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Rail Stations Through The Years

    WALKERVILLE – PERE MARQUETTE

The station above was on Devonshire Road in Walkerville. The station was designed by Detroit Architects Mason & Rice, in 1890. The station was demolished in 1957.

Here’s the site of the station today.

Today Via services are run out of the new Walkerville station, with talk of replacing this station with a new one.

    GRAND TRUNK RAILROAD/CANADIAN NATIONAL

The CN station was located on the waterfront at the foot of Goyeau in Windsor. It was built in 1884 and closed in 1961. It was demolished shortly after.

The photo above and below appeared in the Michael Gladstone White book “A Moment in time”, however as usual there is no credit given for the source of the images. The one below however ran in the Windsor Star December 30, 1952.

The Star at the time was calling for the end of this station, and the story alongside the photos read as follows:

… others who visit Windsor for the first time by train experience some strange reactions. Their first impressions are gained by the sight of Walkerville homes, by the wealth of industry such as the Ford of Canada plants with the Hiram Walker and sons buildings. The first view of the Detroit River and the Michigan skyline is breathtaking as the train goes under the Peabody Bridge, and out onto the river banks for its run to the station. Buoyed up with this expansive view, the new arrival steps off onto the platform, looks down the line and there he sees a sight to behold. The aged Victorian Windsor station rears its black dormers. Old, scarred timbers support a narrow roof over the platform. Its bricks are scarred and chipped.

The traveler who comes by train has already passed through London, and he undoubtedly remembers the station he saw there. The stations he sees reflect the life – or lack of it – of the communities he passes. This picture shows the Windsor waiting room. It has wooden floors, its door frames are old and scarred. In another day the glow from the old coal stove may have been a delight to the traveler, but in these times it looks incongruous. The same arrival may make the mistake of walking up the plank stair, and into one of Windsor’s toughest sections. If he finds his way to Ouellette, he finds no expansive view of the river, but in its place a barricade of old buildings. Windsor needs badly a new C.N.R. station, but it needs just a much a program to rejuvenate this vital area.

    CANADIAN PACIFIC

This station was located along the riverfront, built into the embankment for the bridge on Riverside Drive that crosses the rail cut.

The station was built in 1890 and designed by Edward Colonna, who was for a while the architect for the Canadian Pacific railroad, designing stations from coast to coast.


View Larger Map

The station was located at the green arrow. Traces of the station can still be seen in the embankment, an old door and window, are visible in the brick wall.

    MICHIGAN CENTRAL/NEW YORK CENTRAL

This photo above is the first one I’ve ever seen of the original Michigan Central Station. This photo also appeared in the Michael Gladstone White book “A Moment in time”, without a source. He claimed in the book it was taken in 1907. He notes this station was located on the riverfront between Elm and Cameron. It must have been replaced shortly after as the new station opened in 1911.

The 1911 station has been covered here recently in full detail. It was torched by an arsonist in 1996.

More info on this station can be found on this post.

Please add what you know below…

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Andrew

View Comments

  • I didn't mean for my comment to sound dickish, I was just curious. I'd never heard of him, but I agree that he should be giving credit where it's due.

  • Ha! No worries. He published a few books back in the late 80's/early 90's, all packed full of photos and not a single source given.

    Last I heard he was leaving the area (he was living in LaSalle), not sure if he's around or not these days.

  • if you go to the lot where the old pere marquette station once stood you will notice the old yellow railing made from pipe well the railroad used old sections of rail for an employee parking area if you look really hard there are steel plates welded to these railsections that still say C&o employees but their pretty rusty boy i miss that railroadalso if you go behind the salvation army store on walker road in the rear of the building where the fence is you will find the conrete pad that held the old semephore the mainline as well as a couple sidings ran along that area

  • The photo of the original Canada Southern/MCRR station on the riverfront near present day CBC appears in a book titled "Canada Southern Country" by Robert D. Tennant (The Boston Mills Press). It is credited to the "Hiram Walker Historical Museum". The estimated date of construction is given as about 1882-1883. The caption also refers to a 1901 newspaper photo showing four tracks in addition to the one shown in the foreground.

  • Nice post there Andrew, but it opens up a question. You referenced the "new" CNR/VIA Walkerville station. When was it built? I remembner boarding CN/Michigan Railroad Club steam excursions behind 4-8-4 6167 in '63 there, so the "new" station is at least 47 years old, right?

  • Doug - a 4-8-4????! where did it turn around! did our turntable even accomidate such a beast?! was there a wye yet for westbound access to the old LE&DR in '63 or was the studebaker plant still standing there at that time? is this too many questions???

    Aidan - sorry for my dickish comment! had i only known :)

  • Doug, you're probably right, I imagine that the Walkerville station went into service to replace the CN station downtown. The CN one closed in 1961, so I imagine that this was the replacement...

    Stephen, thanks for the source, the Hiram Walker Historical Museum is the Baby House Museum today on Pitt St.

  • Aaron.....
    .....they spun it around at the CN/Wabash roundhouse on Riverside (?), east of the ferry slips. Somewhere (I wish I could find it) I've got a picture of either 6167 or 6218 poking out of the roundhouse. A Wabash cab unit is in the next stall. Last time I was in the Metro area, (1995) the pit was still there, although I understand it's been filled in now.

  • I think they probably tuen the engine on the Y at Jefferson Bld. The CN line runs parrel to Jefferson across Tecumseh Rd. and crosses Jefferson again, by Krazy Kellys.
    VIA turns there trains on this Y svery day.

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