Photos have a wonderful power to capture specific moments in time. The digital collection at Langley Centennial Museum is an excellent resource when hunting for images from Langley’s past. We went searching for photos of the earliest days at Fort Langley’s CNR Station, built by the Canadian Northern Railway in 1915 to its Class 3 standard. (The railway was later absorbed by the publicly owned Canadian National Railway after Canadian Northern went broke during the Great War.) The photo below shows workers laying steel through Langley in 1911.
Below: More levelling work in Langley to prepare the rail grade.
Below: The first Canadian Northern (CNoR) train arrives in Fort Langley.
Below: The station, as it looked in 1926. The gardens have begun to mature, tended by station agents Richard and Mary Simpson who lived at the station from 1918 until 1929. As Station Agent, Richard Simpson sold train tickets, handled freight, sent and received telegrams and in 1918 earned $45 per month. He also worked 60 hours a week.
The couple grew 37 varieties of perennials — from alyssum to zinnia. An article in the August 1917 edition of The Western Home Monthly magazine noted that Canadian Northern station agents were enthusiastically planting gardens. “”Since beautifying station grounds has gone into effect a remarkable improvement is seen by the travelling public all over the Canadian Northern system…The Canadian Northern can now point with pride as having some of the nicest station grounds on the American continent.”
The station became a vital hub of community life in Langley. It’s where people greeted family and friends arriving on the next train, received telegrams, or shipped out farm produce. (The BC Electric Railway was also an important transportation service through The Fraser Valley). A whistle stop in Langley by the Royals in 1939 drew huge crowds. A grandstand was erected near the track, and a community band blasted a rousing welcome.
Below: Richard Simpson, chicken and dog, circa 1920. The story is the hen came to the station each day from the section foreman’s house to lay an egg under the platform. As passenger service was drastically reduced in the 1970s and 1980s, the station eventually closed. Slated for demolition, the Langley Heritage Society saved and restored the station — after moving the structure 240 metres to its current location, at the corner of Mavis & Glover. Closed during the Covid-19 epidemic, our volunteers are looking forward to sharing more of its story in the days ahead.
Thank you to Langley Centennial Museum curator Kobi Christian for sharing these images. You can search the museum’s fascinating digital collection HERE.