Description of Historic Place

The Former Canadian National Railways Station at Hornepayne is a two-storey, brick railway station, built in 1921. It is located within a railway complex of related buildings, on the eastern edge of the community of Hornepayne. The formal recognition is confined to the railway station building itself.

Heritage Value

The Former Canadian National Railways Station at Hornepayne reflects the postwar optimism of the Canadian National Railways (CNR), and its desire to consolidate railway development within its transcontinental system, especially in Northern Ontario. The Hornepayne station played an important role as a divisional point, service centre and refuelling depot. Hornepayne’s growth and prosperity were dependent on its railway functions.

The elongated plan, simple massing and two-storey height of the Hornepayne station represent a common design used by the CNR in Ontario and western Canada.

The station retains its relationship with associated elements of the railway complex, including the extensive tracks and sidings, the large, brick-and-steel round house, the cylindrical concrete coal dock, various small tool houses and storage sheds and the Dispatching Office building (1951).

Sources: Heritage Character Statement, VIA Rail Station, Hornepayne, Ontario, September 1993; Murray Peterson, Railway Station Report 154, Former Canadian National Railways Station, Hornepayne, Ontario.

Character-Defining Elements

Character-defining elements of the Former Canadian National Railways Station at Hornepayne include:
-its simple, solid massing, consisting of a long, two-storey rectangular block, capped by a hip roof
-its size, consisting of 16 bays along each of the track (north) and town (south) elevations, and three bays along each of the side elevations
-features typical of early-20th-century railway stations, including a prominent hip roof, a wide, overhanging platform canopy resting on simply ornamented wood brackets and a projecting operator’s bay
-the bracketed platform canopy, extending the entire length of the building and one bay beyond at either end, with the extensions terminating in hip roofs supported on bracketed wood posts
-the large timber eave brackets supporting the canopy, simply but decoratively detailed, and resting on brick corbelling
-the projecting operator’s bay centrally located on the track side, extending the full two stories and capped by a hipped dormer roof
-its simple masonry detailing, including shallow, segmental brick arches above all window and door openings, brick corbelling under the eave brackets, cast-stone window sills on the second floor and a concrete foundation and wainscot extending to window-sill height
-its exterior materials, including red brick construction, wood soffits on the platform canopy and second floor roof, wood brackets and posts and a poured, reinforced-concrete foundation
-window and door openings regularly spaced on the structural bays
-the regular pattern of single and paired windows on the second floor
-the regular but varied pattern of window and door openings, consisting of single and paired, double-hung window units on the second floor, entrance and baggage doors on the main floor and pivot, casement and awning windows on the main floor
-surviving original window units, consisting of wood, double-hung windows on both storeys, with transom lights above main floor windows and doors
-surviving interior woodwork, including window and door units, window and door casings, baseboards, picture and chair rails, oak strip flooring, dados and Chicago-style, panelled office partitions on the second floor
-surviving interior detailing, including plasterwork cornices
-surviving interior fittings and fixtures, including cast-iron stairs and porcelain-enamelled, metal light fixtures.