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2019

Manitoba History No. 89
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No. 89

Summer Field Trip 2019
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Fall Field Trip 2019
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War Memorials in Manitoba
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This Old Elevator
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Abandoned Manitoba
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Historic Sites of Manitoba
Historic Sites
of Manitoba

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Prairie Dog Central Railway (1 Prairie Dog Trail, Winnipeg)

The Prairie Dog Central Railway uses one of the oldest running steam locomotives in Canada. Their coaches are all around 100 years old, and its Inkster Junction station in northwest Winnipeg is over 100 years old. In the early 1970s, the railway used an abandoned CNR track in southwest Winnipeg that is now the Harte Trail. Today, the train runs to Grosse Isle and Warren, a trip of about 20 miles, once a day each weekend and holiday from March to September.

A highlight of the facility is Steam Locomotive No. 3. Built at Glasgow, Scotland in 1882, the locomotive was used on lines in western Canada and it pulled the first train to reach Dauphin, in 1896. Sold to the City of Winnipeg in 1918, it serviced hydroelectric generating stations along the Winnipeg River until 1961, being damaged in a fire in a roundhouse at Pointe du Bois in December 1943 and subsequently repaired. It was brought to Winnipeg in February 1967 and refurbished by a group of railway enthusiasts.

A station building, a special design built in 1910 by the Canadian National Railway on Estella Street near Portage Avenue at St. James, was moved to this site in 1999.

Steam Locomotive No. 3 reaches Dauphin

Steam Locomotive No. 3 reaches Dauphin (1896)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Dauphin Collection #6, N10011.

Steam Locomotive No. 3 after a fire at Pointe du Bois

Steam Locomotive No. 3 after a fire at Pointe du Bois (December 1943)
Source: Edward K. Bricknell

Prairie Dog Central steam-powered locomotive

Prairie Dog Central steam-powered locomotive (August 2013)
Source: George Penner

Prairie Dog Central diesel-powered locomotive

Prairie Dog Central diesel-powered locomotive (June 2004)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Former Canadian Former Canadian National Railway station at its original site in St. James

Former Canadian National Railway station at its original site in St. James (April 1994)
Source: George Penner

Former Canadian National Railway station from St. James

Former Canadian National Railway station from St. James (August 2015)
Source: George Penner

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.95234, W97.27003
denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Grosse Isle Museum (Grosse Isle, RM of Rockwood)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Canadian National Railways Steam Locomotive No. 6043 (Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Canadian National Railways Steam Locomotive No. 2747 (Plessis Road, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Railway Museum (123 Main Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Railway Stations

Sources:

“Round house is burned at Pointe du Bois,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 December 1943, page 12.

“It’s all aboard for the Prairie Dog Central,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 May 1975, page 26.

Prairie Dog Central Railway

We thank Nonni Jonsson, George Penner, and Edward K. Bricknell for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 30 June 2019

Historic Sites of Manitoba

This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society.

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Please note that inclusion in this collection does not mean that a particular site has special status or protection. Some sites are on private property and permission must be secured from the owner prior to visiting.

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