Peace River Chamberof Commerce

Northern Alberta Railways Company - 1929-1980

The Northern Alberta Railways Company was formed in 1929, with the amalgamation of four bankrupt railways, built by J.D. McArthur, but operated by the Alberta government since 1926. Northern Alberta Railways was operated jointly by the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railway.

The NAR was, in 1929, the amalgamation of: Central Canada Railway, Alberta and Great Waterways Railways, Edmonton Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway, and Pembina Valley Railway. In the 1940s, the NAR was Canada’s largest railway. Currently, the line is operated by the CNR.

In 1916, the Peace River Station was opened. In 1930, the line was extended from Fairview to Hines Creek.
The war years (1939-1945) severely taxed the capacity of Northern Alberta Railways which was operating aged equipment over inferior track. The building of the Alaska Highway and Canol Pipeline, involved many extra freights and the “Blue Tran” which was opened daily, ED-Dawson Creek was often sixteen cars long, and even in two sections.

In 1957, the first diesels began to work the freights. In 1967, the passenger train made its last run.

In 1965, the opening of the Great Slave Railway brought bridge traffic moving lead, zinc, and ore from Pine Point Mines, NWT to Trail, BC. This revenue put NAR in the black for awhile. In 1976, NAR purchased four SD. 38-2 Diesels to work the Peace River Hills.

The Pine Point Mines are now worked out and closed. The ED & BC Lines is served by the slides at Watino Hill, and Grande Prairie-Dawson Creek traffic travels the Alberta Resources Railway to Winiandy JNC near Jasper.

In 1980, CN purchased the shares of CP Rail, and the NAR became the Peace River subdivision of CN Mountain.
Traffic on this line today is grain, lumber, and pulp from the pulp mills. Oil and chemicals also come north.

Northern Alberta Railways Station



The NAR Station in Peace River was built by two Peace River men – Harry Edward Weaver and George Ellis (Bud) Devore. It is the last of its kind still standing in Alberta. It was designated as a Provincial Historical Resource in 1988.

Two years prior to its historical designation, a fire in the freight room, although contained, badly damaged the building and its contents. Rail historians and enthusiasts accepted the daunting task of restoring and preserving it as an important piece of Alberta’s railway history. They favoured the 1920s as the period the station’s artifacts would represent.

The station was a hub of passenger activity in northern Alberta from its beginning in 1916 when the first train arrived having travelled from Edmonton by the way of McLennan and Judah over the recently completed Heart River trestle. The 500 kilometre Peace River/Edmonton journey took as long as 13 hours with the Peace River departures and arrivals only a few days a week in the early years. Passenger service sadly came to a hault in 1956, but freight service continued until 1981 when the station was closed.

No amount of change can obliterate the fact that the NAR was the lifeline to northern Alberta before the advent of roads and airplanes. It played an intrinsic part in the development of the North, and while it may fade into history, the prosperity it brought Alberta will linger. During the Second World War, the station and the railway played an important role transporting people, food and supplies for the war effort.

From four large windows (usually stations of this era only had three) facing the track, the stationmaster kept tabs on all departures and arrivals. The stationmaster communicated with train crews through the telegraph and Morse code. Although modern Canadian National Railways (CNR) trains continue to pass these windows each day, the stationmaster is but a memory.
Ladies Waiting Room

When a woman travelled by herself, she was encourage to wait in the Ladies Waiting Room. While families and men waited in the General Waiting Room. Women would have entered the room directly from the platform. It was not law that the ladies could not wait in the General Waiting Room; however, it was proper etiquette for a woman’s moral standards.

An addition was made the Ladies Waiting Room (date unknown) and it became the main waiting room. The General Waiting Room became freight storage and additional office space.

In 1929, electricity and central heating were installed in the Peace River Train Station. Today, both the Ladies Waiting Room and the Ticket office have been restored prior to electricity and heating.

Ticket Office
As late as 1942, train dispatching for the Peace River subdivision was still handled by the telegraph. It is believed that a telegraphic system of dispatching was replaced by telephone dispatching in the 1950s.

General Waiting Room

Built in 1916, the layout of The Peace River Train Station has had three distinct floor plans, the original having been altered to better accommodate the Station’s changing requirements.

Through extensive research and significant alteration, the original floor plan of The Peace River Train Station has been reconstructed, identifying four period rooms in their original locations: The Ladies Waiting Room; Ticket Office; General Waiting Room; and Freight Room. The modern washrooms, hallway, and second floor have been changed to accommodate modern needs.

Careful consideration has been given to the period to be interpreted, and to which this station has been restored. The exciting period from 1916 to 1929 is historically important to the development of the Peace Region, so the exterior has been restored to closely reflect these times; however, the interior has been restored to the 1920s. This was a period of unprecedented railway growth and there is a wealth of historic information and facts available for interpretation.

The Edmonton Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway (ED & BC), chartered in 1907, and the Central Canada Railway (CCR) were the two railways that opened up the Peace Country. By 1911, both railway charters were acquired by J.D. McArthur. In July of 1920, the provincial government leased the ED & BC and the CCR properties to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Another railway, the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway, was operated by the province.

The Freight Room

The freight room was used as storage space for incoming and outgoing freight, along with tools and equipment. In 1986, there was a fire in the Freight Room. The fire was contained, although the building and its contents were damaged. The Northern Alberta Railways Association – a group of railway historians and enthusiasts – restored the building. It took five years of hard work and nearly $300,000 to restore the Station. Some accounts indicate the Freight Room floor is made of the station’s original planks.

Sources: Ribbons of Steel, Peace River Remembers, Alberta Culture Historic Sites.
For more information: Peace River Museum, Archives & Mackenzie Centre (780) 624-4261