With the opening up of the Canadian border to vaccinated US travelers August 9th, this meant my neighbours to the south are once again enjoying the sights and attractions of the Great White North. May I recommend one very good automotive museum in central Alberta if that’s your thing, the Reynolds Museum in Wetaskiwin.
The museum came to be from the private collections of Stan Reynolds, a businessman and world-renowned collector who donated many automotive and agricultural items to the government of Alberta in 1981, and later the museum after it was opened in 1992. Reynolds donated approximately 1,500 artifacts to the museum before his death in 2012.
The collection now includes more than 500 vehicles, 130 aircraft, 5,000 pieces of agricultural equipment and 70,000 pieces of trade literature. Concerning the latter, if you ever need to research a particular vehicle it’s very likely the library will have not only brochures but perhaps other types of documents or books related to that vehicle or manufacturer.
The Reynolds Museum also has a separate building warehousing many more vehicles. You can take a warehouse tour by appointment during certain times of the year. This tour is a must see and you will feast your eyes on a wide variety of vehicles stacked up to the ceiling.
Noteworthy aircraft are stored in the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame just a short walk from the main building.
The restoration shop is a spacious area where not only collectable cars have been restored, but rare agricultural equipment and machinery.
The public can view the goings on from a large window on an upper level and watch shop supervisor Darren Wiberg and his team work on various projects. Darren has been at Reynolds since 1987 and headed up many outstanding restorations. He also conducts annual restoration workshops.
PR person Cynthia Blackmore recently obtained permission for me to stop in and have a look at what’s happening these days at the museum.
Those workshops sell out quickly. The current project which he says is his last before retirement, is a very rare 1955 Canada diesel powered truck. Yes, it is called Canada, a single axle highway rig for trailer towing. The work is being aided by cannibalizing a damaged donor truck.
Darren describes the truck as a “prototypical machine” with very, very few built in the late fifties. How many exactly? No information exists that can confirm a production figure. The company behind its limited production was A.V. Roe Canada Ltd, builders of the advanced Avro Arrow long-range jet bomber. When the Arrow was cancelled, every other project A.V. Roe was involved with died including the Canada truck. There is almost nothing recorded about the Canada truck’s history. Darren says the 5-ton rig, has a two-speed Eaton axle rated at 9,000 lbs. The gearbox has ten forward speeds.
Diesel powered highway trucks were not yet quite a common in the late fifties so the straight 6-cylinder Leyland diesel was a rare powerplant at the time putting out 175 horsepower and a healthy 495 lb. ft. of torque at 2,100 max rpm.
Darren hopes the restoration of the Canada will be completed this fall. It’s a big job in terms of body work, frame restoration and powertrain aided with dedicated volunteers.
The Reynolds Museum always hosts major events and this summer opened a large exhibit of classic motorcycles. This is a family-oriented venue and one not to be missed by fans of self-propelled vehicles whether they have two wheels, four or more.
Very cool!
My kind of museum, given the wide range of objects. Outstanding building and site too. Thanks for the report Garry!
I guess the Leyland diesel engine in the Canada tractor is an O.680 (11.1 liter).
Johannes
Early Leyland diesel engines were in some transit buses used by the city of Edmonton. That would be late forties, early fifties. I didn’t ask Darren how many litres or cubic inches the engine displaced. Standing next to it, I wouldn’t call it huge.
The hp-rating seems to be about right for the naturally aspirated O.680.
DAF also used that engine from the late fifties onwards. In 1968, it evolved into DAF’s own 1160-series of diesel engines (11.6 liter displacement, see below). They built it for almost 30 years, in 1997 it was replaced by a brand new 12.6 liter turbodiesel.
So in a way, that Leyland engine was the early starting point of the current Paccar MX-13 engine (12.9 liter).
It is on my bucket list. Of our plans succeed, we shall be moving within an hour of Wetaskiwin in the not too distant future. Also an hour from Cold War Motors so I will have entertainment haha
That cab has significant IH DNA by the look of it
It does appear to use the International L-series cab. Diamond-T also used the same cab.
Along with Diamond T, the IH “Comfo-VIsion” cab was apparently also used by Hendrickson, Oshkosh, Cline, Sicard, Duplex, and FWD, among others.
Exactly like my old ’55 IH R110. But with better paint.
IH trucks had a different cab in ’56.
But this cab, which was extremely space efficient, was used by all manner of makes and tonnages for many years.
Too far to visit, but your writeup takes me there.
Thanks
The Studebaker Champion lady must have just been checking the oil and didn’t quite close the hood all the way. The front bumper brackets are also a little bent.
Those were the days when if you bought the cheapest model they made it made sure to announce your cheapness to the world, like with that black rubber rear fender guard. Today a lot of cars do have exterior trim differences for each trim level, but you have to know what you are looking at.
That particular car was still not the least expensive trim level for 1951. There was the lowest ‘Custom’ trim level (F-1). which would have had painted headlight & taillight doors, round license plate light, and chrome only around the instruments in front of the driver. The ’51 Champion sedan Reynolds owns is the mid-range F-3 ‘Regal’ trim level.
I like this old truck and hope I can get to see it and the rest of the museum some day .
-Nate
This looks like a wonderful place to visit.
A trip to Canada’s prairie provinces has long been on my list of places to go, so I will definitely remember the Reynolds Museum for when I’m able to go. Thanks for highlighting the museum and this truck here!
Eric703
You won’t be disappointed and if possible, depending on the time of year take the “Warehouse Tour” as there are many interesting automotive treats tucked away. Some of those vehicles get rotated into exhibition into the main building.
When you said “single axle”, I imagined a proto-Segway.
Do auto museums keep many–or any–of the cars in running condition? I wonder how Jay Leno does it, and what he plans for his collection. His fire/theft insurance must be through the roof.
This truck started out as a pure Leyland design and the company was known as Leyland Canada initially. By the time it was being made many local (read: North American) components found their way in in order to make it more attractive to the local market but it was too little, too late. Another Leyland mess up.
Wow. That place is impressive!
The museum should do more to promote the place.
It is outstanding and the quality of restorations are first class. The restoration classes are also great, if you can get in. They are held during the wi terminal and fill up quickly.