Bankhead Station - Banff, Alberta, Canada - Train Stations/Depots on Waymarking.com

The town of Bankhead was established in 1903 as a coal-mining town on the flanks of Cascade Mountain to supply coal to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The coal was so brittle, though, that it had to be molded into briquettes in order to be used, increasing the cost. The underground coal seams were also very difficult to access.

Bankhead town was located midway between the town of Banff and present-day Lake Minnewanka. The railway station was in the valley, near Cascade Ponds just off of today’s Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1).

In 1922, after a series of strikes, the Bankhead mines were closed. All the buildings in the town of Bankhead belonged to the company. In 1926, the houses and almost all the other buildings, including the train station, were sold or demolished. Many of the buildings were moved to Banff, where they still stand, or to Calgary. The Bankhead station was moved to a spot partway up Tunnel Mountain in the Banff townsite, far from the railway line. The town of Canmore, east of Banff, continued to mine coal until 1979.

The Bankhead Station now is part of Hostelling International’s HI Banff Alpine Centre, where it is a staff residence.

REFERENCES and FURTHER READING

Town of Banff Heritage Finder: Bankhead Train Station
(visit link)

Hempstead, Andrew. Exploring the History of Banff. Summerthought: Banff, 2012. (visit link)

University of Calgary Digital Collections: Bankhead Station building en route to Banff, Alberta (photo) (visit link)

Calgary Guardian: Historic Photos from the Town of Bankhead (visit link)

Parks Canada History eLibrary: Bankhead Interpretive Trail brochure (pdf) (visit link)

Atlas Obscura: Bankhead Ghost Town (visit link)

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Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: No Is the station/depot open to the public?: No If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?: Staff housing for HI Alpine Centre hostel. What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: Canadian Pacific Railway’s main line Station/Depot Web Site: [Web Link]

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