After an incident in which a young girl was injured crossing between cars of a supposedly stationary train in Virden, the local Women’s Institute lobbied for a pedestrian subway under the railway tracks. Constructed in 1917, at a cost of about $10,500 shared equally between the Town of Virden and the Canadian Pacific Railway, the subway connects the railway station and the business district south of the tracks with the residential area to the north. It was renovated in 1956 after a new elementary school was opened.
Virden Railway Underpass (May 2019)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Virden Railway Underpass (May 2022)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Aerial view of Virden Railway Underpass (July 2023)
Source: George Penner
Interior of the Virden Railway Underpass (May 2019)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.85025, W100.92876
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Pedestrian Subway (Main Street, Dauphin)
“Virden must pay C.P.R.,” Manitoba Free Press, 21 November 1917, page 11.
The Virden Story by Ida Clingan, 1957, page 110.
Virden Downtown Heritage District Assessment by Ken Storie, 2010.
We thank Rose Kuzina and George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 23 July 2023
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