Moose Jaw SK Train Station (~90 Yrs Apart)

Roughly ninety years separates the two images seen in this then and now post. Today we’re looking at the former Canadian Pacific Railway station in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan, seen first in a vintage postcard and then how it appeared in 2014. This fine old structure looks as good today as it did back in the 1930s when the original was captured. No longer used by the railway, it’s now home to a number of businesses and stores.

This is a repost of an article lost to a recent server crash, but with some new and updated info. Rather than restore from backups, it got a do-over and both the text and photos were reworked. Hundreds of posts were lost in this crash and select ones still relevant in 2024/2025, will get this same kind of treatment over the next little while. Stay tuned and enjoy.

The building dates to the early 1920s and replaced an earlier station located roughly on the same lot. There were two earlier stations in fact, one from the late 1880s and the other from a decade later. The first burned down and the second, a picturesque building in its own right, was replaced when they needed something bigger.

Moose Jaw functioned as a railway divisional point back in the day and grew quickly as a result. It was also an important passenger stop over and transfer spot and these factors doomed the previous station. In response they demolished the old one and built the grand structure seen today.

Passenger trains through Moose Jaw included several transcontinental runs per day along with an endless number of locals coming and going from many branch lines in the area. It could be a busy place and the station had a large waiting room to meet demand. It also housed a restaurant, railway offices and the like. The local history book stated it was the busiest railway station in all Western Canada in the 1950s.

By the 1960s, service had declined significantly, however, and the station much more quiet than before. Many of the local runs had already been eliminated and the major trains suffered from sometimes low ridership. Roads and airlines took over as the preferred methods of transport for the general public.

The station still saw use, but now on a limited scale. The hustle and bustle of the old days became a memory. The only passenger trains using the facility in later years were the “Canadian” transcontinental runs. So, one train each way per day and sometimes they passed through at less than ideal hours.

In the 1970s, the government sponsored agency Via Rail, took over money losing passenger runs from both the CPR and CNR. It did little to stem the tide, however, and the last Via trains to pass through Moose Jaw happened in 1990. Then the building fell silent for a few years.

At one time, a railway station was singly the most important building in any town and as such usually occupied a spot worthy of that title. Usually at the head of downtown and that’s the case here. Step outside the building and the business district is there right before you.

The station is constructed of stone and brick. There are three wings but one is unseen from our angle. The clock tower is a defining element and probably the most stand-out feature of the entire structure.

The building is in the Beaux-Arts style and characterized by sections with varying heights and differing rooflines. Structures in this style can include grand entrances, a prominent first story, arched elements and the use of displayed murals or mosaics. Among other things. The school of architecture is a tough one to graduate from and the subject incredibly complex. It hurts – refer to a link further down where you can learn more.

Some might argue the station is more Italianate in style, pointing out the clock tower as a feature common to that design philosophy. The two are similar and share some common features. More than anything, most architecture is a fusion anyway, and might borrow from this and that depending on the whims of the person at the drawing board.

Speaking of the clock tower, we received this comment some time ago speaking of its inner workings…

“The Standard Electric Time Co. clock was repaired and upgraded in the Spring and Summer of 2003 by Jerry Kaiser, John Trodd and Garnet Moser. The work also required the expertise and assistance of city businesses to repair the four clock face gear assemblies, repair of the original 24 volt electric clockworks, a crane to access everything way up top, and an electrician to repair the outside floodlights.

The City of Moose Jaw had requested of CPR that they get the clock in running condition for the City’s upcoming Centennial Anniversary that summer and so a gentlemen’s agreement came about for the undertaking. The worst job of all was the cleaning of all the floors in the clocktower from top to bottom which had been home to countless pigeons for many years. John Trodd willingly took on this horrid job. Jerry’s jack-of-all-trades attitude and skills helped move things along and his oiling system provided the missing lubrication for all moving parts.

The original controller which had been located in the basement of the station went missing years ago and had been replaced with a special 1 RPM electric motor with an electrical contact setup. It was no longer able to run the 24 volt clock motor directly but it was still able to trigger a modern SCR setup Garnet wired to cycle the clock once every minute.

The clock never had any bells and has no provision for such, and yet we heard from many people who swore as fact that the tower rang out every hour! The clock has had a few hiccups over the years since, but still runs fairly accurate.” – Garnet Moser 10/2014. Thanks Garnet – fascinating!

The station has a strong overall presence and really stands out in a town with many historic structures. Its size is a subtle reminder of just how powerful and important the CPR was. The railway now operates as Canadian Pacific Kansas City, or simply CPKC, but it’s hard not to call it by the old name out of habit.

We so wanted to take a look inside, but this visit happened early on a Sunday morning and with everything locked up tight.

Even with this repurposing, it hasn’t changed a great deal exterior wise when compared to the older image and that’s refreshing. Too often do-overs ruin the aesthetic but here they kept it close to original.

The postcard (a scan from an Ebay purchase) came undated but based on the autos seen in the image, we can guess it’s from the mid-1930s or thereabouts. The image is too small to ID the cars but the lines of some appear similar to designs of that time. Others autos are clearly 1920s or early 1930s models.

Today the building is known as Station Centre and it’s been historically recognized. It’s been converted to retail and office space and this happened a few years after it ceased to be used for passenger trains.

A comment about one of the businesses from a reader…

“I have to admit I was blown away at seeing the interior of the old Moose Jaw CP station now that it has taken on a new life as an elegant liquor store. Fantastic!!” – awmooney 12/2020.

The CPR CPKC still has a large presence in Moose Jaw and their mainline and freight yards are found right behind the station. The tracks came through in the 1880s and they’re as busy as ever.

This postcard is hand tinted. It’s essentially a process where a black and white image is made to appear as though shot in colour through the use of thin washes of paint. Many postcards of the era were made this way before full colour printing became economical. Hand tinting was popular from the early 1900s, if not earlier, and phased out by the 1940s. Give or take a bit.

The clouds in the postcard appear airbrushed in, or in today’s vernacular, we might say photo-shopped.

No other information accompanied the card but it does looks similar in style to ones we’ve seen from a Vancouver based firm called Camera Products.
They were big in the industry at one time and a Google image search turns up hundreds of examples of their work. All display a series number like this one (#36 in this case) and have a prominent border (some of which has been removed for a cleaner image).

Camera Products were active from the mid-1920s and until perhaps the 1950s. Most of their postcards, it seems, were printed in England.

Moose Jaw has a second railway station of historical interest, a former CNR structure built in the late 1910s. It’s located at the east end of downtown and is a few blocks away. For some reason we could not find a photo to show you all, but swear we captured one. It was a long time ago.

The “then” postcard comes from a reader and lets all thanks Mike for doing this. It’s his second then and now submission, BTW. If you have an old postcard that you’d like us to use in this manner, by all means send it our way. It’s a good bet most are public domain. Scans or the actual card are both fine. We’ll visit the location, shoot a comparison photo and post the results here for your enjoyment. We’ll share some history too and babble on till we’re done.

These earlier Then and Nows aren’t as tight as the current ones, but they still have merit. If we’re ever in Moose Jaw, and that’s pretty likely, we’ll perhaps shoot a new version some day.

Know more (new tabs): Moose Jaw Saskatchewan Train Station and Beaux-Arts Architecture.

They’re saying…

“I cannot get over your photography and writing prowess. Your site is brilliant and showcases your talent well, but to me it’s the passion that makes OTBPwC&C a game-changer. You set the bar so damn high.” Pauline West. (Where do we send the bank transfer?)

Random awesomeness…
Railway Barge Slip Rosebery BC (1989). A unique operation.
Bellevue & The Frank Slide ~55 years apart. Turtle Mountain is timeless.
Jessie’s – Royal Cafe – Golden Crown. A well loved small town eatery (closed).
This is Alderson. Nothing left.

Something to say and no one to say it to? Go here: Contact Us!

Date of adventure: 1930s & May 2014.
Location: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Article references and thanks: Moose Jaw – People, Places History (Book), HistoricPlaces.ca (Canada’s Historic Places) and the City of Moose Jaw.

In Moose Jaw Saskatchewan ~90 years apart.

It’s now called Station Centre.