McAdam's historic train station to add green energy system to extend tourism season
Tourists hoping to learn about New Brunswick's railway past will now have longer access to a train museum.
The McAdam Railway Station in McAdam is getting federal and provincial money for a new green heating and cooling system.
"We have a heating system in the building, it's an electric boiler in the basement, but it's very expensive to operate," said Elsie Carroll, chair of the board of directors.
A news release Friday announced $1.1 million from two levels of government for upgrades to the heating system, aimed at saving costs and helping the museum stay open for about eight months.
The museum is in the former McAdam train station, a provincial and national historic site built in 1900.
The station once welcomed passengers taking the train between Halifax and Montreal on a route that included part of northern Maine. The service came to an end in 1994.
Carroll said the museum's season now starts in mid-June and runs through the holidays, a schedule that poses a challenge to the heating system.
"We do still open until mid-December, because we do Christmas dinners and we do some events like that which are very pricey to do because the weather is much colder and we have to really keep the heat on," Carroll said.
The dining room, used to host weddings and holiday events, is costly to heat with the museum's current boiler. (Sarah Petz/CBC )
She said there is no heating in the top two out of three storeys, and the new geothermal heating and cooling system is estimated to cut cuts by half, Carroll estimated.
Calling it a treasured historical site to the community and province, Carroll said most visitors are tourists. By increasing the museum's open time, McAdam will benefit, she said.
"The people that come here they support the community as well, they shop in the community as well… a lot of people stay at the campground, they visit the station, they visit the restaurants," Carroll said.
A timeline for installation for the new system is not yet determined.
