First Estevan CPR Station
E. R. Davis Postcard, no 520, CPR Station early 1900's,
Perry House on left, and possibly miner's boarding house further west with the fancy hip roof.
Still doing research on the miner's boarding house, for the Dominion Mine in the ravine. Most history books say it was at end of 3rd st.
This view shows it end of 5th or 6th st. I am seriously thinking this was the location of it. They would have built the rail line as close to the mine as possible.
Note- Semaphore Train signal is in the Horizontal or STOP position, which makes sense since all the men are waiting to board the next train.

This First CPR Station was sold and moved to the corner of 12th Ave and 6th St at #1240 6th St., and first became an Armoury, then elks club House, and then the office of the Estevan Mercury. The First Station was moved here in 1927.

CPR Estevan Train Station- Hool & Son Postcard
Notice Hydro line behind station now, and telephone line connected behind the station.
Grant noticed the train signal was moved as well, which is strange.
Postcards above courtesy Grant Walker

CPR line was extended from Brandon, Kemnay, Souris, Napinka, then Estevan, (Originally called The Souris Section, it was changed to The Estevan Section)
Completed in 1892 and gave Estevan it's start.
Shortly after it was in, work on the Soo Line to Portal, and North to Regina was started.

Aug 1, 1892
Keith, Macarthur, Smith, Egan Brothers, and Dennison, all Contractors, working on the Soo Line, starting in Estevan
A Mr. Fred Calder was doing the hiring.

Aug 30, 1892
Mr. Fred Calder trying to hire 75 men from the German colony near Regina, to work on the Soo Line Extension

1893
Mr. C. A. Magrath, C.E., M.L.A. for the Lethbridge District in AB, was in Estevan May 2, 1893. He was building a bridge for the CPR

June 26, 1893
Soo Line Extension is complete

George Murray's, (the surveyor of Estevan) Brother-in-law, Fred Ullyot, was the CPR Engineer, on the First train that steamed into Estevan in July 1892.

Oct 1892
The CPR station Agent was Mr. Myers.

Nov 21, 1892
CPR Station platform built, and CPR Roundhouse nearing completion

June 28, 1893
Mr. Morris, is now Station Agent, assistant Mr. Hueston

Feb 12, 1894

May 25, 1894 \\ Death of Alexander MacDonald, who cleared the right of way, for the Estevan Section of the CPR

Apr 11, 1895-
Station Agent was a Mr. Edwin West Spence, He was transferred to Indian Head in Dec 1898. 1911 he was a Claims Agent in St. Boniface MB
b- Jan 14, 1866 in District of Hartlepool, Durham Co., England
Immigrated in 1882
married Mar 28, 1888, in Brandon MB,
wife- Emma Eliza Ann Spence, nee Westcott,
b- Sept 22, 1870 in ON (1872 in 1911 census)
4 children all born in Assa. (SK)
Laura E. Spence, b- Aug 30, 1889 (1890 in 1911 census)
Alice E. Spence, b- July 22, 1891
Arthur Spence, b- July 18, 1893
Wilfred Spence, b- Apr 18, 1895
1901 they were still in Indian Head
1911 the family was living at 209 Marion St. St. Boniface, MB

1901 CPR Time Table
J. W. Leonard- General Superintendent, Western Lines
Charles Edward Stuart McPherson- General Passenger Agent, Western Lines

James William Leonard
b- Feb 1858 in ON
He was appointed Assistant General Manager, Western Division, of the CPR ca Apr 16, 1903
headquarters in Winnipeg.
1904 returned to Toronto, as Manager of Construction
then in 1905 moved to Montreal, Assistant General manager of the Eastern Division
1908 appointed General Manager of the Eastern Lines.
and was reported critically ill with diabetes in Montreal, Jan 3, 1909.
1911 he is Assistant to the President of the CPR, living in Montreal, age 53
Irish, Methodist
married to Elizabeth, nee Maguire, in 1881
b- Mar 1861
daughter of William Maguire, merchant of Franklin ON.
son- Clarence P. Leonard,
b- May 1883 in ON
Clarence was a Civil Engineer with the railroad in 1911

Charles Edward Stuart McPherson
b- June 7, 1862, Chatham ON
d- Jan 11, 1937, in Winnipeg, MB, age 74
Member of the Masons
1901 in Winnipeg, shown as CPR Agent
1911 at 351 River Ave, Suite 1, Winnipeg MB
married to Josephine Smith Troop, Apr 11, 1906 in St John's NB
b- July 1872 in NB, Canada
daughter of Howard D. Troop, of Orange st.

Feb 23, 1903
Little hard to read, but what is says is:
Civil Engineer Lang, of Moose Jaw, is busy laying out the ground for the purpose of laying a pipe from the Souris River to the CPR water tank,
and has about 30 men engaged digging the trench, and laying pipe. the work will likely take about 3 months.
Was Lang Saskatchewan named after this man? Would love to find his first name

Well Darrel Hockley contacted me and sent this Mar 2021-
“The Village of Lang, SK was named after George Macdonald Lang (1860 to 1930), who was in his day a famous civil engineer and architect. From 1893 to 1906 he was employed by the Canadian Pacific Railway.”
and then he sent this photo of the man

Apr 5, 1905
Letter from Mrs. Jennie McKenzie, wife of H.E. McKenzie, states when her and her family arrived in Estevan from Iowa, there was not much of a station

Nov 1905, a fire destroyed the roundhouse.
One engine was inside, and it was pulled to safety by another engine.

CPR Railway Station in Estevan, ca 2000
Picture taken by my niece, Dena Gent

CPR Railway Station in Estevan, ca 2000
Picture taken by my niece, Dena Gent

Old CPR Train Station
Moved in 1927 to 1240-6th Street
Estevan Mercury at one time used the building

Inside the Estevan CPR Station

Old CPR Train station view

Estevan View, from the CPR Roundhouse, east end of the Village

CPR Engine 2338, June 16, 1941
Engineer, W. Gardner

CPR 4-6-2 “Pacific” type Locomotive
Class G-3d Locomotive, #66776
built by Montreal Locomotive Works in September 1926, Retired January 1962, and scrapped.

Engineer- W. Gardner, Fireman R. A. Read
CPR engine 2338
June 16, 1941

2 Photos of CPR Engine 2338 above, and colorized postcard, courtesy Grant Walker, Studio City, CA

---

Old C.N.R. Station at 825-5th Street
on the east part of the City

---

Tornado, 1931

This headline says it all.

A Tornado hit Estevan area Aug 26, 1931.
It came from a South-Westerly Direction, shortly after 6 PM.
It blew down the CPR branch line wooden trestle, About 4 miles west of Estevan, on the Neptune branch, which went from Estevan, west to Outram and Torquay.

Yellow Highlighted area on map above shows the location of the old wooden trestle

This trestle was about 1/2 mile long, and 60 or 70 feet in the air.
The aftermath of the cyclone in in this picture below, taken by my Aunt Rose Gesell

Picture above taken Aug 30, 1930

Photo of the destroyed trestle above is courtesy Duane Bill Calgary AB, looks like matchsticks.

Robert Mitchell Henderson, age 30,
married with a wife and children in Calgary, and a 33rd degree Mason, who was a partner with Fred Mannix, in Calgary,
In the Bridge building firm, “Mannix and Henderson”, lost his life in this tornado, 2 miles west of Estevan, working on a project for the CPR.
One newspaper said he was age 50? Coroner investigating his death, was P. C. Duncan.
Besides the trestle damage, the roof on the D. L. Irvine House on 2nd st. was torn off.
This was originally, the James A. Smith house, on SW corner 11th Ave. and 2nd St.
The roof on the grandstands, at the fair grounds, north of the tracks, was blown away.
Truax-Traer coal mine cars were blown down their spur line, into the CPR roundhouse, which suffered damage. Mrs. Norman McLeod reported house damage.
and Mr. E. J. Wilkinson are mentioned.
The tornado lasted about 20 minutes.
Hail hit the Soo Line train, 1/2 the size of a baseball, breaking its windows.

Article below was written at that time.

Sounds an awful lot like the one in 2005, that came from the same direction, and took almost the same path.
I can still see the new apartments under construction next to Hillview Manor, where my Mom lived at that time, all in a twisted heap.
Roof of the Legion on 4th st. was ripped off in that one.

Mr. Robert “Bob” Smith was the Conductor on the Brandon-Estevan CPR line.
He hollered his last “ALL ABOARD” Jan 29, 1935, after 30 years of service.
He retired to Brandon MB, age 66.
b- Feb 10, 1870 in Hamilton ON
d- ?
He came West in 1883 with his parents.
His father was an employee of the CPR in Winnipeg.

Dec 4, 1924
Harry Baynham, Fred Arbon, and W. J. Walker, were robbed on their way to the CPR shops, from town, by 2 armed men, dressed in masks and trench coats.
They stole the men's watches, and money, $11, and put them in a boxcar, closing the doors on them. They escaped minutes later, but no robbers were found.

1914 Estevan Board of Trade Booklet

©