Aging Hollinger Mine artifacts in Timmins to undergo major restoration

Timmins to refurbish historic mining equipment An historic mining locomotive and a vault that kept gold and money safe are two of the items that will be refurbished.

An old locomotive that was used at the historic Hollinger Mine to haul ore is part of a collection of historic artifacts at Whitney Park.

The park is located on Highway 101 East, in a high-traffic area that overlooks Porcupine Lake.

“I know it’s been here for a long time,” said Timmins Coun. John Curley.

“We used to go swimming here at Bannerman Park ‘cause there’s a good swimming area at one time over here. So I’m trying to not date myself, but I can remember it when I was younger -- a lot younger.”

But time hasn’t been kind to the items, which are becoming a safety concern.

“Right now there are a lot of sharp metallic pieces on it, there’s some things that are wobbly and that kind of thing so we want to have that repaired,” said Karen Bachmann, curator of the Timmins Museum.

“The decision to act made by the community itself, who made it quite clear for a number of years that the park itself was starting to look a little bit run down. There were some issues with regards to preservation.”

The train will be departing soon for Gorf Manufacturing, where restoration will take place over the winter ahead of a return to the park next spring.

Other pieces in the park will also be refurbished, such as a drill, an engine and a vault.

“The vault itself is an important piece for the Porcupine and actually for the province, as well,” Bachmann said.

“You’ll note there’s a historic plaque on that that’s been declared by the province -- it’s been declared a heritage site. And the vault itself is the first vault for the first mine recorder’s office for the Porcupine area. That survived the fire. That survived a lot of different things.”

It was used to store gold and money and it even survived the great Porcupine fire. One round item was used to grind pieces of ore into smaller pieces.

“History for here and how we come and what was actually used,” Curley said.

“I think people are amazed by what was actually used back in the day.”

The project will cost the city around $40,000, with about half of it going towards the train. Storyboards will also be installed to explain what each item is.