RSS

Empire Junction

West Fort William Station Fort William Station Empire Junction Neebing Culvert

Empire Junction was a station on the line located at Milepost 0.7/1.3/2.2/2.4.

The origins of the station coincide with the construction of the Empire Branch of the railway, which split from the mainline and travelled east along Empire Avenue until it reached the Canadian Pacific line near the Kaministiquia River and the Union Station. The opening of the Empire Branch is unknown, but it likely occurred around 1910. Beginning in 1922, the eastern portion of the branch was abandoned and trains would access the line via the former Canadian Northern route. It was tied into the CNoR line via a junction that replaced the old interlock and the location rechristened “Midway.” This route was in use until 1925 when the entire eastern portion of the original GTP line was abandoned.

CN records indicate that a GTP Type “E” station was constructed here in 1913. According to author Charles Bohi in Canadian National’s Western Depots : The Country Stations in Western Canada, a station was constructed at “Fort William” in 1918. By this point, use of the West Fort William Station had been discontinued in favour of the Union Station. Whether these are the same station is unknown; what became of the building here is likewise unknown.

Empire Junction survived the abandonment of the original line. When CNR rerouted its line through Fort William in 1931, part of its new line followed the route of the Empire Branch and the GTP. The former GTP line to the south remained, still merging here with the Kashabowie Subdivision. It was known as West Fort William. A large siding was established that remained until the late 1980s or early 1990s when the siding and spur to the south were removed.