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This page last updated March 24, 2008

At villages and whistestops across northern B.C., the little stations of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway once provided a connection with the outside world. I had believed there was just one left--the Kwinitsa Station that was moved about 70 km. west and restored to provide a museum building on the Prince Rupert waterfront (ironically, not far from the main GTPR station). Then, one day in the winter of 1998 when I was in Kitwanga looking at totem poles and old churches (as part of my Canada book travelling), I came across this station, towed away a little distance from the railway tracks onto a bare patch of ground along the road, roughly boarded up and scrawled over with graffiti. It burned down in 2003--when I went through Kitwanga in June, there was still a pile of burned boards and metal on the ground across the road from St. Paul's Church. I subsequently discovered that an identical station at Dunster, southeast of McBride, still exists in good condition--the community has restored it very close to the tracks--so it qualifies as the least-altered of all the small GTPR stations in BC

This is a Type 'E' station; according to Hal Kalman's "History of Canadian Architecture," vol. 2 page 483, more than two-thirds of the Grand Trunk Pacific's stations were built to this plan. "Almost all were placed on the north side of the track with the waiting-room end towards the east (probably so that the uninsulated buildings could take advantage of the morning sun)." On the prairies, Kalman writes, the GTP laid out all its towns on a uniform plan, like the CPR and the Canadian Northern railways before it.

There is one other station I know of, slightly larger than the "E"'s, at Fort Fraser, now moved and renovated, with stucco siding and new windows in new positions, as the Last Spike Pub.

Note from Robert McDonald: You have a wonderfully interesting web site filling in the nooks and crannies that historians overlook in their broad brush ramblings. My family lived in PR from 1957 to 1959.Being an avid railroad fan, I got to the point of frequently riding locomotives on the Skeena Subdivision.My last ride was in November of 1959, on the passenger train. We made a stop at Amsbury. All 14 stations on the Skeena Sub were identical, and did reside on the north side of the track, except Tyee. Grand Trunk applied to BC Government for water rights for their steam engines. Amsbury was identified on Water Rights file 0127384, 13 May 1937; name confirmed 4 October 1951 on 103 I. The Grand Trunk Pacific, later CNR, obtained their water from this creek, which is at the Amsbury Station. How sad to see of their demise, burned in 1963. Progress. Hope you enjoy the photo.

Robert McDonald in Port Townsend has a blog concerned with all things railway: http://www.oil-electric.com/

Note from Wainwright, Alberta: Roy at www.railpark.org maintains a site related to railway history and the Main Street program there.

Note from Kent Sedgewick, November 2003: There is a Type "E" station in Prince George at the Railway Museum, relocated from Penny, east of PG. Another, 6 km west of Entwhistle, Alberta, converted to a house.

Kent Sedgewick's photos from the 1970s and 1980s of old GTP stations are on-line at the Fraser Fort George Regional Museum site. (If this link path doesn't work, click on the home page, then follow Online Exhibits-Settlers Effects-Prince George-The Crossroads-The GTP 1915-1965-pages 10 to 12). He has further photographs of vanished and vanishing towns and buildings in the area on the UNBC site.

Note from John Rinaldi: When we came to Canada in 1952 ( I was five years old) we lived in that Kwinitsa station for a few days while my dad ( Richard Rinaldi ) was making arrangements to transfer to Telegraph Point, just a few miles from Kwinitsa. My dad worked for the CN for 35 years and for seven years of that we lived in Dunster, B.C. (about 25 miles east of McBride). I have fond memories of living in that Grand Trunk station, which by the way was still there in 1988 and may still be. We lived in about 10 different places on the CN system. The last Grand Trunk station we lived in (just after we left Dunster) was at Amsbury, just out of Terrace, B.C. We left there in 1963, when the CN had their big station shutdown. A sad time for many class E Grand Trunk stations. The station at Amsbury was burnt in 1963, along with many others.

Note from Pete Amyoony: Three of us in Dunster have been working on a Community Web Site and it is finally up on the net.  It
is about all things in the community and includes some pictures of the Dunster GTP station in all stages from 1920's to the present time. The site is a work in progress and we hope to have more pictures of the station up soon.

The modest, ramshackle Canadian National Railway station on the Prince Rupert waterfront was in fact the terminus of a vast national railway network, the Grand Trunk Railway--the third of the federally chartered Canadian transcontinental railway systems from the a century ago. Although the station was to have been designed by the legendary architect Francis M. Rattenbury, connected with a luxurious hotel in the midst of a thriving port and city, in reality the station appears to have been the work of an anonymous CNR designer, supervised by General Manager A.E. Warren and Engineer H.A .Hixon of Winnipeg. (Thanks to Sue Rowse for research.)

Canadian National Railways runs its Skeena service from this station. It is an immensely scenic run, but regrettably doesn't generate enough traffic or revenue to pay for the refurbishment of the station or the waterfront. Like the City of Prince Rupert itself, rail travel in Canada has fallen on hard times. Prince Rupert has been in an economic tailspin for a decade or more, with the decline of the fishing and forest industries. Its population has dropped and real-estate values are shrinking. But there is talk of offshore oil and gas development, as controversial as it is potentially lucrative. It will be interesting, if any of us live long enough, to see the impact on the north of CN's takeover/buy out of the provincially owned BC Rail, announced by the provincial government in November, 2003.

Map collection of Smithers Museum

Although much of Smithers' business district is now focused along the highway, the old Grand Trunk Pacific station is well-restored, with "the beanery" an excellent cafe. I was so impressed by this view along the tracks, looking west--it seemed to encapsulate all the promise of the Grand Trunk in the years before the First World War, of new land and opportunities with the new northern terminus at Prince Rupert not far away, and productive agricultural land along the Bulkley River, such as the fields near Quick, attracting new settlers.

More to be posted here soon, I expect, about Smithers and the station. As I understand it, "The Beanery" was the universal name for Canadian National canteens/coffee shops along the line--does anyone know of a good written source or memoir about them, or can anyone provide some anecdotes? Also read the Blue River site.

 

Although Smithers's station is the most dramatically sited, my vote for prettiest station goes to McBride. Recently restored, with an excellent "beanery," it is an absolute gem. According to The Robson Valley Story by Marilyn Wheeler (McBride Robson Valley Story Group, 1979, p. 132), the original McBride station burned in 1918, and was immediately replaced by this graceful structure, by an unknown architect. Update from Pete Amyoony, 2008: The McBride Station is under the direction of the Village of McBride. The station has been mostly renovated (new roof about ten years ago and most of the interior has been totally done over. The exterior is well kept with new paint and platforms which are wheelchair accessible The main lobby/waiting room has been completely renovated as close to the original blueprints as possible. A large area is now "the Whistle Stop Gallery" where a a non-profit society composed of artists and crafters have filled the space with local arts and crafts. These range from the expensive to the very reasonable priced smaller nick-knacks so there is something in everyone's price range. There are many local paintings, wood carvings, needle work and quilts, notions, natural salves, souvenirs, etc. It hires students in the summer and thus creates local jobs. Throughout the entire station are many pictures of the old days around the station, rail yards and local area as well as memorabilia from days gone by. On the outside walls of the baggage area are two murals by local artist Matthew Wheeler. One includes a copy of the original blueprints of the station and layout of the yards. Another large part of the interior( the original Beanery) has been done over into a beautiful and cozy restaurant now called "Beanery 2"  All the food is "home cooking" with lots of local ingredients and it also serves as the "McBride version of Starbucks" with all the varieties of coffee, cappuccino, etc. The restaurant also has an internet connection and computer available for folks from out of town. It is a very popular meeting place for many of the locals - just like the old days!! A small area between the Beanery2 and the waiting room is dedicated to the Tourist Information Booth on a year round basis. It has many brochures, videos, etc for visitors to learn more about the area. The director of tourism is currently (Mar 2008) working on an updated McBride website - www.mcbride.ca In the summer, just outside the station is a beautiful gazebo with benches to relax and enjoy the views all around. Next to the gazebo is a  CN caboose totally renovated by a local railroader. The gardens and many planters around the station really give it a new life and make it a welcome stopover point for thousands of tourists every year. The Via passenger train "The Skeena" stops for a while on some trip so the passengers can nip into the Beanery2 for a coffee or a snack. Just inside the main door from Main street are two very well kept public washrooms. The station has once again become a main feature in the life of McBride and the Robson Valley both for locals and also for those passing through. By the way, Marilyn Wheeler is just about to go to print with a very expanded and updated version of The Robson Valley Story. There are almost double the number of pages from the first edition and is a wonder treasure trove of local history. Their contact is www.sternwheelerpress.ca

Reinhard, an antiques dealer in Victoria, sent along photos of a silver tray from the Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton (which still exists), from the time when it was a GTP hotel.