MIDDLETON, N.S. — The railway through the Annapolis Valley wasn’t just about steam locomotives, freight trains, and passenger cars. It was about trucks and wagons and carts hauling goods to and from the station.“It was more than just trains,” said Middleton Railway Museum Society chairperson David Hankinson. “When the railway opened up the Valley, it helped create a vibrant economy that grew hundreds of jobs, offshoot businesses, local prosperity – and put us on the map.
A closeup of the Fruehauf logo on the 1952 trailer the Middleton Railway Museum recently acquired. Bill Linley • Special to the Annapolis Valley Registerhelped load the van for transport to Middleton. While he had initially bought the trailer to fix up and use in parades, Harris said that never came about. But he’s happy it ended up at the museum where he said it suits the era the museum is trying to depict.
Nick Harris, left, from Fleetworx in New Minas, and Jason Church, of Kelly Towing in Grand Pré, recently loaded this 1952 trailer for transport to the Middleton Railway Museum where it will be on display depicting the trucking industry’s close ties to the railway. Bill Linley • Special to the Annapolis Valley RegisterLinley said the society plans to pressure wash the outside of the van and add lettering appropriate to the era.
Kelly Towing’s Jason Church, right, and Nick Journeay, of Allen’s Home Building Centre, recently move this 1952 Fruehauf trailer to its final position at one of the loading docks at the freight shed of the Middleton Railway Museum. Bill Linley • Special to the Annapolis Valley Register