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Caption: To me, the beauty of this station is the sheer ugliness of it. Big wooden structures like this weary dive with its layer of "phoney-brick" and drafty windows were scarce even back in the '70s. Living quarters upstairs must have been hell to heat in the windy wild winters of southern Saskatchewan. No doubt when this photo was taken, the structure, with its huge freight section, was close to falling down, blowing down or torn down. But still, as in many other lonely railroad buildings through-out the prairie, the light was on, and the agent was home.
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Nice shot, been there a couple of times but never imagined the station looking like this.
That is Canadian History…”The National Dream”. Imagine an immigrant family coming all the way from central Europe, often The Ukraine, and being deposited with all their worldly belongings on the station platform. Imagine a few years later, trains full of young guys from Southern Ontario coming to work on the harvest and some being deposited at that station. Imagine young men from the prairie farms waiting for a train at that station as they went off to war. It was stations such as this that defined the Canadian west. Wonderful picture Arnold.
Wow, and this real ‘National Dream’ shot brings back memories…
Gull Lake, Saskatchewan: CP Rail daily – including this September 1975 day – at 06:49 westbound and 20:55 eastbound: The Canadian
Have ridden through three times.
And twice in 1970 – at 08:54 westbound and 21:30 eastbound – both regular stops ! And on a particular August summer morning sitting in the second Skyline Dome wondering why the CPR ever built such a strange looking station – literally in the middle of nowhere – in the centre of a S curve on the transcontinental mainline…
And third time on May 18 1980 Via #2 at 17:17 riding the Dome of Sibley Park as the Gull Lake station whizzed by – then relegated to a flag stop.
(And trying to keep cans of Canadian sufficiently cold in the sink of my bedroom in Grand Codroy River (ex CN, exx Florida East Coast ‘Argentia’ built 1949) )
And bonus: at Winnipeg transferring to a bedroom in Sibley Park – apparently insufficient traffic east of Winnipeg to justify Grand Codroy River continuing east.
Everyone’s ‘National Dream’: If you have never ridden #1 and #2 – even though now on the CN route – do it, before it really is too late…and looking forward to seeing your images of that ride of a lifetime on railpics.ca….and if you have ridden: let’s see your pics!
And thank you Arnold for posting!
sdfourty
Well, SD, you should be in customer relations for the railroad……I’m almost ready to buy a ticket!!
) Sounds like quite the adventures, and a pang of jealousy here as I have never ridden cross-country and keep putting it off. But I am sure some others of RP. have enjoyed the trip. Good to know it is not just me that realizes the oddity of the Gull Lake structure (wonder what is there now?) and am appreciative of all those who enjoyed this image and of course the memories photos like this bring back. That is what photography is all about…….memories!!