Bay Roberts Railway Station Municipal Heritage Site

Bay Roberts Railway Station has been designated a municipal heritage site by the Town of Bay Roberts due to its aesthetic, historic and cultural values.

Bay Roberts Railway Station has aesthetic value because it is an unusual example of railway station construction for the region. The wooden, two-storey station, more appropriately called a combination depot, was built by the Reid Newfoundland Company sometime between 1899 and 1908. It had living quarters on the second floor and facilities for passengers, baggage, freight, and an agent’s office on the first floor. The architecture of the building is directly related to its function as a railway station. It has a protruding bay overlooking the tracks and an enclosed porch on the opposite facade that gave access to the ticket counter inside. The depot was staffed by an agent who lived with his family on the second floor. The building remains in its original form with a steeply pitched roof, wooden clapboard and gable-end windows.

Bay Roberts Railway Station has historic value due to its age. Built between 1899 and 1908 this railway station was constructed when the Harbour Grace Line was changed to include this part of the coast. In 1898 a branch known as the Carbonear Line was constructed from Brigus Junction to Tilton via Brigus, Clarke’s Beach, Bay Roberts and Spaniard’s Bay. The age of the Bay Roberts Railway Station makes it one of the first stations built for the new line.

Bay Roberts Railway Station also has historic value because of its associations with twentieth century development in the town. The construction of the station enabled Bay Roberts to become an important business and commercial centre in Conception Bay North. The town was first founded as a fishing community, and the fishery formed the mainstay of the economy in the 19th and 20th centuries. But, the railway opened the way for transport of freight and passengers province-wide, and the community grew as a result.

Bay Roberts Railway Station has cultural value as it is a physical reminder of a time of exceptional growth in the community. The station is symbolic of trade and commerce in the region. It stands today as a rare surviving example of a railway building in a province where the railway no longer exists and related rail buildings have all but vanished from the landscape. Yet, the building holds meaning to the town as a fundamental element that helped shape this coastal community.