History of the Galloway Station

 

To tell the history of the Galloway Station, it is necessary to start with the history of Canadian railways.

It's the early 20th century and railway fever is in the air. The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) and the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) are in fierce competition to make it to the west coast. In some places, the companies’ tracks ran within 50 feet of each other, and it was doubtful if both lines could survive.

Due to incredible costs, mismanagement, unwillingness to compromise, the need for steel in Europe during World War I and the removal of rail track on sections of both GTP and CNoR lines, both companies were doomed to fail.

 

Then CNoR was the first company to go bankrupt and the Canadian government jumped in and snatched up the railway. Within a couple of years, the GTP followed suit. The government then nationalized and combined the railway companies to become Canadian National.

 

The original section of the Galloway Station Museum is a Canadian Northern Railway Type 100-47, Standard Combination Station and Section House that started its life as the Dandurand Station, which was abandoned in 1917.

In 1923, it was relocated to mile 15.3, close to Marlboro, on the GTP Brule subdivision as housing for the pump man. In the 1940s, when diesel locomotives replaced steam, the station was moved to Galloway.

 

The station was purchased for $1 by the EDHS  and moved to RCMP Centennial Park in Edson 1975 where it began its incarnation as a museum.

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The Galloway Station Museum officially opened to the public in 1981 and has continued operation under the volunteer EDHS board management.

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In September 2011, the Galloway Museum was renovated and additions were made to expand the facility to more than twice its original size. It is also home to a rental space and Travel Centre. 

 

Why Galloway?

 

The Galloway Station was named after a Grand Trunk Pacific employee, David Ernest Galloway, a one-time assistant to the president of the Grand Trunk Pacific and later assistant vice-president of Canadian National Railways.

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