13 December 2005
A Generous Deal
Brandon - What a great deal for Minnedosa. The town north of Brandon will save its
95-year-old train station after all, now that Canadian Pacific Railway has donated the old station to the community for
the low, low price of $1.
A group called Save Our Station, which has raised more than $14,000 to buy and fix up the old station, will take ownership of the town
landmark, which was built in 1910. The transfer will go through in the spring, which is when SOS is expected to become incorporated as
a non-profit organization.
"It was very heartening. We've lost so many heritage buildings. It was time to put our foot down and save this one. The historical
connections go back to the very beginning of the community," Bob Mummery, the chairman of the group, told the Sun.
The days when CP Rail and other railways took passengers to and from communities throughout the Prairies are essentially over and have
left behind a surplus of former stations that can no longer serve the purpose they were built for. CP Rail has also helped save stations
in Virden, Portage and Carman, among others, and should be commended for helping Minnedosa save a piece of its heritage.
Now, if we could be so bold, we would also ask the CP Rail to do something similar with the historic train station at the corner of
10th Street and Pacific Avenue in Brandon. The building has been empty for several months and has been listed on the market as for
lease.
It may be too much to ask - after all, the station is a reasonably valuable piece of commercial property - but if a local group comes
together and asks for the same kind of deal, we would hope CP Rail would be amenable to making Brandon the same kind of offer. That
train station is also a valuable piece of Brandon's history. To see it sit empty and collect dust rather than be turned over to a group
that can do something with it, which has been the case in so many other towns, would truly be a shame.
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