Though long out of service, the roundhouse still stands on the south side of the railway tracks, just south of the town of Hanna. It was built with 10 stalls for servicing and storing the CNR's engines, then steam locomotives.
From 1912 to 1914, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) built the Goose Lake Line between Saskatoon and Calgary. A newly surveyed town named Hanna, after the CNoR president David Hanna, was selected as a divisional point and the required infrastructure was built, including a yard, station, large water reservoir and a roundhouse and turntable, the latter being completed in 1913.
Like other major railways, CN converted to diesel-electric locomotives during the 1950s. In 1961, the Hanna roundhouse was deemed obsolete and was decommissioned, then leased to a series of local businesses. Most of the rails and turntable equipment and machinery were removed and the interior was altered to suit the purposes of the businesses leasing the structure.
In 1990, Hanna was completely eliminated as a divisional point and all maintenance facilities were consolidated in Calgary and Edmonton. The roundhouse was abandoned and began to rapidly deteriorate. A brick addition from the 1920 partially collapsed in 2007 and was later razed. Fortunately, the roundhouse has fared somewhat better and still stands. In front, the accompanying turntable also remains in place.
Canadian Northern Railway Roundhouse
Description of Historic Place
The Canadian Northern Railway Roundhouse in Hanna is an iconic piece of historic railway infrastructure. The designation includes the roundhouse and turntable as well as other separate, but associated elements. The roundhouse, built in 1913, is a large, ten-stall, fan-shaped, brick and concrete building. A rectangular building, which contained a boiler room and machine shop, projects from the rear of the roundhouse and the foundation and remains of a 1922, five-stall addition are found to the immediate south of the roundhouse. Other associated elements include a concrete and steel turntable and remnants of numerous other structures, such as the foundations for a water tower and other storage buildings. Some tracks and evidence of tracks are present, as are many examples of metal switches and other railway fixtures. The roundhouse site is located in the former railway yards along the southern edge of the Town of Hanna.
Heritage Value
The Canadian Northern Railway Roundhouse is significant for its association with the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) and as an example of essential railway divisional point infrastructure and architecture. The roundhouse is one of the most significant, historic railway structures in Alberta.
The roundhouse site provides evidence of the role of railway divisional points, which were integral parts of the railway network. Between 1912 and 1914, the CNoR built a line between Saskatoon and Calgary and established Hanna as a divisional point. The Hanna divisional point possessed facilities essential to the CNoR’s operations, such as a roundhouse, turntable and rail yard; buildings for storage of fuel, tools and equipment; water tower; and a nearby dam and reservoir. All were located in a long and narrow strip of land alongside the main line. Although much of the track has been removed and structures demolished, evidence of these features can be found within the current roundhouse property. Surface scarring and extant switches show track location and orientation, and foundations show the location of the water tower, sand tower and other buildings. These elements, along with the roundhouse and turntable, remain as evidence of typical divisional point infrastructure and organization.
The roundhouse and turntable at the western edge of the site are rare examples of once essential railway infrastructure. The roundhouse, built in 1913, is designed to maximise the confined railyard space and was used for the short-term storage and maintenance of steam locomotives. The circular turntable, consisting of a concrete depression with a pivot-mounted steel bridge, allowed locomotives to be turned in a very small space. The roundhouse, built with concrete and brick exterior walls and a wooden roof, is structurally and stylistically similar to roundhouses built by the CNoR and other North American railways. The roundhouse’s iconic semi-circular or fan shape with a long, curved rear wall and shorter, curved front is the result of the structure wrapping around the turntable. Large doors on the front elevation provide access to the ten locomotive stalls. The roundhouse’s interior consists of a large open space, split in two, five-stall halves by a firewall. A series of concentric wooden joists support the roof, which is punctuated by a series of square openings for venting locomotive smokestacks. Lighting for the cavernous space is provided by electric lights suspended from the ceiling and natural light through the tall, multi-paned windows across the rear wall and a row of clerestory windows. A rectangular, concrete structure containing the boiler room and a machine shop, part of the original design, projects from the rear of the roundhouse.
Architectural evidence of the changing railway technology is present at the site. Ever-increasing locomotive size resulted in the construction of a longer, five-stall, brick addition in the 1920s, of which only remnants still remain. In 1943, a portion of the roof was raised, resulting in the tiered roof, clerestory windows and the brick construction of the upper walls. Despite the many changes to the building, it, along with most other roundhouses across Canada, became obsolete in the post-war period. The railway company, now Canadian National Railways, abandoned the roundhouse in 1961. After so many decades of use by the railways, the lands surrounding the roundhouse likely contain debris and industrial archeological artifacts that would provide further evidence of the site’s use and evolving railway tools and technology. Today, the roundhouse at Hanna is the most intact example of this integral, historic railway infrastructure in Alberta, one of the best examples in western Canada and one of the few remaining examples in the country.
From The Alberta Register
CNR Round House
The 10-stall round house was started on June 8, 1913. Included in the construction was a 60,000 gallon water tank and this would necessitate construction of a dam across the creek meandering south of the tracks.
Roads began opening up, and trails improved as farmers began coming to Hanna to do business. June 15, 1913 work began on the road to Garden Plain. It was to be paid for by the rural municipalities. Dowling Lake Municipality bought road machinery from Jarrell and Brink - a grader, a ditch plow and slips, and a large number of teams were hired to supply the power.
On June 13, 1913 many more men arrived to start work ballasting the CNR tracks. One trainload from the east brought 200 men. They were housed and fed in their own camp, another 75 men arrived from the west to begin work on telegraph lines, and more crews were expected to assist in the construction boom.
It was also rumored that the Canadian Northern Railway system would be taken over by the government, but nothing more was heard for a time. Road gangs worked through the summer and the ballasting was completed in time to move the bumper grain crop of 1913.
On August 7, 1913 a story was released that the Brazeau line to Hanna would be built soon and the CPR from Bassano to Coronation would pass through Hanna. By early September 1913 daily mail service was expected from Alsask, but the railway had not yet received contracts to carry mail.
By September 14, 1913, the first car of grain was shipped by McCuish Brothers. It was No. 1 Marquis and was shipped through the Alberta Pacific Grain Company. The Hanna Board of Trade continued to pressure the railway for facilities and in October a loading platform and a two-pen stock yard was built.
November 13,1913 was the long awaited day when almost everyone in Hanna went to the station to welcome the first passenger train from the East. The first train consisted of eight cars - two first class, two second class, baggage, express, mail and dining cars. The first engine bore the number 1228. The first train crew: Conductor, G.L. Byers; engineer, J.H. Cherry; fireman, Ross Alexander; brakeman, F.A. Purvis; mail. H.G. Hays, H.F. Mills, C.E. Miners; express C. Austin; Dining car, W. Patterson, conductor; Louise Phillipe, chef; A. David, C. Morrison, A. McDonald, F.J. Long.
This train would establish a mixed train coming to Hanna from the east on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The train would go west to Drumheller and return the same day.
On January 22, 1914, the CNR had the Hanna townsite plans registered. They also granted an acre of land to the village for $100 as a hospital site.
Many settlers were coming into the area that spring and 25 cars of settlers effects were distributed along the Goose Lake Line as the families moved in.
From the Town of Hanna