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Developer ready to turn old train station into beachside restaurant in Goderich By Lynda Cooper, myFM Radio |
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 Former CPR Station in Goderich | ||||
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Local
developer Herb Marshall has received a seal of approval from Goderich council
and the public to relocate, restore and convert the former CPR train station on
the beach into a restaurant. Now, he wants to get moving on the project. As sole investor in the $900,000 venture, he wants to move the building 300 metres closer to the beach by May of next year, spend the summer restoring it and then convert it to a restaurant over the winter time, opening by summer, 2012. “There are a number of positive aspects to this proposition,” he says, “the major one being it will attract people to come here as a destination. I looked at an opportunity to adopt a building that deserves adopting. I plan to put $400,000 into the restoration and then more money to convert it into a restaurant. It will cost an additional $200,000 to use the train station over building from scratch.” He has some interested parties if money runs short, but Marshall says he wants to avoid partners so he can do the project his way. As for existing restaurants, Marshall says they all know that competition is not a bad thing. “It allows choice, it encourages people to choose Goderich as a place to eat. I’m providing another selling feature to bring people to Goderich. I’m hoping the place will be full all the time, and I think all the restaurants here will benefit from it.” He plans to use local businesses to do the work on this project. “I’m a big fan of using local talent and we have lots of it,” he says. As for seating in the train station restaurant, Marshall says the front room will hold 30 seats, while the patio will hold 140 seats. The baggage room could hold an additional 120 seats under glass, allowing its usage from April through to the end of October and into the New year. He will decide later whether he wants to develop the north side of the building for an additional 50 seats.
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The train station
was built to service passenger and freight needs for the new
Goderich-Guelph Railway line, operated under lease to the CPR,
commencing in 1907. Upon its completion, the red brick building
featured a conical roof above a round-front tower which permitted a
view of all areas of the yard. At the west end sat a four-stall engine house, beyond a turntable. It was described as a "B" class yard with a two-man ground crew in addition to station personnel. There was a wooden water tower to supply the engines. It sported a fancy "float" mechanism that could be seen from the ground to tell how much water remained inside. Passengers could seek protection from the elements inside a waiting area that boasted exceptional design features. These included decorative plaster, fixtures and trim, and three large ornamental medallions in the ceiling. Passengers could also wait outside under the shelter of a covered porch canopy that encircled the tower and ran along the trackside platform. Wagons and coaches arrived en masse for the first train's departure on Aug. 26, 1907. The first automobile in the town, owned by Reuben R. Sallows, was carefully positioned to appear in the foreground of the famous portrait of the train's departure. The railways soon won out over passenger ships in the race to bring people to this area. The last passengers departed the station in 1955. The last freight train left in the early morning hours of Dec. 16, 1988. A 0-6-0 steam engine, last in CPR - working in Goderich in 1958, is now housed in the Huron County Museum.
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