Melville station

Melville station is on the Canadian National Railway mainline in Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada. The station is served by Via Rail's The Canadian twice per week.[1] The station was declared a national historic site in 1992.[2]

Melville
LocationMain St & 1st Ave, Melville, SK
Canada
Coordinates50.9263°N 102.8072°W / 50.9263; -102.8072
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
History
Opened1908
Previous namesGrand Trunk Pacific Railway
Services
Preceding station Via Rail Following station
Watrous
toward Vancouver
 Canadian Rivers
toward Toronto

History

The station building, built in 1908 by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway makes use of a twin-gabled plan that is unique in Saskatchewan. This reflects the special status the station had when it was built as a division point and junction on the railway line.[3] The town was named after Charles Melville Hays, former president of the railway.[4]

The station and local railway buildings are featured in the 1956 National Film Board of Canada movie Railroad Town, showing when the station was used as a divisional point for steam locomotives and the transition to diesels. At the time, about half of the small community of 4500 people were dependent on the railroad for their livelihoods. The yard at the station could see 20 trains a day and handle as many as 1000 cars over a 24-hour period at that point in time.[5]

In 2010, the Melville Rail Station Heritage Association acquired the title to the station building. The group plans to restore both the interior and exterior of the station.[6]

Derelict former station building
Building undergoing restoration in 2019

References
  1. "Melville train station". Via Rail. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  2. "The Directory of Designated Heritage Railway Stations in Saskatchewan". Parks Canada. 20 December 2010. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  3. "Canadian National Railways Station: Main Street (at First Ave. W. (Highway 15)), Melville, Saskatchewan, S0A, Canada". Canada's Historic Places. Parks Canada. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  4. "Melville, Saskatchewan (2006)". Communities. Canadian Railway Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
  5. "Railroad Town". National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  6. Excerpt from The Melville Advance, May 12, 2010 Archived August 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

Media related to Melville railway station at Wikimedia Commons

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