N.B. island celebrates its railway heritage with rediscovered art and Lego

A New Brunswick island’s rail heritage is getting special recognition this summer through re-discovered art and thousands of Lego pieces.

Ministers Island is the former estate of Sir William Van Horne, the chief engineer of Canadian Pacific Railway and its president during the late 1880s.

Sir William Van Horne (Courtesy: Parks Canada)

The island’s “RailFest” runs Aug. 5, featuring a model train village constructed out of more than 100,000 Lego pieces and opportunities for visitors to win prizes with their own additions.

Michael Meagher, manager of marketing and events at Ministers Island, says the site has been trying to find new ways to celebrate its rail heritage.

“We've been wanting to have trains on the island for a long time now, and we can't get real trains across to the island. So, the thought of having a model train display was something that has been with us for awhile,” says Meagher.

"RailFest" on Ministers Island, N.B., includes a Lego replica of the historic train station in McAdam, N.B. (Source: Nick Moore/CTV Atlantic)

MariLUG, a group of Lego enthusiasts around the Maritimes, brought the model train display to Ministers Island. One feature is a homage of the historic McAdam, N.B., train station, which includes 2,000 Lego pieces for its roof shingles alone.

“It took us about eight hours just to set it up, and then if you’re adding on the amount of time it takes to build all the structures then that's more like a few months,” says Patrick Bourgoin, a MariLUG member.

Earlier this month, a painting by Van Horne was unveiled for the first time since a brief showing in 1933.

Sir William Van Horne ".007" on oil canvas, circa 1897. (Courtesy: Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum)

Van Horne’s 1897 painting “.007” found inspiration from Rudyard Kipling’s short story of the same name. It is the only Van Horne painting which depicts a rail scene.

“We are the first people in almost a century that are getting a chance to go and look at ‘.007’ on display,” says Meagher. “It’s a beautiful painting.”

The art exhibit "From the Last Spike to Art Connoisseur: A Journey with Sir William Cornelius Van Horne” runs until the end of September.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.