[BCMA] Empress of Ireland - special exhibit at the Revelstoke Railway Museum

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

MEDIA RELEASE               Revelstoke, BC                                July 24, 2013                                    

Canada’s largest maritime disaster occurred May 29, 1914 when the Empress of Ireland – property of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company disappeared in 14 minutes in the frigid waters of the St. Lawrence River near Rimouski, Quebec. 

1,477 people were on board, 1,012 of them died. This disaster was overshadowed by the outbreak of the First World War.

The Revelstoke Railway Museum is pleased to welcome an exhibition from the Site historique maritime de la Pointe au Père on the Empress of Ireland, that brought tens of thousands of immigrants to our shores over 8 years before it tragically sank. This travelling exhibition opens at the Revelstoke Railway Museum on Friday August 16 at  5 pm and is only here for 2 days! Over ten cities across the country welcome this truly unique exhibition as it travels across Canada this summer.

Through this exhibition on the Empress of Ireland, the Site historique maritime de la Pointe au Père seeks to inform visitors about the history of this CP owned vessel and to reach out to descendants of those immigrants who came to Canada onboard this ship.

The exhibition includes photographs of the ship and passenger lists from 1906-1914, including the list of passengers on board at the time of the tragedy. A visual stand will showcase the ship in all its 1914 glory, visitors will be able to see pictures of the beautiful ship’s interior as well as a reconstitution of the disaster and rarely seen video images of the underwater wreck. 

Visitors will come away with a better understanding of the Empress of Ireland’s important legacy and the fascinating but tragic story of its sinking in 1914. 



For more information contact: 

Marjorie Somerton                                       Pascale St-Amand

Executive Director                                       Project Manager

Revelstoke Railway Museum                    Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père    

250 837-6060                                               418 894-6298

director.railway at telus.net                          pascale at shmp.qc.ca 

www.railwaymuseum.com                         www.shmp.qc.ca  www.empress2014.ca              www.facebook.com/empressofireland2014 /



A media kit, including video clips, photographs and documentation will be available upon request to Mrs. St-Amand, who will also be available for interviews.
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