In 1908, the Canadian Pacific Railway constructed a branch line between Wolseley, Saskatchewan and the village of Reston, in the Rural Municipality of Pipestone. As the eastern terminus of the service, known locally as “The Peanut,” Reston was quickly built up, with a railway station, section houses, water tower, coal dock, wood sheds, and a line of grain elevators. To provide repair services, and to turn the locomotives around for the trip back to Wolseley, a fan-shaped, four-bay engine house and turntable were constructed here. The CPR Reston Subdivision was abandoned in September 1960.
The engine house was closed in 1930 and was sold and converted for use as a seed house by Colin C. Campbell and his son. Campbell & Son was a retail and mail-order store for high-quality seeds of all kinds. The firm employed four to twelve people on 24-hour basis during the winter months and it operated until 1969. The building is still in use for private storage.
The former engine house, one of only four surviving in Manitoba (the others being at Dauphin, The Pas, and Winnipeg), is a municipally designated heritage building (1996).
The former CPR Engine House at Reston (October 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former CPR Engine House at Reston (October 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Aerial view of the former CPR Engine House at Reston (May 2019)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.55332, W101.09633
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Colin C. Campbell (1872-1959)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Canadian National Railway Turntable and Engine House (Jackson Street, Dauphin)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Canadian National Railway Turntable and Engine House (The Pas)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Canadian Pacific Railway Engine House (198 Archibald Street, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba
Trails Along the Pipestone by RM of Pipestone History Project, c1981, pages 427, 442. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.P56 Tra]
Reston Canadian Pacific Railway Engine House, Reston, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.
We thank Corey Martin, Larry Leavens, and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 10 May 2024
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