CNR School on Wheels

CNR School on Wheels Museum

Looking for something to do on a summer afternoon? Visit the CNR School on Wheels Museum in Sloman Park. The seasonal museum promises an entertaining and educational experience revolving around local and provincial history.

From 1926 to 1965, Fred and Cela Sloman, along with their young family, spent ten months of the year on a railcar travelling through the Northern Ontario bush. The car was part of a program called School on Wheels that provided education to students in remote Northern Ontario. 

The railcar served as both a classroom and a living space for the Sloman family as it moved along a 150 mile stretch of track between Capreol and Foleyet. The car would travel connected to a train, before being left on a small piece of side track for several days while Fred Sloman taught the local children. The car would hook up to another train and continue on, leaving homework for the students until the school car would return.

For 39 years, the Slomans brought the gift of education to Northern Ontario until Fred retired in 1964. The last railcar of the program was taken off the rails in 1967, since technological advancements made the North more accessible. In 1982, the schoolcar was in disrepair and for sale. Elizabeth Willmot encouraged Cela Sloman and her daughter Margaret to speak to the Clinton Council, who purchased the car. Today, the schoolcar sits in Sloman Park and has become a museum where visitors can go on guided tours.

Admission is by donation. The museum is open annually from Thursdays to Sundays (11am-4pm) from Victoria Day weekend to the end of September. Near the end of August, the park is also typically the site of a community picnic called Picnic in the Park!

Drone footage submitted by Dave Winsel.

Do you have photos from your visit to the School on Wheels? Email them to cicasst@centralhuron.com.