CPR Railway Station
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The CPR Railway Station is a two-storey, rectangular wooden building with deep overhangs formed by a shallow pitched sidegable roof, with board and shingle cladding defining the exterior. The building is located on the south side of the railway tracks adjacent to the former foreshore of Shuswap Lake in Salmon Arm, British Columbia. The historic place includes the building, the surrounding platforms and the railway tracks.
HERITAGE VALUE
Constructed in 1913, the CPR Railway Station is valued by the community for its historical, aesthetic and cultural significance, particularly as a focal point for the railway’s profound, and likely most important, influence on the early development of Salmon Arm.
It was the choice to construct the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks around Shuswap Lake in 1885 that gave the impetus to the settlement of Salmon Arm. By 1890, the community had a station which became the core around which Salmon Arm grew. The rail line ensured that residents’ petition of the same year for a post office would be granted, replacing the CPR baggage man who acted as postmaster.
The second of Salmon Arm’s railways stations, the building is important for its location, having replaced the original station on the north side of the tracks, which was constructed in 1890. Flooding in 1894 submerged the tracks on both sides of town, and the municipal Council chose the south side (the “right side of the track”) for the new station, a deliberate response to the threat of flooding from
Shuswap Lake at high water season.
The CPR Railway Station is important for its association with early economic development in Salmon Arm and the Salmon Valley. The railway became a lifeline for Salmon Arm and other nearby communities as a means of shipping agricultural products as railway stops evolved into viable towns.
The CPR Railway Station has aesthetic value expressed by its architectural design and in its details, and was considered thoroughly modern for its time. The configuration of the station is representative of early rail travel in British Columbia, including ladies’ and general waiting rooms, express and baggage rooms, and a station agent’s office extension with windows to either side for viewing up and down the tracks.
While similar to many railway stations around the province, local knowledge reveals that the building was created from a modified plan of a No. 1 station, making it at once singular yet recognizable. Details such as clerestory windows, shingle siding, corner board trim and elaborate brackets help give the building its aesthetic appeal. The station has not changed architecturally, with its original structure and detailing still intact.
The building also has value for its nostalgic reminder of rail travel in Salmon Arm. Passenger service stopping in Salmon Arm ended in 1990. The Salmon Arm Railroad Association, which has obtained copies of the original drawings of the CPR Railway Station, embodies a continued interest in the building and rail travel in general.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
Site:
• Located in the downtown area of Salmon Arm, on the south side of the CPR tracks
• Open space and platform surrounding the building
• Parallel relationship to railway tracks
Building:
• At-grade relationship to the platform
• Horizontal, rectangular massing
• Station agent’s extension with double set of windows on three sides
• Wood frame and concrete foundation
• Dutch-hipped roof
• Half-timbering in the gable ends
• Double hung wood frame windows in a variety of configurations
• Shingle exterior cladding with corner boards
• Decorative eave brackets
From the Armstrong Heritage Register, No. 32, Page 63![]()