Description of Historic Place

The Elmira Railway Station is located in the eastern Kings area of Prince Edward Island as part of the Elmira Railway Museum. It is a wood framed building with wooden shingled cladding and roof. The designation includes the footprint of the building, it does not include the building's interior.

Heritage Value

The Elmira Railway Station is valued as a significant example of railway station architecture in Prince Edward Island. It was constructed in 1912 by F.S. MacDonald as the easternmost terminus to the Prince Edward Island Railway at a cost of $3600. The branch line from Harmony Junction to Elmira opened on October 26, 1912.

The station building had separate waiting areas for men and women as well as an agent's office. A separate freight shed and engine house completed the site. A similar style of building was built at O'Leary in the western end of the Province. The design was common in many areas of the Maritimes and likely originated from the Railway's head office in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Passenger service ended in PEI in 1964 and the last freight was moved by rail in 1989. Many rural train stations were abandoned or turned into community centres. The Elmira Station was restored for the PEI Centennial in 1973. Today, it is an important part of the Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation, telling the story of the significance of the railway in Island history. Visitors to the site today, can also see a section of railway track where trains were turned. There is also a 1943 caboose as part of the museum.

Visit the official website of the Elmira Railway Museum PEI Museum.

Source: Heritage Places Files, Department of Education, Early Learning & Culture, Charlottetown, PE
File #: 4320-20/E1

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements describe the heritage value of the Elmira Railway Station:

- the scale, form, and massing of the building
- the characteristic design elements of a hipped roof with large flared overhang eaves with wooden brackets
- the centrally placed shed dormer on the roof with paired three over three windows
- the wood shingle cladding on the exterior walls and roof
- the panelled doors with transom windows
- the fenestration of the exterior with an array of nine over nine windows
- the centrally placed chimney
- the identity sign placed at the corner bargeboard of the hipped roof

Other character-defining elements include:

- the location of the station in the rural community of Elmira, PEI