Many large photographs of early days in Cochrane and Northern Ontario are displayed inside the train. Dominantly positioned in the passenger car is a large photograph of all the townsfolk of Cochrane, togged in their "Sunday Best," taken as a memento of Canada Day July 1 1910. "All of the town folk", is not quite accurate however, as all the ladies are noticeably absent. Why? Simple really, as the explanation below the photograph states, they were all home cooking for the evening celebration.

Cooking, was not the prime use of the large potbelly stove displayed in the middle of the coach floor.  It provided the heat necessary to keep passengers warm in winter.  Strategically placed alongside the stove is a sign requesting "gentlemen not to spit on the stove," an apparently frowned upon "custom of the day?"

The Pot Belly Stove, a North American classic, originated in the railroad depots and cabooses that carried many pioneers across this great country for the first time in the early nineteenth century. They found a second home in public buildings and gathering places thereby establishing themselves as a centrepiece of social activity. These portly heaters were, and continue to be, the hearth around which Canadian small towns and communities gather and grow.

The model B&M #4 was built by the Boston & Maine Rail Road Co. for use in railroad cars. A large 18-inch mushroom top is great for cooking with large pots and pans. The ridged body helps increase heat output through increasing the surface area. A large potbelly such as the B&M, is capable of burning for up to 12 hours.

Within the third coach of our Railway and Pioneer Museum is our small tribute to one of the oldest, still active businesses in the world. The Hudson Bay Company was almost 200 years old when Canada was created in 1867. Since its inception in 1670, the Company controlled one-third of present-day Canadian territory. That area, designated Rupert's Land, encompassed most of Northern Ontario and Northern Québec, all of Manitoba, most of Saskatchewan, the southern half of Alberta and a large part of the Northwest Territories. Control over this enormous domain was granted by Royal Charter following the successful voyage of the Nonsuch to trade for beaver pelts with the Cree near James Bay. What began as a simple fur-trading enterprise has evolved into a company that reached, and influenced countries throughout, North and South America, and has become Canada's oldest corporation, and one of its largest retailers

Of interest to our numerous visitors is our Hudson Bay Company flag.  A flag, much used in this territory was the British Red Ensign (a red flag with the Union Flag on the canton) with the capital letters H B C in white on the fly: the letters H and B are joined together in a monogram arrangement. It is widely thought that this flag was probably the prototype for the Canadian Red Ensign and several provincial flags. Artistically displayed within the same glass case are artifacts associated with the "tools of the trade" of the early trapper and trader.