Description of Historic Place

The Miami Railway Station is a small, wooden storey-and-a-half railway station located beside the tracks in the agricultural community of Miami, Manitoba. The formal recognition consists of the building on its footprint as it existed at the time of designation.

Heritage Value

The Miami Railway Station was designated a national historic site to commemorate the development of the Canadian Northern Line and because it is a rare surviving example of a Canadian Northern railway station.

Formed in 1899 by William Mackenzie and Donald Mann as a result of the amalgamation of two small Manitoba branch lines, the Canadian Northern Railway grew quickly to become a transcontinental railway system. The present station is typical of many standard design frame depots erected by the Canadian Northern across the prairies. It reflects the brief period of prosperity enjoyed by Miami during the railway boom of the early 20th century. The station operates as a rail museum during the summer months.

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

Character-Defining Elements

The key elements that relate to the heritage value of the Miami Railway Station include:
- its location directly besides the rail line;
- its compact plan, typical of the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) standard plan, including a station agent’s office and a waiting room on the main floor; and a station master’s residence on the upper floor, and a freight wing on the east side;
- features typical of the CNR stations of the period, including a prominent, hipped roof; and a projecting station master’s bay at platform level;
- its frame construction and simple, utilitarian design, with minimal detailing;
- its hipped roof with a central gabled dormer on the track side.