The Miami Railway Station Museum just received a Manitoba Heritage Grant worth $2,533 for exhibit improvements.

Chairperson Joan Driedger says this will cover half of the cost, and is just another way they'll be able to make the museum more interactive and exciting for visitors.

One way they'll do this is with the CP caboose they have which is currently under construction, but will eventually house further exhibits.

"We have completed the exterior to the point where we're waiting for the logos to go on. And we have also completed the interior except we have some staining inside," she says.

They'll also be working on the waiting room of the station which is their new entrance.

Driedger adds, "we finished the ramp this year . . . It's wheelchair accessible. People with mobility issues can come up the ramp - and already have - and come into the museum. We want to make the first impression in the waiting room a good one."

This year they were unable to do typical fundraising but managed to have a wooden plank sale where they raised $6,500 from community members. Although this support is essential, she says the volunteers made the work happen.

"One Saturday we had volunteers come and they built two hundred feet of railway track and they just kept going. They started at 9:30 in the morning and finished about 3:30 and it was just amazing. The people that came out and swung hammers, moved ties and rails. It was a very good day, one of the highlights of my summer," says Driedger.

They were also able to bring some smaller pieces on the railing outside, and even got a jigger running.

"We actually had over 1,040 visitors which was absolutely amazing . . . A lot of people came to Miami, and people from Winnipeg who had never been out here decided to travel around Southern Manitoba and drop in on our museum. That was excellent. It was really exciting for us to see all these people come."

She says they look forward to seeing many of these visitors return next year when the caboose is ready to go.