passed through Cape Breton Island, the derailments, wrecks and rear end collisions. Pictorial history of the Orangedale Railway Station (renamed the Orangedale Museum in 1990) from 1908 to today includes photos of visiting locomotives and the Rolling Stock.
Another display features locomotives from other Cape Breton Island railway stations (only one in use today), ICR and CNR Scotia ferries, as well as other memories.
