Sitting along the highway in the little rural community of Ryley Alberta, it’s a most curious structure. Could that be an old…railway station? Indeed, or so it used to be, and while still looking the part the trains don’t stop anymore. It’s not even beside the tracks. Last home to the Ryley Grand Central Roadhouse and Pub, the building is a tad run down but it almost appears as though someone is working on it. We don’t know to what end.
The town of Ryley (named Equity early on) was founded about a hundred and ten years ago with the arrival of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. This line is still used by Canadian National and runs a bit to the north (with the town in behind). There used to be a station on 50th and 50th there in downtown, looking much like this, but it was moved to a “private museum” down the road in the 1970s. Could this be the same building repatriated? Or if no, where did it come from? A search turns up nothing.
If you know more, please speak up.
Every town served by the railway once had a depot like this, but their day is long gone and those few left can mostly be found at museums. Every once in while, however, you can find one out in the wild as we did here. Wished it open so we could have stopped in for a beer…
Short Subjects: reports that are short and sweet in nature. It’s stuff interesting enough in itself, but not deserved of the full on BIGDoer.com treatment. Think silly little snippets, vignettes and likewise things of that sort and you’ll be in and out in no time.
This structure is definitely a GTP Type E station, their standard design for small towns. The second floor bay window gives it away.
Citing info from Charles Bohi’s “Canadian National’s Western Depots”, this site claims that the station currently at Ryley is originally from Dinant, which was the first station north of Camrose on the GTP’s Tofield-Calgary branchline. Nothing remains there today.
rrshs.org/Alberta/abrrstruc.htm
railways.library.ualberta.ca/Maps-9-1-5/
The former GTP line from Tofield to Barlee (just north of Camrose) became the CN Kingman Subdivision. The southern half through Dinant had already been abandoned by the time of the 1977 Hall Commission’s review of prairie grain transportation, as only the Kingman-Tofield section was mentioned in their report. This report noted that the line had last handled revenue freight in 1974, and recommended it for swift abandonment.
We knew of Bohi’s book and even searched it out, as we knew it probably held the answer, but didn’t find a copy available to us in the little time we had. The latter has been lacking lately. In any case, that website did the job and thank you for sharing it. It’s not well indexed by search engines, which could explain why we missed it, but does hold some interesting info! I recall reading that government publication (on paper) long ago. It’s a fascinating look back and really helps explain the reasons behind all those abandoned lines. Once again, thank you for adding to the story.
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Speaking of Climax, here's a downtown view in 1951 and 2024. The then photo is from the Everett Baker collection and comes thanks to the Saskatchewan History & Folklore Society. A few buildings on the left, including the hotel, are seen in both photos but all others are history. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
A retro, all-metal playground in Burstall Saskatchewan. The rocking horse, aka the tooth chipper or shin buster, was perhaps the most dangerous. Chris says he still has scars from one. But on a summer's day, those slides could get as hot as a baking pan fresh from the oven and gave new meaning to the words toasted buns. If you survived this playground, you were ready to take on the world. _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Date: 2024. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Along an abandoned canal built in the 1910s, in a dry region of Alberta. The saddles were to support a syphon (alt siphon, a pipe) but work stopped before this section was completed. Syphons of the era were typically of wood and allowed a canal to cross valleys and such without the need for trestlework.
Check the comments for an example of how a wood syphon looked...
Like what you see and want more? Make some NOISE. 👇 _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Date: 2015. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Where: Tom Campbell's Hill Calgary. What: Formerly part of the zoo, but now a park. When: 1970s and 2020 - lots of change. Why: Why not? Note the stubby beer bottle in the old photo.
From the Crossley Kodachromes and it's labeled: "Curtus at Crowfoot Glacier". Here's a view along the Banff Parkway back in 1954! The old car appears to be a high end Pierce Arrow (can anyone confirm?) and it's well outfitted with two spares plus plenty of lights.
Like what you see and want more? Make some NOISE in the comments. 👇 _______
Exploring history with Chris & Connie from Off the Beaten Path. Thanks, Johanna (Connie).
Makes me think of the station in my home town which was saved and made into a tea house.
Viking? It’s similar in look to this one.
This structure is definitely a GTP Type E station, their standard design for small towns. The second floor bay window gives it away.
Citing info from Charles Bohi’s “Canadian National’s Western Depots”, this site claims that the station currently at Ryley is originally from Dinant, which was the first station north of Camrose on the GTP’s Tofield-Calgary branchline. Nothing remains there today.
rrshs.org/Alberta/abrrstruc.htm
railways.library.ualberta.ca/Maps-9-1-5/
The former GTP line from Tofield to Barlee (just north of Camrose) became the CN Kingman Subdivision. The southern half through Dinant had already been abandoned by the time of the 1977 Hall Commission’s review of prairie grain transportation, as only the Kingman-Tofield section was mentioned in their report. This report noted that the line had last handled revenue freight in 1974, and recommended it for swift abandonment.
publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/bcp-pco/CP32-26-1977-1-3-eng.pdf
We knew of Bohi’s book and even searched it out, as we knew it probably held the answer, but didn’t find a copy available to us in the little time we had. The latter has been lacking lately. In any case, that website did the job and thank you for sharing it. It’s not well indexed by search engines, which could explain why we missed it, but does hold some interesting info! I recall reading that government publication (on paper) long ago. It’s a fascinating look back and really helps explain the reasons behind all those abandoned lines. Once again, thank you for adding to the story.