If the Muskoka Rails Museum/Station Project has its way Bracebridge will have a replica of their original railway station built within the next couple of years. The newly formed, non-profit corporation organization, which grew out of the Muskoka Model Railway Club, is actively working towards that end.

  “We had to first ask the Town of Bracebridge to re-zone the land,” explains Dave Powley of the Muskoka Rails Museum/Station Project. Though the site of the future station is to be where the original station stood from 1887 to 1971, the land was no longer zoned for train traffic.

  “The re-zoning was put in place in early January of this year,” says Cheryl Kelley, Director of Economic Development for the Town of Bracebridge

  “But the trains won’t stop if there is no shelter,” says Powley, adding that the next step is to put up a temporary shelter. The town has this in hand, too, having just issued a request this week for proposals for this shelter.

  The trains in this case will be Ontario Northlander passenger trains. Once the temporary shelter is available there will be a scheduled train service out of Bracebridge. “Tickets will be sold on the train,” says Powley. And once there is a regular service they anticipate an interest in building a permanent station.

  “It will be just like the original station that was built in 1887,” explains Powley, adding that he has just obtained copies of the original plans from the National Archives in Ottawa. They are using these, along with some old photos they have obtained from local residents, to have a local artist do a rendition of the new station. These will be printed and offered for sale as part of the group’s fund-raising for the future station.

  “The new station will have board and batten exterior, as the original was,” says Powley, adding it will be of a more durable nature. Powley also states that the station will be approximately the same size as the original – 5600 square feet. A museum will be part of the structure of course, in keeping with the group’s goals. “But there will also be boutiques and shops in the station, too,” Powley says, stating that he already has interest and support from store owners in town.

  “It will also serve as a transportation hub,” says Kelley, adding that this will include bus service, as the Northlander has an inter-provincial bus service.

  It will bring more tourists to the town, Powley anticipates, and will include on-site information services to service them. It is also expected to create a handful of new jobs, and add to the town’s economic development in promoting Bracebridge as a tourist destination.