CPR Port McNicoll: Dreaming of the day (5 photos)

One of the busiest railway stations on the CPR line was Port McNicoll with its steamboat wharf and station.

Named after David MacNicoll, vice president of the CPR. (No idea how the ‘a’ got dropped).

After building out the town and dock by 1912, Port McNicoll became home port for the CPR fleet.

The Athabasca, Alberta and Manitoba - the black boats and Assiniboia and Keewatin - the white boats, carried grain as well as passengers until transportation patterns changed and these behemoths were gone.

Development boomed prior to WWI with speculators dividing the land around the village and out beyond Triple Bay Road.

One can still see the old stone pillars that marked the entrance to the development.

Plus ça change, plus la même chose.

Today, we look beyond the skyline and the fairy dust, to try to plumb the depths of what goes on in Port.

So much promise at the beginning, with each house named after a ship’s captain…genius marketing.

With the last remaining Edwardian liner and a huge press reception with  joyous crowds who welcomed its arrival in home port. It was a carnival.

It also instilled a new pride in Port McNicoll and the streets were garlanded with banners. The one restaurant did a booming business and now the town has  grown sleepy again.

Let's fire the boilers up one more time on this shall we?

Let’s reiterate: The best deepwater port for cruise ships, protected from the prevailing winds off the bay.

Maple Island is an ideal location for a world class  hotel and an ideal location to build out a marina.

Dreaming about Port McNicoll never ceases.

Plus ça change, plus la même chose.

René Hackstetter, July 15, 2022.