The "Then" photo is a vintage postcard and is circa 1915. Please note the 1¢ postage required. Based on information: Canada 1¢ rate was used between 1871 to 1915.
The VIA Rail/Canadian National Railways (CNR) Station at Amherst is a one and a half story, red sandstone railway station, built between 1907 and 1908.
The first was a small wood frame structure. One of Canada's first Crown corporations, the ICR operated from 1872 to 1918, at which time it was merged with another Crown corporation, the Canadian National Railway (CNR). Built in the Romanesque Revival style to blend with extant buildings nearby, the station is a
Federal Heritage Railway Station.
The CNR operated the station until 1978, when yet another Crown corporation, Via Rail, took over operation of passenger service from CNR. The station was used for passenger service until its closing in October of 2012, though
Via Rail still stops at the station thrice weekly, at 15:08 northbound and 14:25 southbound.
Deliberately built to dominate its surroundings and provide more space than was required, it remains one of the largest railway stations in the province of Nova Scotia. Its construction of local red sandstone in the Romanesque Revival style corresponds to the style and materials of local buildings of the same era.
The station retains its relationship with the long platform beside the station and with railway related buildings in the area.