Proponents of a heritage transportation centre have found a temporary home for a collection of vintage vehicles they want to bring back to Cloverdale.
The City of Surrey has agreed to lend the Surrey Heritage Society a building on the Cloverdale Fairgrounds to house the new BC Heritage Transportation Centre.
A memorandum of understanding is being worked out permitting the society to use the old Surrey Museum building at 6050 176 Street (the northeast corner of 60 Avenue and 176 Street). The building was more recently home to the Cloverdale Seniors Centre until about a year ago.
The society is dedicated to the preservation and conservation of heritage assets. Members want to relocate the Teamsters Freight Transportation Museum and Archives Collection from Port Coquitlam to Cloverdale.
Many of the vehicles were on view here as part of the former B.C. Transportation Museum until 1992.
Society director Bill Reid said Unitow has offered to deliver the trucks. There’s 18 in all – 14 are completely restored. Many of the vehicles are from the King collection, named after the original collector, whose wife donated them to B.C. premier W.A.C. Bennett.
A new door will have to be installed that’s large enough to accommodate the collection, which includes photos, license plates, tools, and other memorabilia from the archives.
Reid says the society hopes to broaden this initial collection in the future.
Treasurer Paul Orazietti said the society will be meeting with the Teamsters to discuss the next steps to transfer the collection.
The society is aiming to unofficially open the new centre by May 15, in time for the Cloverdale Rodeo Volunteers will man the centre, opening Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to the end of August.
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