20160531_180841
Looking through from the concourse of the Winnipeg Union Station, to the gate hall leading to the ramps to the platforms above and the exit to the Forks district, downtown Winnipeg, MB.
Constructed between 1908 and 1911, the station was built as a joint venture between the Canadian Northern Railway, National Transcontinental, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and the Dominion government. The first train to enter the station did so on 7 August 1911, with the official opening the following year on 24 June 1912.
Union Station was designed by Warren and Wetmore, the architects responsible for Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Designed in the Beaux-Arts style and constructed from local Tyndall limestone, Union Station was one of Western Canada’s largest railway stations.
The building extends for 110 metres along Main Street, with the entrance close to the intersection of Main Street and Broadway. The building's entrance doors are located under a decorative iron canopy that projects from the austere white limestone.Atop the building is a large dome.
Union Station was for many years an important transportation hub in the region. Thousands of immigrants passed through its halls, and it was home to the regional office of the Canadian National Railway which inherited the building from its predecessors. There were once several trans-border trains to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota operating out of the station. The Great Northern Railway had its 'Winnipeg Limited', while the Northern Pacific Railway also had an unnamed day train. Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad had its 'Winnipeger', which did not serve Union Station, terminating at Canadian Pacific's station on Higgins Avenue up until its discontinuance in 1967. All of these services were discontinued prior to Amtrak and there are no present plans to reinstate any of them.
Canadian National Railway turned over passenger rail services to Via Rail in 1978, which has operated out of Union Station ever since. At present, Union Station is used by two trains - the Toronto-Vancouver 'Canadian', and the Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Although it is still used as a passenger train terminal, the functions of Union Station have changed with time. For instance, the terminal building contains offices occupied by non-railway tenants. The trainshed, which includes a total of eight through tracks and four passenger platforms, houses the Winnipeg Railway Museum on two tracks and two platforms (Nos 1 & 2), with VIA Rail using remaining platforms (Nos 3 & 4).
Union Station is one of two major inter-city railway station buildings in Downtown Winnipeg. However, unlike Union Station, the Canadian Pacific Railway Station ceased functioning as a railway station upon the creation of Via Rail Canada in 1978 and is now used for purposes unrelated to transportation.
20160531_180841
Looking through from the concourse of the Winnipeg Union Station, to the gate hall leading to the ramps to the platforms above and the exit to the Forks district, downtown Winnipeg, MB.
Constructed between 1908 and 1911, the station was built as a joint venture between the Canadian Northern Railway, National Transcontinental, Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and the Dominion government. The first train to enter the station did so on 7 August 1911, with the official opening the following year on 24 June 1912.
Union Station was designed by Warren and Wetmore, the architects responsible for Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Designed in the Beaux-Arts style and constructed from local Tyndall limestone, Union Station was one of Western Canada’s largest railway stations.
The building extends for 110 metres along Main Street, with the entrance close to the intersection of Main Street and Broadway. The building's entrance doors are located under a decorative iron canopy that projects from the austere white limestone.Atop the building is a large dome.
Union Station was for many years an important transportation hub in the region. Thousands of immigrants passed through its halls, and it was home to the regional office of the Canadian National Railway which inherited the building from its predecessors. There were once several trans-border trains to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota operating out of the station. The Great Northern Railway had its 'Winnipeg Limited', while the Northern Pacific Railway also had an unnamed day train. Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad had its 'Winnipeger', which did not serve Union Station, terminating at Canadian Pacific's station on Higgins Avenue up until its discontinuance in 1967. All of these services were discontinued prior to Amtrak and there are no present plans to reinstate any of them.
Canadian National Railway turned over passenger rail services to Via Rail in 1978, which has operated out of Union Station ever since. At present, Union Station is used by two trains - the Toronto-Vancouver 'Canadian', and the Winnipeg – Churchill train.
Although it is still used as a passenger train terminal, the functions of Union Station have changed with time. For instance, the terminal building contains offices occupied by non-railway tenants. The trainshed, which includes a total of eight through tracks and four passenger platforms, houses the Winnipeg Railway Museum on two tracks and two platforms (Nos 1 & 2), with VIA Rail using remaining platforms (Nos 3 & 4).
Union Station is one of two major inter-city railway station buildings in Downtown Winnipeg. However, unlike Union Station, the Canadian Pacific Railway Station ceased functioning as a railway station upon the creation of Via Rail Canada in 1978 and is now used for purposes unrelated to transportation.