Acton Vale in Acton, Québec — Central Canada (French-Canadian)

Acton Vale Station

Photographed By Kevin Craft, August 31, 2011

1. Acton Vale Station Marker

Inscription. The design of this building is based on a standard plan used by the Grand Trunk Railway Company to build several stations between 1895 and 1905 on the line connecting Montreal to Portland, Maine. This plan features a variety of structural shapes, including a high-pitched dormer window, a turret with multipaned windows, and a bellcast roof, which together produce a strikingly pituresque effect. Formed in 1853, the Grand Trunk Company became part of the Canadian National after the latter was created in 1919.

Erected 1986 by Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Man-Made Features • Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Historic Sites and Monuments Board series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1895.

Location. 45° 38.897′ N, 72° 33.82′ W. Marker is in Acton Vale, Québec, in Acton. Marker can be reached from Boulay, 0.1 kilometers east of St-André (Québec Route 139), on the left when traveling east. The marker is located next to the railway station, which was beautifully and painstakingly restored by the town of Acton Vale in 2010 in collaboration with Parks Canada. The Route Verte, a cycling path that crosses the entire

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

province of Québec, passes adjacent to the station. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 960, Boulay, Acton Vale QC J0H 1A0, Canada. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 4 other markers are within 14 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Le Presbytère / The Rectory (approx. 10.1 kilometers away); La Colonisation d'Upton / The Colonization of Upton (approx. 10.2 kilometers away); Le Magasin Général Upton / The Upton General Store (approx. 10.2 kilometers away); Des ormes et des hommes / Elms and Men (approx. 13.4 kilometers away).

Regarding Acton Vale Station. HISTORY: Built by the Grand Trunk Railway, the superb Acton Vale station is based on a standard plan for all stations built by the GTR along its Montreal-Portland route between 1895 and 1905. The Grand Trunk, which acquired this line from the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway in 1853, was Quebec’s first international railway and the first to cross the Eastern Townships. By 1919, the GTR was overextended and bankrupt, and four years later, it was absorbed by Canadian National Railway. When passenger traffic on the line declined in the second half of the 20th
century, Acton Vale’s station, like many stations in the Townships, was closed. Abandoned for years, new life was finally breathed into the old landmark in 1979 when the Société de la gare was formed. A federally

Photographed By Kevin Craft, August 31, 2011

2. Acton Vale Station Marker

and provincially designated historic site (1976 and 1980 respectively), the station was purchased by the town in 1983 and has since been restored to its former grandeur. Passenger rail service was restored in 1985, only to be cancelled again in 1994. The station is now used by the local Chamber of Commerce (located in the former "Gentlemen waiting area"), the tourist bureau (located in the "Ladies waiting area" and also provides an exhibition centre in the basement.
BUILT: c.1903-1904
DESCRIPTION: 1 storey. Clapboard. Built in the neo-Queen Anne style.
(text adapted from "Railway Stations of the Eastern Townships" by Matthew Farfan)

Also see . . . Acton Vale Railway Station - National Historic Site. (Submitted on July 24, 2014, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec.)

Acton Vale Station image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Kevin Craft, August 31, 2011

3. Acton Vale Station

Photographed By Kevin Craft, August 31, 2011

4. Acton Vale Station

Photographed By Kevin Craft, August 31, 2011

5. Acton Vale Station

(with Route Verte cycling path adjacent to the station)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 2, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 1, 2011, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec. This page has been viewed 1,423 times since then and 19 times this year. Last updated on June 18, 2014, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 1, 2011, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.