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ABOARD THE Miy'tryiT)lyIItpiit STEAM ENMNE‘ mm W About 750 people went from Merton m {union Sunday the way they mm In many years ago ~- by steam lacomutive. The FIG-mik- return {rip was the finale ot' 1lrl, Man‘s weelumd centennial celebration, Dressed in 19th century attire, Glenn Reeve hustles passengers aboard the l train. " Ry BREAN (HMSTMAS M The Free Press; V 'm 'FkFla at um , tHit? fig”. hU “U 1yy).id to {to it for the kids," said Tom Robson hi tlk centenniat committee. ' Many people dressed for the occasion, sport~ mg 19th centuyy attire and some with full growths of "centennial beards.“ The engine left an intermittent trait of thick, black smoke as it wormed through wheat and aluV' Ili, is Mm! we PM“ .1 lilo was: 'tgo, Sp we LU! I vegetable fields. Herds of live§lpck were sent into a frenzy by the. unfamlhar Slght and sound. "That's the way they used to be 30 years ago," a CN spokesman said. "You eouldn't see this part ottortrfor the smoke," 7 "ghe'i, not as sharp as she used to be " Mr. Nicholls. , The 6060 was one of 20 of a moderuilt dur- ing the 40s, the others being rendered to scrap oUnu?euln pieces ngrs ago. Its tender" origirially cairied coal but later was converted] to oil after good coal became scarce. ' "There's something about old steam engines that attracts people," said Mr. Hick, as he and co-engine'ers manipulated a series of valves taps and hand-throttles to keep the train sic ing. "They like to see the smoke and stuff and hear the noise." As flames blistered paint on the exterior of the lijeom0tive's firebox, the southeast section of the London core was clouded over with a thick black smoke. _ London firefighters were .called but the loco- motive’s firemen had things under control. There are about Ill people in Canada capable of running the locomotive, whose activity is mainly in Southern Ontario. It Gil to back up seven miles to pick up about 70 London-bound passengers who were inadvertently left in Ilderton. The 125-ton locomotive still can travel up to 80'un.p.h., but the condition of the branch line and the age of the engine limited Sunday's av- erage speed to about 30. Op Saturday, those too young to remember when steam locomotives were pommonplace had a momentary taste, smell and sight of what their moms and 1.iidsfacel d_aily. The 6060 was being fired up at Londo ' ' rolnildhouse when things "got awaurnfcircra:I w 11 e." ' Tlu/locomotive was more than an hour late arriving back inpondon. _ Those who couldn‘t. buy the $10 adult and $5 children tickets but wanted to be in on the fun, formed a moliorcade in hot pursuit on a road which paralleled the rail line part of the way to Clinton. . Some of the 13 coaches offered quiet/air-con- dimmed comfort. The engine, built in Montreal lil ")14, serv- iced western provinces untifbeing retired onto a concrete slab In J aspet, Alta., around 1960. Public outcry forced its revival in 1973, said, Mr. Brewer, a master mechanic at CN. ' Many railway crossings had dozens of pic- ture-taking and tipe-reeording spectators far cinaled by the olive green hulk, , Clinton was chosen as the train’s destination because it has a "Y" track enabling it to turn around. The Ilderton centennial committee paid $9,000 to ycharter the train, Mr. Robson said. A. brass band "rolled out the barrel" as peo ple sang and ate from picnic baskets. Allen Brewer, Norm Nicholls and Roy Hick, all long-time employees of CN, were at the controls of the "iron horse." . . At Clinton, bagpipers- escorted the travellers to a nearby park where a plaque was present- ed to Clinton Reeve Harold Lobb. Free Press photos by Bill Irons/de and Rick Eglinton said Built in 1944, retired in 1960 and resurrected in 1973, trip from Merton toolinton as part of the centennial. It's the locomotive took on about 750 passengers on a return the only operational CNR steam locomotive in Canada, Gauges, faucets and throttles,. rather than pushbuttons, type 6060 used in the Ilderton centennial celebration on control the steam locomotive in the cab of this mountain- Sunday. T on dressed in the garb of old baby buggy and ma "defied Adam in an 85-year- tennial parade Saturday old baby buggy and marched proudly in the oisertdi, I tennial parade Satummz Itht: