The Central BC Railway and Forestry Museum is looking to shore up its defenses against thieves and vandals.
Break-ins have become more frequent at the site, said museum executive director Ranjit Gill. In January alone, there were five incidents.
"What we need to do is secure our property from vandalism," said Gill. "We've had numerous break ins; they've ruined historical artifacts, they stole our snow blower, they've tried to get into buildings and broken locks and it's just escalating."
Also among the damage is holes cut in perimeter fencing and copper wire getting stripped out of the 6001 Electric locomotive.
"Now they are not useable and they've been ruined," Gill said. The 6001 Electric was the last of seven electric locomotives built for the Tumbler Ridge line. "We can't move it. It won't start."
Earlier this month, Gill made a presentation to the regional district board of directors asking for some financial help to beef up the museum's security.
Suggestions for improvements from the RCMP and the museum's security company have included extending the reach of the motion sensors to reach the fence line at the back of the park, setting up motion sensor lighting that triggers an audible alarm when intruders encroach too far into the park, adding more barb wire to the fences and adding more security signage to the fence line.
"These artifacts of historical significance do not belong to the Railway and Forestry Museum but to the communities within the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George," said Gill's presentation materials.
She outlined some very early preliminary costs for an electric fence and additional security monitoring of almost $5,500, but Gill said those estimates are just the starting point.
The museum hasn't been able to spend much on repairs, outside of replacing locks and fixing their fence themselves, she said.
Regional district staff will work with the museum to get more details on the costs and a report is expected to return to the board within the next two months.
