Montreal’s Windsor Station was the pride of CPR president William Cornelius Van Horne.
The original structure rose four storeys, with arched windows. The additions added several storeys, marking the rail company’s growing influence. But much has changed inside. The CPR moved its corporate offices to Calgary in the 1990s, while the tracks were relocated further west to serve the city’s commuter rail network. Today the grand concourse is eerily silent with only footsteps echoing throughout. Most of the original doorways and woodworking mark the hall which also features a display of CPR heritage photographs.
Dalhousie Station
Before there was Windsor Station, there was the Dalhousie Station. Here, on the site of what was prestigious Dalhousie Square (much of which burned in 1852) is the CPR’s first Montreal station. The large structure is brick above a stone base in which are a row of high-arched windows. In 1883 the CPR opened the station on the site, and a year later the inaugural transcontinental train steamed out toward Vancouver. But only a few years later the grand Chateauesque Viger station/hotel (see chapter 5) opened to great acclaim, and the Dalhousie station was left in its shadow. In 1993 the Eloise Circus moved in, and 2014 saw it undergoing further renovations.
Jean-Talon
This neoclassical urban station was built in 1931 and was designed by architect Colin Drewitt. It replaced the old Mile End station used by the CPR. From this station the CPR’s passenger trains steamed north into the Laurentians as well as west to Ottawa and east to Quebec City. The station closed in 1984 and served variously as a bookstore and liquor store. Designed in the Beaux-Arts style, it features a row of four pillars and a pair of columns guarding the main entrance to the waiting room. The high barrel-vaulted waiting room is illuminated by a row of tall windows with decorative curving beams, while fluted pilasters rise above the second-level mezzanine. Much of the interior still displays the marble and terrazzo of its floors and walls. Today, the former waiting room houses a Joe Fresh, where great care has been taken to preserve the three-storey room’s many architectural elements. The old station still serves the travelling public as an entrance to the Montreal Metro subway system, the entrance to which leads through the former men’s smoking room.
The Stations of the Eastern Townships
From 1836 onward, Quebec’s Eastern Townships endured a barrage of railway construction. Dozens of small railway companies laid out thousands of kilo- metres of track and erected hundreds of stations. Today, companies, tracks, and stations have largely vanished form the landscape.
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (CPR)
This elegant CPR station dates to 1887, when the railway was competing to finish its line from Montreal to the Atlantic. Its features include an additional passenger canopy, a bellcast hipped roof, multiple casement arched windows with transoms, and an eyebrow vent such as are found on a number of CPR station plans. Although fenced off from the track, its exterior has remained unaltered. The building now serves as a theatre administration office and has been designated under the HRSPA.
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (CN)
This brick CN station bears a remarkable resemblance to the CPR station, with its wide-hipped roof with a lower-hipped extension. Brick adornments surround the operator’s bay window, as well as around the windows and doors on the street side, and rounded transoms appear over the windows and doorways. It, too, has been little altered, and serves now as a tourist office, although, like the CPR station, it is fenced from the track. It is located only a few blocks south of the CPR station. It was built by the Grand Trunk in 1891, replacing an earlier 1836 station shed, one which marked eastern Canada’s oldest rail line and would have been the country’s first railway station.
Sherbrooke (CPR)
Although no longer in use by the railway, Sherbrooke’s CPR station remains a landmark of the city’s downtown. Built in 1910, it was enlarged three times, in 1920, 1927, and around 1950. Although a single storey in height, the centre area of the operator’s bay is dominated by hip cross gable in the roofline, with a secondary cross gable at the eastern end of the structure. Its large size testifies to the amount of passenger traffic, as well as its former role as a divisional station. The yards remain in use, although all other ancillary railway structures are gone. The building remains busy, housing a farmers’ market known as the Marché de la Gare, as well as a deli and the Savaroso restaurant. It is also the home base of the popular Orford Express tour train, which departs from the west end of the structure.
Sherbrooke (CNR)
One of Quebec’s more elegant stations, Sherbrooke’s Grand Trunk station was built in 1890 after the railway had taken over the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway. The central section of this brick building is two storeys, with a high-peaked cross gable. Its two single-storey extensions feature hip gables at the ends. As with many of the GTR’s stations of the time, the many windows feature arches. Trains no longer call, of course, although the track remains in use. The station still plays a role in the area’s transportation system as a bus terminal, and contains a restaurant as well. It sits at the base of a hill, of which Sherbrooke has several, with the Hotel Wellington atop the hill behind the station.
Richmond
Shortly after the rails reached this Eastern Townships location, Richmond became a major rail hub on the key Montreal to Portland, Maine, route, and with its branch to Quebec City. In fact, its yards remain in use. The Grand Trunk built this station in 1912. The distinctive structure contains a full two-storey central portion with an octagonal two-storey bay window. Two single-storey extensions lie on either end. It is constructed of brick with carved stone lentils. Passenger service ended in the 1980s. Fenced from the track, the Richmond station now houses a motel and restaurant.
Acton Vale
The first reaction to this wonderful station is “wow.” During its heyday, the GTR festooned its lines with grand upscale stations that often featured a prominent tower and decorative gables. And here, on its main line from Montreal to Portland, Maine, the GTR designed one of its more elegant small-town stations. Completed in 1900, this wooden building features a wooden turret, dormers, a steeply pitched roof, and multi-paned windows.
One of Quebec’s finest station preservation efforts is the GTR station in Acton Vale.
The “wow” factor also derives from its state of preservation. Here, the municipality has restored the building as a tourist centre, and has carefully preserved its interior and exterior details, including washroom lettering. The tracks remain in use while a nearby bike path offers an interpretive plaque. The Acton Vale station was designated a national historic site in 1976 and is listed on the Canadian Registry of Heritage Properties.
Farnham
A postwar International-style building, this large CPR station near the vast rail yards in this busy divisional town is two storeys and displays the flat roof typical of the style. The bay window extends slightly into the second floor, but the building offers few other architectural embellishments. It was constructed in 1950 to replace an earlier structure destroyed by fire. The station is designated under the HRSPA.
Tring-Jonction
Built in 1914 shortly before the CPR