Castlegar CPR Station Museum
400 13th Avenue Castlegar
The Museum is housed in a 100+ year old station, one of the best preserved in the province. Once inside you can envision the hustle and bustle of the passengers boarding the trains. The station agent’s residence on the upper floor provides you with a wonderful sensation of the early 1900’s. Bound copies of the Castlegar News are available to access. The beautifully landscaped area around the front of the station is a wonderful spot to rest with accessible parking to the downtown shops. The facility also includes an authentic CPR caboose that you can tour as well as Castlegar's first Jail House.
Hours of Operation
In 2026, the Museum is from
MAY 2 - OCTOBER 31
Tuesdays to Saturdays 10am - 5 pm
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Location
The Castlegar Station Museum is located at 400 13th Avenue. On Columbia Avenue, turn west on 3rd Street and drive one block.
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Historical Background
In 1887 the CPR completed the rail link between Nelson and Robson – across the Columbia from Castlegar. Paddle wheelers, including the SS Minto, carried goods and passengers between Revelstoke at the head of the Arrow Lakes and Robson. Lead-zinc ore (galena) was barged across the river to West Robson and then shipped by standard gauge Columbia and Western Railway to the smelter in Trail. A little later the CPR bought the existing area railways as a part of the Crow’s Nest Line and linked them with a bridge near Pass Creek. At about the same time a line was built from West Robson to Midway. To accommodate the traffic the bridge and the station were both built and completed in 1902. While the bridge has a swing span to accommodate downstream paddle wheelers, it was used only once.
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Built in the wye of the tracks, the station had a second story with living quarters for the station agent and his family.The first station burned to the ground in the late winter of 1906 as Station Agent Harry Gage and his family escaped with only their night clothes and one mattress in which Mrs. Gage had hidden the family savings. It was immediately replaced by the present station. After almost 100 years it is still one of the best preserved in the province.
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