Fort Saskatchewan CNR Trestle Piers - 1905

            I remember this old trestle when I lived in Fort Sask. Every now and then we'd go for a very short walk on it. Never did try to go the whole way across because that would be just silly. Some history on it is below. I don't remember a wooden bottom level when I lived there, and I definitely didn't see any remnants of the hydro electric dam.

The railroad would arrive in Fort Saskatchewan in 1905, putting the town on the transcontinental line. The station would be a special station due to the CNR designating Fort Saskatchewan as a special station, which I will get to later. The town quickly began to grow and a second freight shed was added to the west side of the station in 1911.

Within a decade of the railroad arriving, fort Saskatchewan would see its population double to nearly 1,000 people.

In 1905, town council would begin construction on a fire and town hall, costing $13,000, it would be completed in 1906 and had the town hall and council chamber on the upper floor, and the fire department on the lower floor. The building would be used by the fire department until 1958, and the town until 1970. The building stands to this day.

Around the same time that the railroad arrived, the first bridge leading to Fort Saskatchewan, crossing the North Saskatchewan River was built. The train deck was on the steel upper level, and the lower level was a wooden road deck. Prior to the building of this bridge, the only way across the river was through the use of a ferry. At the time it was built, the bridge was the second-largest bridge for the Canadian National Railway.

In 1910, a $30,000 wooden hydroelectric dam and power plant was built on the river, expected to last 20 years. The town was forced to take over construction after the original firm went bankrupt. The dam was completed in December 1911, costing $80,000, or $700,000 today. Within a few months, leaks were detected and the plant was shut down in April of 1912 after a washout. By September, the town found there was no way to repair the dam and the dam was decommissioned.

Thanks to the growth of Edmonton, the provincial jail and the oil and gas industry, the community of Fort Saskatchewan became a city in 1985, and today has 27,000 people.

Taken on: October 7, 2023

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1905

Piers

Canadian Northern Railway

Trestle

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Fort Saskatchewan

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Camera: Nikon D700, f/8.0, 1/200 sec, 70mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	24.0-120.0 mm f/4.0
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length:	70mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Manual
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows
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