west end of the structure.
Sherbrooke (CNR)
One of Quebec’s more elegant stations, Sherbrooke’s Grand Trunk station was built in 1890 after the railway had taken over the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway. The central section of this brick building is two storeys, with a high-peaked cross gable. Its two single-storey extensions feature hip gables at the ends. As with many of the GTR’s stations of the time, the many windows feature arches. Trains no longer call, of course, although the track remains in use. The station still plays a role in the area’s transportation system as a bus terminal, and contains a restaurant as well. It sits at the base of a hill, of which Sherbrooke has several, with the Hotel Wellington atop the hill behind the station.
Richmond
Shortly after the rails reached this Eastern Townships location, Richmond became a major rail hub on the key Montreal to Portland, Maine, route, and with its branch to Quebec City. In fact, its yards remain in use. The Grand Trunk built this station in 1912. The distinctive structure contains a full two-storey central portion with an octagonal two-storey bay window. Two single-storey extensions lie on either end. It is constructed of brick with carved stone lentils. Passenger service ended in the 1980s. Fenced from the track, the Richmond station now houses a motel and restaurant.
Acton Vale
The first reaction to this wonderful station is “wow.” During its heyday, the GTR festooned its lines with grand upscale stations that often featured a prominent tower and decorative gables. And here, on its main line from Montreal to Portland, Maine, the GTR designed one of its more elegant small-town stations. Completed in 1900, this wooden building features a wooden turret, dormers, a steeply pitched roof, and multi-paned windows.
One of Quebec’s finest station preservation efforts is the GTR station in Acton Vale.
The “wow” factor also derives from its state of preservation. Here, the municipality has restored the building as a tourist centre, and has carefully preserved its interior and exterior details, including washroom lettering. The tracks remain in use while a nearby bike path offers an interpretive plaque. The Acton Vale station was designated a national historic site in 1976 and is listed on the Canadian Registry of Heritage Properties.
Farnham
A postwar International-style building, this large CPR station near the vast rail yards in this busy divisional town is two storeys and displays the flat roof typical of the style. The bay window extends slightly into the second floor, but the building offers few other architectural embellishments. It was constructed in 1950 to replace an earlier structure destroyed by fire. The station is designated under the HRSPA.
Tring-Jonction
Built in 1914 shortly before the CPR assumed control of the Quebec Central Railway, the stone appearance of this station’s exterior may be misleading as the material is actually moulded concrete that incorporated locally produced asbestos into its material. It is distinguished by a prominent cross gable and a porte-cochère supported by free-standing columns. The building has been renovated to serve as a local library
Vallée-Jonction
Only a few kilometres to the east of Tring-Jonction lies the unusual station at Vallée-Jonction, and it, too, is constructed of concrete moulded to resemble stone. It was built in 1917 and sits on the inside of the track junction; as a result, the station forms a “T” in three sections. A single storey in height, it also exhibits a porte-cochère and roof-line dormers. Situated on a narrow river flat below the main village, this location was a divisional point where a small roundhouse with turn- table still stand. A sturdy bridge takes the tracks over the Chaudière River, while a railway display stands nearby. Once the base for the Chaudière-Appalaches tour train, the building now houses Le Musée Ferroviaire de Beauce. There is a railway hotel nearby.
East Angus
Yet a third stone-like station built by the CPR — this one in East Angus in 1913 — and leased by the Quebec Central Railway. Like the station at Tring-Jonction, East Angus has a wide hip-gabled roof and prominent gable above the operator’s bay window. It now functions as a local history interpretation centre known as La Vieille Gare du Papier.
Lacolle
Americans arriving in Lacolle on the former Delaware and Hudson Railway might be forgiven for thinking that they had been suddenly transmitted to Europe, for here is a station that resembles a miniature castle.
As a port of entry, the Lacolle station provided American tourists arriving on the Delaware and Hudson Railway a taste of Quebec’s architecture. It is now vacant.
Designed by Montreal architect Charles Tetley, the station was intended to resemble a Norman manor house and give arriving visitors a preview of Quebec’s architectural heri- tage. Built of stone in 1930, the station sports a pair of conical towers that rise above a long stone structure where small dormers penetrate the steep roofline. This was formerly the customs point for arriving visitors. Now vacant, the station is owned by the municipality.
Coaticook
It would seem that border stations in the Eastern Townships of Quebec adopted particularly unusual styles. The one at Coaticook, near the U.S. border, was built by the GTR in 1904 at a time when that railway was upgrading its stations to make them more appealing. It replaced a much simpler station built on the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway, which linked Montreal with Portland, Maine, in 1853. The wooden building rises two storeys, with a central high gable over the operator’s bay, while the waiting room offers a semi-conical roof. It is said to be the largest rounded station in eastern Canada. Passenger service ended in 1958, freight in 1980. The town purchased the station in 1988 for one dollar, remodelling the interior in 1999. In 2010 the town sold the old station to Solutions Affaires Experts-Conseils, a local business.
St. Armand
Yet another unusual border station is the one built by the Central Vermont Railway in St. Armand in 1864, making it one of Quebec’s oldest surviving first-generation stations. Rising a storey-and-a-half, this Italianate brick station is identical in style to many small-town stations through the northeastern U.S., though the style is rare in Canada. Tracks were lifted in 1955, but the station, although much altered inside, has retained its attractive exterior features.
Lac-Mégantic
It is sadly ironic that one of the few structures in Lac Mégantic to have survived the horrific explosion caused by derailed tanker cars in June of 2013 would be the station that the railway company owned. The station is one of the more attractive erected by the CPR on its tracks from Montreal to the Atlantic. Here, the operator’s bay extends fully into a second storey with a hip roof. The two levels are connected by pilasters.
The CPR-built station in Lac-Mégantic survived the fiery devastation caused by derailed tanker cars, which destroyed much of the town’s core and killed many.
Built in 1926, its purpose was not just to serve the local wood industry, but also to attract tourists to the scenic region. The row of doors and windows are multi-panelled, with rounded tops surmounting the transoms. A separate transmission building dating from 1930 was linked to the main building in 1950, giving the station a rather elongated appearance.
