223- 55th Street, Edson, AB
780-723-5696
Galloway Station Museum
What is the Galloway Station Museum, Travel Centre & Archives?
The Galloway Station Museum, Travel Centre & Archives is a historical museum, archives, travel centre, gift shop, and rental space located in the heart of Edson, Alberta.
We welcome locals and visitors from all over the world to celebrate our history and embrace the mud and muskeg that was our home, and offer a glimpse of the hardships of early settlers who had to battle extreme elements often on a daily basis. We tell stories of those who shaped this raw, rough land into thriving, modern communities.
The Galloway Station Museum will take you back to the early days of the Coal Branch, chronicling the lives of miners from all around the world who risked life and limb to provide for their families.
We help people link past to the present - touting not only geographical attractions of the area, but also historical high points that enrich the experiences, and the lives of locals and travelers.
Who Are We?
The Galloway Station Museum, Travel Centre & Archives is proudly governed by the Edson & District Historical Society (EDHS). This dedicated group consists of nine members, including representatives from both the Town of Edson and Yellowhead County.
The goal of the EDHS is to incite curiosity of local history, foster partnerships, and create an educational welcoming hub for the public while celebrating and promoting the greater community. This includes preserving and protecting local artifacts and the history of Edson and area. This is done by overseeing operations of the Galloway Station Museum and Travel Center, as well as the area archives. They are also in trusted in developing, preserving and exhibiting a well-maintained collection in trust for the community, as well as taking a leadership role in research and education on the history of Edson and area. None of this could be done without the amazing team of staff and volunteers at the Galloway Station Museum and Travel Centre.
Three dedicated full time staff, with the help of hardworking summer students and our incredible volunteers, give life to the Galloway Station Museum & Travel Centre.
History of the Galloway
Describe your image
Describe your image
To tell the history of the Galloway Station, it is necessary to start with the history of Canadian railways.
It's the early 20th century and railway fever is in the air. The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) and the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) are in fierce competition to make it to the west coast. In some places, the companies’ tracks ran within 50 feet of each other, and it was doubtful if both lines could survive.
Due to incredible costs, mismanagement, unwillingness to compromise, the need for steel in Europe during World War I and the removal of rail
track on sections of both
GTP and CNoR lines,
both companies were
doomed to fail.
Then CNoR was the first
company to go bankrupt
and the Canadian
government jumped in
and snatched up the
railway. Within a couple
of years, the GTP
followed suit. The government then nationalized and combined the railway companies to become Canadian National.
The original section of the Galloway Station Museum is a Canadian Northern Railway Type 100-47, Standard Combination Station and Section House that started its life as the Dandurand Station, which was abandoned in 1917.
In 1923, it was relocated to mile 15.3, close to Marlboro, on the GTP Brule subdivision as housing for the pump man. In the 1940s, when diesel locomotives replaced steam, the station was moved to Galloway.
The station was purchased for $1 by the EDHS and moved to RCMP Centennial Park in Edson 1975 where it began its incarnation as a museum.
The Galloway Station Museum officially opened to the public in 1981 and has continued operation under the volunteer EDHS board management.
In September 2011, the Galloway Museum was renovated and additions were made to expand the facility to more than twice its original size. It is also home to a rental space and Travel Centre.
Why Galloway?
The Galloway Station was named after a Grand Trunk Pacific employee, David Ernest Galloway, a one-time assistant to the president of the Grand Trunk Pacific and later assistant vice-president of Canadian National Railways.
Videos
Produced by Christopher White from Promethean Heritage & Culture Services.
Thank you very much to our actors:
Trapper – Dave Ward,
Young museum visitors – Keira Gomuwka and Nathan Aslin
1989 Town of Edson promotional video