When Rail Was King
Please Note: Fort Langley’s CNR Station is operated by the Langley Heritage Society and is a popular location for wedding and graduation photographs. We’re a volunteer, non-profit organization and a $20 donation is appreciated. Mail to: Langley Heritage Society, Box 982, Fort Langley, B.C. V1M 2S3.
HOURS: From noon until 4 pm on weekends and statutory holidays (until Thanksgiving).
The station was built for the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) in 1915 as agriculture expanded and new settlement drew people into the Fraser Valley. Absorbed by the Canadian National Railway in 1918, its life as a passenger station spanned the steam through diesel eras until 1980. Originally located 240 metres to the west, the station was moved in 1983 by Langley Heritage Society volunteers; the building was declared a Municipal Heritage Site in 1984. Built to a standard 3rd Class Type design, this is one of the few remaining stations like it in western Canada, and the only surviving station from this era in the Langley region. CNR Station is owned by the Township of Langley and maintained and operated by the Langley Heritage Society through an innovative partnership. Watch our videos produced with Brookswood Secondary School, and our new production about life at the CNR Station, Wheels of Time, produced by Creative Compass Society HERE.
History, Restoration & Expansion
After it was moved, Heritage Society members picked up hammers and saws for a two year restoration project. The gardens are maintained much like Station Master Richard Simpson and his wife Mary did from 1918 to 1929 when annual garden competitions happened between stations. The couple grew 37 varieties of perennials — from alyssum to zinnia. An article in the August 1917 edition of The Western Home Monthly magazine noted that Canadian Northern station agents were enthusiastically planting gardens. “”Since beautifying station grounds has gone into effect a remarkable improvement is seen by the travelling public all over the Canadian Northern system…The Canadian Northern can now point with pride as having some of the nicest station grounds on the American continent.”
Station Agent Richard Simpson sold train tickets, handled freight and sent & received telegrams, earning $45 per month in 1918. He also worked 60 hours a week.
A wooden caboose was added beside the station, and houses the Glen Valley model railway. In 1997, Langley Heritage Society purchased a 1947 railway car and began renovations. It was renamed E. & E. Taylor, honouring Fort Langley residents Evelyn and Egbert Taylor, who dedicated much time to development of the railway station, as did the late Bays Blackhall who ran station operations for many years. In 2004, a section of track donated by CN was installed in front of the station to accommodate the velocipede, on loan from the B.C. Farm Machinery and Agricultural Museum. Many other fascinating objects and archival images are found inside the station’s freight room. .A weathered trunk that belonged to Lois Bowling, the first British war bride to arrive in Langley after the Second World War, sits in the station waiting room; a telegraph station for kids is situated inside the passenger car. (More about Lois Bowling HERE.) We continue to expand and refine our interpretation, and to add new CNR artifacts to our displays.
In 2001 the Langley Heritage Society received a B.C.Heritage Society Award of Honour for the restoration project. The station is also part of our Fort Langley Walking Tour — more details HERE. Archival photos are courtesy of Langley Centennial Museum.
