Journey Through Saskatchewan’s Past by Visiting the Railway Museum
Have you been to the Saskatchewan Railway Museum? Located along Highway 60, just southwest of Saskatoon, the Saskatchewan Railway Museum is more than just a collection of trains and tracks—this unique destination offers visitors an immersive experience into the province’s railway heritage.
The Saskatchewan Railway Museum was founded in 1990 on a former CN siding, called Hawker Siding. However, the Sask. Railway Museum site, was formerly known as Eaton and was an internment camp for “illegal aliens” in 1919. This change of name was discovered several years ago and led to the designation of the museum site as a Heritage Site by the R.M. of Corman Park, where the museum is located.
The museum boasts a wide variety of buildings, the flag ship being the Agro Station. The station is a standard Grand Trunk Pacific type “E” station. Built at Argo, Sk., in 1913 for $2011, it was sold to a local farmer in 1961 and served as a farm house until the 1990s. It was then moved to Unity and was planned to use a business, however, this plan failed and the station was donated to the museum and moved to the railway site in 2000.
Originally, Argo Station had a waiting room, office, agent’s bedroom, living room, kitchen and bunkhouse on the main floor and two bedrooms and a storage room on the second floor. The kitchen wing was demolished when it was moved off railway property but was reconstructed when the building was on SRM property.
The early days of these buildings and the rail system as a whole are deeply intertwined with the province’s development and growth. Railways played a crucial role in shaping the economic, social, and geographic landscape of the province, connecting isolated communities, promoting agricultural expansion, and facilitating trade.
The construction of Saskatchewan’s railway system began in the late 19th century, spurred by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The CPR was a transcontinental railway, completed in 1885, that connected the eastern provinces with British Columbia. As part of its mandate, the CPR also began extending its network into the Prairie provinces, including Saskatchewan, which was then part of the North-West Territories.
The railway’s arrival was transformative for the region. It allowed for the efficient transport of goods and people, fostering the growth of settlements along its routes. Many towns and cities in Saskatchewan owe their existence to the railway, which provided a lifeline to markets and resources. The first major railway line in the area, the CPR’s main line, passed through what would later become southern Saskatchewan, setting the stage for further expansion.
As the railway network expanded, so did the opportunities for settlement. The Dominion Lands Act of 1872 encouraged European immigration to the Prairies by offering settlers 160 acres of land for a small fee, provided they improved it and lived on it for three years. The railways, eager to generate freight traffic, supported this by actively promoting immigration and settlement. They established towns, sold land, and offered transportation for settlers and their goods.
The arrival of the railway was particularly significant for Saskatchewan’s agricultural industry. It enabled farmers to ship their wheat and other crops to markets in the east and, eventually, to global markets. The grain elevator, a common sight along the railway lines, became an iconic symbol of the Prairie landscape, marking the locations where farmers could store and ship their grain.
In the early 20th century, Saskatchewan’s railway network continued to grow, with the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) and the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) joining the CPR in building new lines. The GTP and CNR built lines that crossed the province, connecting communities from east to west and opening up new areas for settlement and development.
Despite their initial success, the railways in Saskatchewan began to face challenges in the mid-20th century. The rise of automobile and truck transportation, combined with the construction of highways, reduced the reliance on rail for both passenger and freight transport. Many rural branch lines, which had once been lifelines for small communities, were closed due to declining use and profitability.
The federal government’s decision to merge the GTP and CNR into a single entity, the Canadian National Railway (CN), in 1923 was part of an effort to stabilize the struggling railway industry. However, by the 1960s and 1970s, the decline in railway usage led to the abandonment of many lines and the demolition of iconic grain elevators across the province.
Today, while the role of railways in Saskatchewan has diminished, preservation efforts, such as those at the Saskatchewan Railway Museum, help keep the memory of the railways alive. Recently, the museum hosted its a Railway Heritage Day, an event that drew over 800 visitors.
The Saskatchewan Railway Museum is open during the summer months, from the May long weekend until Labour Day. Visitors can explore the museum from Friday to Sunday, and on long weekend Mondays, between 10 AM and 5 PM. In the off-season, museum members keep busy working behind the scenes on restoration projects, and participate in community events such as the Saskatoon Heritage Festival and Model Train show.
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