During the summer of 1883, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) main line crossed Gopher Creek about 65 kilometres from the present Saskatchewan border. The siding, with a bridge, small station and water tower, was named Virden, after the country estate of The Duke of Manchester, a major CPR shareholder. Within a few years, a thriving community had established itself on the townsite surveyed by the CPR.
By 1899 Virden had grown to such an extent that plans were made to replace the original station with a larger, more modern, facility. Built in 1900, the picturesque design for the new depot was a product of R. B. Pratt, a notable station designer, first with the CPR and then for their rival, Canadian Northern. The Virden station was from a standardized set of plans, used on several other Manitoba stations. The design was distinguished by its remarkable roof, an impressive and complicated composition with dormers and beak-like canopies. The Virden Station is the only one in Manitoba constructed of fieldstone.
Nearby, a railway underpass built in 1917 allows pedestrians to cross the tracks safely.
Postcard view of CPR Station at right with Alexandra Hotel at right background (circa 1908)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2019-0080
Canadian Pacific Railway station at Virden (July 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Canadian Pacific Railway station at Virden (September 2020)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.85069, W100.92931
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Railway Stations
Virden Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch
CPR Railway Station (425 Sixth Avenue), Virden Downtown Heritage District by Ken Storie.
We thank Tim Worth and George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 7 November 2020
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