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Caption: Now this is a nice station. Restored in 2010 and is now home to a rather proper rail museum. Well worth the visit.
Radville is relatively quiet now, but at one time it was a busy division point, built by the CNoR about halfway along the line between Brandon MB and Lethbridge AB. It boasted a turntable, roundhouse, water tank, coal dock, stockyard pens, and express services. There were 5 grain elevators in town. The population has decreased to currently 860 residents from a high of 5,000. However, the village is well maintained and has a nice historical district. A pleasant surprise.
The railroad has been gone from Radville for quite a few years now.
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Beautiful structure!
Radville was once a major junction, with lines radiating out in four directions. Canadian Northern never did manage to follow through on its plans to build lines into Alberta’s deep south, while Canadian National did manage to build into Swift Current from the southeast the line from Hanna to Medicine Hat (Sheerness Sub) was only built halfway and only small bits of grading were ever done between south Calgary and Medicine Hat. These grand plans included lines extending into the Crowsnest coalfield and a Edmonton-Red Deer-Calgary-Lethbridge-Brandon through route.
https://pcag.uwinnipeg.ca/Prairie-Perspectives/PP-Vol11/Bohi-Kozma.pdf
CN traded the remaining lines through Radville (Weyburn and Bengough Subs) to CP in 1990 in exchange for CP trackage in northern Saskatchewan. CP named their new acquisition the Radville Sub, but of course ultimately ceased operating it (I’m not sure if the line has officially been abandoned yet).
I believe that this one was a CNor “2nd class”.
They were beautiful designs and, at one time, they were all over the west. Thankfully, some were saved!