School car
In the Northern Ontario bush, many families lived too far from communities to allow their children to attend school. As a way of providing education to these children of railroad workers, trappers, natives and other people of the bush the Canadian government instituted the school car system (in French: Des écoles sur rails).
At its peak, in the 1940s, as many as seven school trains travelled on the tracks of Northern Ontario.[1] The school cars or "school on wheels" ran from 1926 to 1967, and stopped at each site on their route for three to five days out of a month.[1][2]
Museum
One of the cars used as a classroom is currently a railcar museum in Clinton.[3]
List of Teachers
The number of cars was increased from 2 to 7, with the teacher and sometimes his wife and family.[4]
| Teacher | Railroad | Area | Year Began | Length of Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Sloman, wife Cela, and children | Canadian National Railways (CNR) | Capreol West | 1926 | 39+ years | Car #15029, Ville Marie |
| Walter McNally | Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) | Chapleau East | 1926 | 13 years | Car #15019, Stadacona |
| William Wright | CP | Chapleau West | 1928 | 40 years | |
| William Fleming | CNR | Port Arthur North Branch | 1928 | approx 18 Years | |
| Andrew Clement | CNR | Port Arthur West, Sioux Lookout West, North Bay North | 1930 | 28 years | |
| Angus and Helen McKay | CNR | Sioux Lookout West, North Bay North | 1934 | 12 years | |
| Henry Antoniak | CNR | Sioux Lookout West, Port Arthur West | 1938 | Approx 10 years | |
| Cameron Bell | CP | Chapleau East | 1944 | 4 years | |
| James Chalmers | CNR | Port Arthur West | 1946 | 16 years | |
| Philip Fraser | CNR | Sioux Lookout West | 1946 | 19 years | |
| Florence Bell | CP | Chapleau East | 1948 | 1 year | |
| William Colcock | CP | Chapleau East | 1949 | 1 year | |
| Cecil Corps | CP | Chapleau East | 1950 | 3 years |
- Note:Canadian National Railways' name was changed in 1960 to Canadian National (CN).[5]
Rule instruction cars
Other types of mobile classroom school cars were converted sleeper cars used as mobile rule instruction cars. These were dropped off at various locations to provide education to railroad workers and test them on rules and procedures.
- The rule instruction car No. 15029, built by National Steel Car in 1916 as the Ville Marie, converted in 1956, and on display at the Alberta Railway Museum.[6]
- Car No. 15019 was an Intercolonial Railway sleeper car built in 1912 as the Stadacona, converted to a rule instruction school car, and was retired in 1972. It is on display at the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum in Capreol.[7]
See also
- Kindergarten on Wheels
- School on Wheels Inc.
References
- ^ a b Siegel, Alicia (9 January 2023). "School Cars: How trains brought classrooms to children in remote communities". CBC. Archived from the original on 15 February 2025. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ^ Schuessler, Karl and Mary School On Wheels Boston mills press 1986
- ^ "CNR School on Wheels". Central Huron Tourism. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
- ^ Schuessler, Karl; Schuessler, Mary. "School on Wheels: Reaching and Teaching the Isolated Children of the North" (PDF). The Boston Mills Press. p. 64. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
- ^ "Canadian National Railways". Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles 3rd Edition. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
- ^ "Rule Instruction Car # 15029". Alberta Railway Museum. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
- ^ "CN 15019 Rule Instruction Car". canadianfreightcargallery.ca. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
Further reading