The 50's
I just climbed out of Canada's first nuclear protected bunker.
All the information and links are covered here
http://edmontoncivildefencemuseum.com/
and here.
http://civildefencemuseum.ca/
It ties in with the G749 Preservation theme so I won't start a thread until this project is a sure thing and I have the blessings of Steel Soldiers for a party....sometime in 2015/16 with luck.
All the bunker info is in the links. To keep the post shorter I'll only tie my trucks, the MVPA and Steel Soldiers into the story. I have a ship load of various projects on the go for the G749 trucks but this one is now set in cement.
The bunker, built in the 50's had been a mystery to most of the City's residents until today. After 5 years of work, an individual by the name of Fred Armbruster, brought the City, Architects, Accountants, Maintenance staff, money and short fat balding guys together to open discussion on its future.
I met Fred through research I was doing on the 50's shop van comms' system
and we immediately started brainstorming MVPA/ Steel Soldiers invite letters for gatherings and awareness campaigns, what the displays will look like and where the buses will park. I threw my hat into the ring a few months ago still not knowing the potential fate of the building. The City owns it and they don't know what to do with it......but Fred does.
It's all still a dream with an uncertain ending so I've been quiet about it until now. A few weeks ago I hauled Fred out to the G749 farm to look at the 50's era toys I collected. He met with our local MVPA group and the link between our two passions was obvious. The timeline of the G749 trucks and the development of Canada's bunker system will tell a story of planning, communications and secrecy.
Today I cleaned the parking lot, helped set up the generator and cracked the door to watch Fred do a spectacular presentation to the CCDMA board and the City of Edmonton. We were the first 'public' group to see the building in decades. Years of 'administration' work still needs to be done before we hook the 50's comm' van to the bunker and haul an air raid siren in the deuce, but I'm in the game.
This bunker is partly powered by an inline 6 Chrysler which ran on natural gas but was also multi fuel.
Electrical systems were UPS (uninterrupted power supply). She had one of the earliest ionizer air systems and a boiler which burned coal but was also multi-fuel.........and I have a lot to learn.
The group wants to discover, preserve and tell the 50's nuclear story, from a global perspective. There are so many links and stories between Canada and the United States with the Pine tree line, the Dew line and the benefits of a great relationship..........
.......what's your 50's nuclear story?
The photos on the website are probably better than these but I'll add them for flavor.