Though the railway through Delburne was built by the Grand Trunk Pacific in 1911, the railway had, by 1919, run into financial trouble and on July 12, 1920 the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTPR) was placed under the management of Crown corporation Canadian National Railways (CNR) and in 1923 was completely absorbed into the CNR. This means that the water tower was built by the CNR. Its last use would have come about in the late '50s or the early '60s at the latest. By the early to mid sixties the CNR had completely changed its engines over to diesel-electric.
This water tower was rescued by the Anthony Henday Historical Society in 1983 and moved to the
Anthony Henday Museum on the south side of 20th Street at 25th Avenue. Notice in the pictures that the tower still has its indicator ball on the rod atop the building. The position of the ball on the rod indicated the amount of water the tank held.
The museum is well worth seeing, especially for train buffs, as it has this station, an old wooden water tower, a CNR caboose, a Fairmont Speeder and more...
Unfortunately, the station at the museum, which houses indoor displays, is only open in July and August, but there are some really cool things to see even when it's not open. Admission is by donation.
Centennial Trails
Canadian National
Water Tank Building – circa 1930
This building once housed a large cedar tank that held thousands of gallons of water for the steam locomotives. The tank itself took up most of the building with a narrow walkway between the tank and the interior wall.
A spout on the exterior of the building gave easy access for the locomotive to fill with water that had been previously pumped into the tank. Working on a float system, the tank would refill, ready for the next train as required.
In 1983 this building was moved from its original site by the Anthony Henday Historical Society, for preservation purposes. Today, there are very few water tanks buildings remaining.
transcribed from sign