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).[definition needed]

1950 Canadian School Train. Pupils attend classes at Nemegos near Chapleau, Ontario.

At its peak, in the 1940s, as many as seven school trains travelled on the tracks of Northern Ontario. 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.

Museum

One of the cars used as a classroom is currently a railcar museum in Clinton.

List of Teachers

The number of cars was increased from 2 to 7, with the teacher and sometimes his wife and family.

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

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.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 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.
  2. ↑ Schuessler, Karl and Mary School On Wheels Boston mills press 1986
  3. ↑ "CNR School on Wheels". Central Huron Tourism. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "Canadian National Railways". Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles 3rd Edition. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
  6. ↑ "Rule Instruction Car # 15029". Alberta Railway Museum. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  7. ↑ "CN 15019 Rule Instruction Car". canadianfreightcargallery.ca. Retrieved 2026-05-24.

Further reading

Toronto Ward Museum