December 18, 2001 For Immediate Release

The Prince George Railway & Forestry Museum is partnering with UNBC to have the Museum's archival collections transferred to UNBC for public access and research. The collections will be stored in the Northern BC Archives at the University. The transfer will be officially announced during an event at the Railway and Forestry Museum on Wednesday, December 19th. The ceremony will begin at 2pm and some of the archival materials will be displayed.

The materials consist primarily of textual, photographic & cartographic records related to the regional developments of the Canadian National, Pacific Great Eastern/BC Rail, and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railways in Northern BC. The collections include significant materials from Prince George, the Peace River region, Terrace and Prince Rupert, dating back as far as 1904.

"Of particular interest are photographs and maps relating to the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific, construction of the Pacific Great Eastern, and the extension of the PGE to Prince George and the Peace River area," says Ramona Rose, UNBC Archivist. "These railways provided a physical and psychological link between northern BC and the rest of Canada and changed forever the development of this area."

The archival materials include information concerning the operation of the Canadian National in northern BC, including construction images and data related to the building of the Goat River, Terrace, and Prince George stations. There are photographs and blueprints of the original brick-constructed station and roundhouse that were once located in Prince George and a fairly complete collection of financial records related to the lumber sales, shipments, and operation of the Fyfe Lake sawmill (c. 1950). In total, there are about 50 boxes of material that will be transferred to the Northern BC Archives.

The Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum is located on River Road, adjacent to Cottonwood Island Park.