The restoration of the Mattagami 100 locomotive and a Putt-Putt Speeder in Smooth Rock Falls is complete. Mayor Patrick Roberts who has been part of the committee from the on-set says a lot of volunteer hours went into getting them both ready. He adds that the speeder was donated by a local resident Leo Marchand who used it to transport workers from the mill to the trains.
“It was a lot of work to get that because it’s such a small thing and you have to get into the real tight spaces and that. It took a lot of work — it actually did,” he said. “We just finished it, we had to sand blast it, we had it painted and we had to fix all the wood. It looks absolutely beautiful.”
Roberts is proud of the work by the committee, and adds that the project is growing by another historic railway item that was found near Ramore.
“We got a two seater, it’s called a Putt-Putt Fairmont from a Mr. Brian Hagar,” he said. “It was sitting in a field for few years there. It needs a lot of work and that’s the next project. I actually started doing it this morning. I’m pretty excited about it.”
A Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation grant, money from the town of Smooth Rock Falls and donations helped to cover the cost of the project. A ceremony to unveil the site is expected in the coming months.
