“The only picture that exists [first photo below, but since writing this in 2005 several others have surfaced] of the Canadian Northern Railway Chestermere station is found in Saddles, Sleighs, and Sadirons, the history book
published by Chestermere Historical Society in1971,. The text gives neither indication of where the station was, nor on which railway line it had
existed, however a search revealed that the station was built in 19!3, as a “special station” of the CanadianNorthern Railway. It was likely erected as
others of its kind were at prospective tourist destinations.
Compared to the small shed at Janet, the siding two miles west, the Chestermere Station was quite grand. The land boom in Calgary around, 1912 may well have been the impetus for the erection of this station. It was built (St. ]ames Type, Plan 100-51) at mile 387 west of Saskatoon (mile L24.3 west of Hanna), on the Canadian Northern Railway Calgary Subdivision (designated in 1920 as the Drumheller Subdivision). This would be approximately 0.5 miles (800m) east of the junction of Range Road 283 (Rainbow Road) and the present CN tracks (this crossing is mile 124.87 west of Hanna). It is thought that the station was situated on the north side of the tracks. [later shown to be the south side] (Janet siding is at mile 389.3 west of Saskatoon [mile 727 west of Hanna] or at the crossroads of the present CNI line and Range Road 284.
This small shed on the south side of the tracks, was used by the railway workers as shelter and storage place. There is a picture of the Janet siding in
Reference #1).
There were two other stations built in this St. James style, one at Alberta Beach ( 1917) and one in ]asper (1915). This gives us an idea that
this station was intended to serve tourists who would come to enjoy the waters and other activities in and around Chestermere Lake. Interestingly
it was built before the others ,but Chestermere did not boom back then as a tourist destination, as did the other holiday destinations.
To quote Les Kozma, co-author of Canadian National’ s Western Stations “Patrons forced to utilize the regular passenger train services offered by the Canadian Northern, and later the Canadian National, would have had extremely limited access to the Lake stop. I suggest that any train services to Lake Chestermere were likely sporadic, at best. There was no siding (to store a charter train for the day or to run around the train, as it could not back up all the way to Calgary – L2.5 miles) and there was no way to turn the locomotive.”
The station disappeared, as a stop from the railway timetables, as of October 2 nd, 1921, and likely remained there, without its station name-boards,
until it is reported to have been destroyed by fire in 1930. ” (1)
Excerpted from Chestermere a Home for All Seasons published 2005 by the Town of Chestermere. page 200
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Bohi C, Kozma L. Canadian National’s Western Stations. Markham ON:Fitzhenry and Whiteside Limited. 2002
