PRESS RELEASE For immediate release

Dominion of : the locomotive’s latest movements!

SAINT-CONSTANT, August 30, 2012 – Steam locomotive, Dominion of Canada , is undergoing final preparations at Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, for its trip to the world’s most prestigious railway museum, the (www.nrm.org.uk) in (). Before being moved by rail to Halifax where it will go by ship to England, the Dominion of Canada will be loaded on railway cars at Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, on Friday, August 31 from 10am. Saturday September 1st , the tender will be loaded. Always impressive to look at, these operations require careful logistical and coordinated effort. Dominion of Canada will be part of celebrations in 2013 commemorating the 75th anniversary of the world speed record by a steam locomotive. Dominion of Canada will be restored and repainted in workshops at Shildon, England, for the 2013 celebrations before being returned to Exporail in 2014. Exporail is proud to be associated with this unique and historic series of events of international scope that will reunite six Class A4 steam locomotives, including Mallard , which set the famous speed record on July 3, 1938.

The origin of the name

Designed by Nigel Gresley (1876-1941), chief mechanical engineer, Locomotive 4489 was one of the first of a series of steam locomotives with a streamlined profile for high-speed travel that embodied the English ideals of modernism in the 1930s. Five Class A4 locomotives assigned in 1937 to the rapid-service line between London and Edinburgh (the Coronation) were named after British Empire countries. Originally called Woodcock, then renamed Dominion of Canada , Locomotive 4489 was easily recognizable by its Canadian coat of arms and whistle, gifts of the . A bell added later (another gift from Canadian Pacific) further distinguished the Dominion of Canada from other British locomotives. During the nationalization of the British railway system following the Second World War, the Dominion of Canada ’s initial numbering of 4489 was changed to 60010.

A museum for everyone!

Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (the outdoor site closes at 5 p.m.), Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, hosts the largest railway collection in Canada with more than 160 vehicles , 10,000 artefacts , 200 archive groups and more than 1,000 scale models . Visitors can board some of the 44 vehicles on display in the Angus Pavilion’s Grand Gallery and descend into an observation pit beneath a diesel-electric locomotive and a steam locomotive—an experience not to be found anywhere else in North America! The public can also travel around the site on a period tramway, the only one still operating in Québec. Exporail offers a remarkable opportunity to learn about the evolution of rail transportation from its beginnings until today!

Information: 450-632-2410 Website: www.exporail.org Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

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Source and media contact:

Bruno Cordellier, Communications Officer Tel.: 450-638-1522, extension 249 Email: [email protected]