Clinton - CNR School on Wheels Celebrates 100 Years

Fred Sloman's CNR School on Wheels in Clinton is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. 

The railcar currently residing in Clinton's park was moved there in 1982 after the original was found decaying in a Mississauga rail yard. While the program launched in 1926 with Sloman on the CN line and Walter McNally on the CP line, the current car is actually Fred's second. In 1940, the family upgraded to this larger car to accommodate their five children, including twins, who traveled the route from Capreol to Foleyet alongside their parents.

Curator Anne Talbot explains that the car today is a representation of the family's mobile life. While some items are props (like the desks which match the period rather than being the originals) many genuine artifacts remain. The 150-mile route consisted of several stops on railway sidings, where they would park on a siding for a week at a time. Students would trek to the car by snowshoe or dogsled for a standard school day. Because the car only visited each location once every four or five weeks, Sloman would leave students with a massive load of homework to bridge the gap. Though students only received about 50 days of formal instruction per year, the school ran from September to June before the family returned to Clinton for the summer.

At its peak in the late '30s and early '40s, the program expanded to seven cars, some traveling as far as the Manitoba border. For the Sloman children, this lifestyle was a "worldly adventure" rather than a burden; they were exposed to a mosaic of cultures as new families moved into the region for railway and mining work. Talbot notes that while the railcar was open to everyone, most students were children of railway workers who moved frequently for work.

Fred Sloman himself was well-educated, known for quoting Shakespeare and discussing complex science in the same breath. This intellectual environment clearly influenced his children, whom he taught from kindergarten through high school. Each child returned to Clinton for their final year of high school to prepare for university, eventually pursuing successful careers in medicine, statistics and health. The last surviving child, one of the twins, is now in her late 80s.

The School on Wheels opened for the season on Victoria Day (Saturday, May 16) and remains open through Thanksgiving.

Visiting hours are Thursday through Sunday and holiday Mondays, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Visitors can enjoy guided tours or explore the family history on display at their own pace. While the museum is working on an electronic payment system, admission currently remains by cash donation. Sloman Memorial Park, 76 Victoria Terrace, Clinton www.schoolcar.ca