Restaurant and Meeting Centre. The Train Station is designated as a historic site; Federally, Provincially and municipally.
Address:
4922 – 52 Ave Box 207 Vegreville, Alberta Canada T9C 1R2
Phone Number: (780) 632-2288
Fax Number: (780) 632-2224
Website: http://vegrevilletrainstation.com/
Email: TrainStationVeg@hotmail.com
The restaurant is open Thursday thru Monday closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Hours: 10:30 am to 8:00 pm
Available for rent is the conference room in the old freight shed and the upstairs residence. Suitable for gathers of many types birthdays, anniversaries, small weddings, get- togethers and celebrations of all types.
The Building is designated as a historic site Federally, Provincially and municipally.
Historical Information:
- August 1929 the plans were approved by the building engineer and drawn for RLC for the Canadian Western Lines of the Canadian National Railway (CNR) in Winniepeg.
- Spring of 1930 the new CNR building was completed and open for business. It also housed the district telegraph office.
- 1974 to 1979 jointly owned by the CNR and the Senior Citizens Sunshine Club of Vegreville.
- May 1977 the last scheduled trip the Dayliner took from Vegreville to Mundare.
- August 1978 HRH Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, came by train to visit the people of Vegreville on their Canadian Tour. This was the last known use of the CNR Station building as a Train Station.
- 1979 to June 1988 the CNR building was utilized by the Senior Citizens Sunshine Club of Vegreville.
During this time, once a month a dance was held in the Train Station; the men had their pool table, the ladies had their activities and floor curling was held. - 1988 to 2000 the Lacusta Heritage Foundation Museum was the sole tenant with many historic items on display.
- 2000 to 2003 the land was still owned by the CNR but the building was privately owned.
- 2003 the building was purchased by Odette Boily, a well know interior designer in the area. Odette and her brother, with a crew, fully restored this historic building interior, exterior painting, changing many of the broken windows, restoring the hardwood; all in approximately 18 months. The manys uses of the building during this time included massage therapy, hydo-therapy, a conference room and a vegan restaurant called The Station Cafe.
- Late 2004 the land was purchased from CN.
- November 2006 the CNR Station was designated a Provincal Historic Resource.The heritage value of the CNR Station building lies chiefly in its aesthetic and architectural signifiance as an example of the standard plan railway station design; Standard Plan 100-225. This included the hipped roof, gabled dormers, curved eavesbrackets and half-timbering, origianla interior elements such as the flooring and semaphore control leaver. The heritage value also includes the services the building provided to the people during that time period in history; 1930 to 1978, when it was used as a train station.
- Sept 2009 Ellen Dunn purchased the land and building. The many uses since 2010 include a restaurant serving Ukrainian food, a conference room, once hosting the Rotary Club of Vegreville for meetings and lunch. Tours are available and High Tea has been served in the restaurant.
- May 2010 Kalyna Country Ecomuseum Trust Society moved in and occupies a portion of the upstairs as their administration office.Info compiled by Ellen Dunn with thanks to Vegreville Regional Museum, “100 years of Vegreville 1906-2006” by The Vegreville Observer, Heritage Resources Management Information System and Carol Kindreachuk – granddaughter of stationmaster.
