Meeting Creek

Meeting Creek. Bands of Brass and Bands of Steel. The Meeting Creek depot was built by the Canadian Northern Railway in 1913 to a “Standard Third Class” plan issued by the company. It is typical of many “combination” railway depots used throughout North America – providing facilities for passenger services, the handling of freight and express, and for the historical conduct of the telegraph and cable business offered by the railways., This design of depot included provision of an agent's apartment to serve as living quarters for the company's representative and his/her family., The Canadian Northern Railway arrived in Meeting Creek to the sound of a brass band in May of 1910. This typical rural branch line operation served the community well for 87 years until 1997 when the last elevators between Stettler and Camrose were closed, forcing the abandonment of the line. A short section of the original railway remains preserved with the depot and grain elevator., Alberta Pacific Grain Elevator: This is a wonderfully conserved example of a wood-cribbed prairie grain elevator. Built in 1917, this elevator was designed to store 40,000 bushels of grain, and was used to purchase, store, and ship the crops grown by the local farming community until 1984. A classic “symbol of the grain belt,” there were once hundreds of these structures across the prairies – and the few that remain today are generally preserved or in private hands., All of the preservation activities conducted at this site are performed by a dedicated but small group of volunteers. We welcome donations of cash, time or resources – as well as any new members., photo captions - top to bottom: , . The Canadian Northern Railway steel gang arrives at Meeting Creek in spring 1910, to the sound of the local Meeting Creek brass band. , . VIA Railiner detrains passengers at Meeting Creek in 1981. , . Grain elevators at Meeting Creek, 1997.