Railroad school

[Matthyro]

There was an article in last Saturdays Toronto Star newspaper about schooling in remote areas in the 1920s. A train would drop the school car in a remote area and local children would get the opportunity for some education. The car had desks for 18 children. The teacher and his family lived in the other half of the car. After 4 or 5 days the car would be moved to another location. The children were left lots of homework to do before the car returned. It operated on a 240km stretch of track north of Sudbury Ontario.

 

[Matthyro]

A view of the car.

 

[N Gauger]

Neat stuff!!!!!!!!!! Tooo Cool!

 

[ezdays]

Really cool. Wouldn't it be a riot if they hooked the car up during class and the whole school, students and all wound up in the next town? Long walk home.....

D N

 

[Clerk]

That was real great what they did for the kids. Thanks for the pictures Robin.

 

[UP_STEVE]

that is pretty good

it reminds me of the dentist trains we had in queensland, before my time mind you, they traveled the rails to remote towns and did dentist work on the kids and maybe adults too i guess

 

[Pitchwife]

When I started school, from first through third grade I went to a one room school. Unfortunately it didn't have wheels. Very nice pictures and thanks for the education on education.

 

[Ben H]

Yes the country school house with all grades in one room. I went to one in the wheat belt of Canada until grade eight.

Rode a bike on the country roads during spring and summer and rode horses in the winter. Great life when I look back but also remember it being the pits on a cold stormy winter day.

But it was where I first heard the distant whistle of the steam trains as they worked the Soo Line on those cold winter mornings.

 

[babydot94513]

I have never heard of this before and I have to admit this is a novel way to reach remote areas in an effort to educate children.

Thanks for bringing this piece of history from the past to our attention.

 

[60103]

School Cars

The School Car is now in a park in Clinton, Ont. This is about an hour around Lake Huron from Sarnia/Port Huron. I think when we visited it that the daughter of the teacher was there as curator.

 

[jimmybeersa]

Here in the RSA we have a similar Education Train and one dealing with the HIV/Aids Clinics,, also we have had for years a train dealing with Sight Promlems even down to a full eye Operating Theater on it, With the large incidence of Glycoma amonst our bantu population, many cases of blindness must have been avertited Trains are a sure fire way to get to the rural communities

 

[MasonJar]

Originally posted by UP_STEVE
that is pretty good

it reminds me of the dentist trains we had in queensland, before my time mind you, they traveled the rails to remote towns and did dentist work on the kids and maybe adults too i guess

Steve...

The Smith's Falls Railway Museum has a dental car the you can tour.

I took a few pictures when I visited the museum in the spring. I'll post them when I find them.

Andrew

Edit: Here is a link to the pictures in the "The Real Thing: Canada" forum.