The Teamsters' Freight Transportation Museum, long a fixture in Port Coquitlam, may have found a new home in B.C.'s Interior, according its curator.
Norm Lynch said talks are currently taking place between museum volunteers and the city of Merritt, which is interested in hosting the facility's two-dozen vehicles.
"They have a place, apparently," Lynch said. "It really depends on them. We have some more meetings and it might take a while."
The collection of vehicles, mostly freight hauling trucks dated from between 1914 and the 1950s, have been displayed at a warehouse on Kingsway Avenue since the 1990s. But after a rent increase last year, Lynch said he had to move the trucks into storage.
Things were complicated further when the Teamsters told Lynch earlier this year the organization would no longer be funding the museum anymore.
If Merritt does take the trucks, Lynch hopes to get a commitment that the city would display the vehicles for at least five years. "Merritt is kind of a hub of all highways," Lynch said. "It would be open to the public to come and view. But until it is all finalized, we don't know."
The collection of vehicles was assembled by Bob King, who was active in the Lower Mainland freight hauling business between 1930 and the 1950s. He bought up vehicles and stored them in a warehouse in Chilliwack. The Teamsters eventually came into possession of the trucks and have since added a few to the collection.
