Acton Vale Railway Station (Grand Trunk) National Historic Site of Canada

Acton Vale, Quebec
View of the Acton Vale Railway Station Grand Trunk), showing the low massing under a lively roofline including gables and a turret, 2002. (© Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, 2002.)
Side view
(© Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, 2002.)
Address : 960 Boulay Street, Acton Vale, Quebec

Recognition Statute: Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date: 1976-11-06
Dates:
  • 1900 to 1900 (Construction)

Other Name(s):
  • Acton Vale Railway Station (Grand Trunk)  (Designation Name)
Research Report Number: 1973-I (P)

Plaque(s)


Existing plaque:  960 Boulay Street, Acton Vale, Quebec

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 picturesque effect. Formed in 1853, the Grand Trunk Company became part of the Canadian National after the latter was created in 1919.

Description of Historic Place

Acton Vale Railway Station (Grand Trunk) National Historic Site of Canada is a small passenger terminal located in the town of Action Vale, Quebec. This picturesque, wooden building features a variety of structural shapes and details including a turret, multi-paned windows, rooftop dormers and high-pitched gables. Large brackets support the overhanging eaves of the bellcast roof. Official recognition refers to the building on its footprint.

Heritage Value

Acton Vale Railway Station (Grand Trunk) was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1976 because: this railway station illustrates the expansion of the Grand Trunk Company railway.

The Acton Vale Railway Station (Grand Trunk) expresses the development of the Grand Trunk Company railway in Québec. 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 Montréal to Portland Maine. Formed in 1853, the Grand Trunk Railway Company became part of the Canadian National Railway Company after the latter was created in 1919. The heritage value of this site resides in the surviving elements of its original design, materials and decoration. It now functions as the town tourist office and exhibition centre.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, June 1976.

Character-Defining Elements

The key elements that contribute to the heritage character of this site include: the setting within a small Québec town; those elements illustrating the Grand Trunk Railway Company design typical of small railway stations built to a standard plan between 1895 and 1905, including: the low massing under a lively roofline including gables and a turret; the wood construction with decorative elements both inside and out; the original placement of doors and windows, the use of leaded windows on the second floor and leaded upper sections on the ground floor; the projecting canopy with large supporting brackets; the surviving original layout, materials and finishes.