Dominion Atlantic Ranilway Stations

Introduction

Links to pages with images and details about individual DAR's stations are found at the end of this article. For an summary list of stations by name see Louis Comeau's Dominion Atlantic Station List by Name. For information on signage, see Station Signage.

History and Design

The DAR had a family of station styles which began with the designs of its predecessor companies the Windsor and Annapolis Railway and the Western Counties Railway. To these were added a variety of standard CPR designs as well as some station styles from branchlines absorbed into the DAR. As telegraph train dispatching declined in the 1960s and traffic to smaller stations dwindled, many smaller stations were abandoned in the 1960s and 70s. A final flourish of station building occurred in the 1980s when passenger traffic revived and VIA rail upgraded stations and shelters for the final years of DAR service.

Today the following DAR stations have survived: Windsor Station, Hantsport Station, Wolfville Station, Kentville Station (VIA), Auburn Station, Middleton Station, Bridgetown Station, Annapolis Royal Station, CFB Cornwallis Station, Truro Station, Clarksville Station, Billtown Station and the Somerset Station.

W&AR Original Wood Stations ~1869

10 Stations were constructed for the original W&AR in 1869. In 1873, the MacNab report^[1] indicated there were 23 stations and platform stops. Which stations exactly were of the original 10 are not known at this time but Kentville, Windsor and Annapolis Royal definitely were part of the original 10.

Large Stations

As corporate headquarters of the W&AR, Kentville had the largest station on the line, a two-and-a-half-storey, 74' x 32' building with neoclassical windows, doors and pilaster. The second floor housed the general office upstairs.^[1] Other large valley towns received larger versions of standard medium size stations. The Waterville Station was the only other two-storey station, built on the same footprint as a medium station at 40' x 22' with a residence built on the second storey. Wolfville at 50' x 22' and Bridgetown and Annapolis Royal at 50' x 20' appeared to be long versions of the medium size station.^[1]

Gallery

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  The first recorded photo of the Kentville Station taken in August 1869, also showing the Freight Shed and Car Shop.

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  The first Annapolis Royal Station station, circa 1880.

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  Wolfville Station platform of wooden station, Wolfville.

Medium Stations

The most common W&AR station were simple storey-and-a-half, gable-roofed stations. These stations included Hantsport, Grand Pre, Port Williams, Waterville, Berwick, Aylesford, Middleton, Lawrencetown and Paradise measured out at 40' x 22' with platforms 150' - 300' long by 11' to 13' in width.^[1] From the photos we have, they all appear to be the same design. They had no awnings but did have some neoclassical window and door trims and many had gothic finials at each end of the rooftops. Interestingly Coldbrook, listed in 1873 as just a platform, was by 1949 an original station like the rest in this size. One wonders if a few stations didn't get moved around.

Gallery

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  Grand Pre Station.

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  Coldbrook Station in August 1949

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  Paradise Station and warehouse. Date unknown.

Small Stations

The W&AR built a variety of small stations and shelters. There were two medium small stations: Falmouth at 26' x 15' and Horton Landing at 25' x 12'.^[1] The smallest stations were located at Avonport at 9' x 12', Cambridge at 18' x 10', Kingston at 18' x 10' and Round Hill at 18' x 10'.^[1] No know photos of these stations exists, but Three Mile Plains may have received this one of the W&AR small 18' x 10' stations secondhand when another W&AR locations got an upgrade.

Gallery

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  The Three Mile Plains Station, unknown date.

W&AR Second Generation Wood Stations ~1880-1900

The Windsor & Annapolis Railway began to replace its small, first generation stations in the 1880s with a larger design which included a distinctive gothic window at one end, an operator's bay and a shallow bell curve awning over the platform. The Cornwallis Valley Railway also used this W&AR station plan for its stations. The design was built in two sizes: a 60-foot long version for towns and a 45-foot short version for villages. Slight variations in the style of windows and trims existed depending on the contractors who build the design. The stations were often expanded by extending the freight shed. See Gallery of WAR Second Generation Stations for all known images of this design.

W&A Long (60-foot) Stations

Intended for larger communities, this design had a larger 20 x 30' freight room and additional windows for the passenger waiting room. Known examples included: Aldershot, Canning, Hantsport, Horton Landing, Port Williams, Berwick, Aylesford, Kentville CVR Station, Kingsport, Kingston and Lawrencetown. The Second Wolfville Station had an extra-large version of the standard W&AR design with a standard freight shed and operator's bay but a supersized passenger waiting room on the west end.

Select Gallery

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  2nd Generation Windsor & Annapolis Railway Station plans, based on the the Lawrencetown Station, drawn by Dan Conlin, 2004.

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  The W&A headquarters Kentville Station with the Kentville CVR Station to the right, circa 1900.

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  Locomotive No. 13 "Gabriel" at the Kingsport Station, circa 1895-1911.

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  Port Williams Station, a W&A second-generation, long station, passenger end, 1960.

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  Detail of air photo showing the back of the Port Williams Station, adjacent fruit warehouses, August 1931.

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  Berwick Station, a W&A second-generation, long station, freight end, Oct. 5, 1910.

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  Canning Station, west end with DAR Combine No. 31 "Daphne", circa 1910.

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  Canning Station from the north, July 1958.

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  Lawrencetown Station, front, and one of its early apple warehouses, c. 1890.

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  Lawrencetown Station rear, and eastbound train, early 1900s.

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  The back of the Aldershot Station in postcard with troop train, circa 1912.

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  Detail of photo of DAR train with at the second Wolfville Station, circa 1907 to 1911.

W&A Short (45-foot) Stations

These stations had a smaller, 20' x 20' freight room and can be recognized by the freight doors immediately next to the end walls as well as a smaller 15' x 20' passenger waiting room. They also had a shorter awning that ended at the operator's bay. Examples include: Avonport, Auburn, Cambridge, Centreville, Falmouth, Sheffield Mills, Round Hill, Tupperville and the Wilmot station.

Select Gallery

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  Avonport Station, a W&A second-generation, short station, passenger end, Nov. 18, 1962.

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  Avonport station and flag stop sign, view from north, Nov. 18, 1962.

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  Cambridge Station and work crew circa 1930s.

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  Centreville Station, a W&A second-generation, short station, freight end, October 1958.

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  Centreville station, passenger end, winter 1930s.

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  Falmouth Station, a W&A short station which received a freight shed extension, 1958.

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  A Nova Scotia Museum postcard showing the earlier Round Hill Station looking east, circa 1905.

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  Sheffield Mills Station, from the west, 1958.

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  No. 17 at the Wilmot Station in Wilmot circa 1900.

WCR Original Wood Stations 1870-1890

The Western County Railway built a series of stations with very wide overhanging eaves and ornate brackets. Smaller stops received simple shelters.

CPR Third Generation Stations 1911 Onwards

After the Canadian Pacific Railway took over the DAR they used a variety of standard CP designs to upgrade small stations or more commonly to replace stations destroyed by fire. They included some with arts and crafts style details such as the Annapolis Royal Station and three in a Tudor revival styles: Digby, Bridgetown and Hantsport.

MRC Original Wood Stations 1898-1905

The Midland Railway designed its own stations which were characterized by a central dormer and ornamental window frames on an otherwise functional exterior. Three sizes are evident, the larger version with the central dormer for towns such as the Brooklyn Station; a smaller one story station for villages such as Clarksville and simple shelters such as Princeport.

Weston Line 1914

The North Mountain Railway, often called the Weston Line, used the a standard CPR branchline station design, Station No. 4 for all of its stations. However they were modified to provide both station function and housing for section crews.

Station Agents

Station agents operated telegraphs to control train movements through train orders. They also conducted railway business: selling freight and express services; selling passenger tickets as well as express and money orders. Busy mainline stations were staffed 24 hours a day, while smaller and branchline stations had day operators. Small stations and flag stop shelters had caretakers who looked after the shelter and assisted passengers but did not operate telegraphs. The North Mountain Line had a unique set-up of a "travelling agent" who travelled with the train to conduct business at each station along the line.

In an era when few women were employed in positions of responsibility by businesses, the DAR had some of the first female station agents in Canada and they ran a number of stations on the line including the Mount Uniacke Station, the Avonport Station, the Grand Pre Station, the Cambridge Station and the Auburn Station.

References and Footnotes

External Links

*Note to Editors: When creating a new page in this section, open the Template:AAA Station and copy and paste it into the new page.