Caption: This rather sad looking building as photographed back in 1981 I am posting here just for those interested in Prince Edward Island and it's railroad history. It is not much to look at, but in 1981 it was an old freight shed converted to station. The way freights stopped here on their infrequent visits, crews and maintenance personnel used the building in which to do their paperwork. Curiously, there is a "VIA" decal on the door, yet passenger service ceased here in 1968. I'm guessing perhaps someone could stop in and order tickets for the bus out of Charlottetown?
Originally Souris had a passenger depot built between Souris East and Souris West, around 1876 as the town was divided by the wide and slow mouth of the Souris River. The station was built on a moving sandbar! Worse, tides affected the rails, and often sand covered them and had to be swept away. Such was the early days of the PEIR. A second station was built in 1879 on stable land in Souris East.
That station lasted until 1971 when vandals burned it to the ground. So the freight shed pictured was now "the station" in town.
Souris has been going thru troubling times. The population, just over a thousand, is declining. It was settled first in 1727; and early settlers had endless troubles with huge mouse populations. Actually, "Souris" is the French word for "mouse", and that little furry you-know-what is the town mascot.
The station, or whatever you want to call it, is now long gone.
|
Good catch of this building. It looks as though it was on its last legs when you visited. All these buildings, large and small, across Canada that have disappeared. Mooney’s Station Gallery.
Interesting to see “new” ballast on rails which wouldn’t last very long.