York Street Railway Station - Structure Degradation

Structure Degradation

The York Street Railway Station is protected from demolition under the federal Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act (1985). This act prevents the station's destruction by an active railway company or a railway holding company (such as the NBR Co.). However, the act does not stipulate that a railway company owning such a heritage railway station must maintain the structure, therefore it has been allowed to degrade over the years.

In the years since the 1993 abandonment of CP Rail service to Fredericton, the York Street Railway Station's structure has degraded significantly, primarily through holes in the roof and lack of heat in the building during the winter months where the freeze/thaw cycle has proven damaging. The brick exterior appears to be structurally sound, however the roof has collapsed in some areas, allowing precipitation to enter the building.

Trespassers have entered the structure at will since its abandonment, with extensive graffiti markings on the walls and even small fires being set inside. The dilapidated condition of this heritage railway station has resulted in numerous calls upon local municipal officials as well as federal and provincial authorities and owner J.D. Irving Ltd. to maintain the structure, or at least allow preventative maintenance to prevent further deterioration.

J.D. Irving Ltd. has been attempting to sell various parcels of the former CP Rail yard in Fredericton, such as the large parcel at the east end of the yard fronting Regent Street which now houses a Sobeys supermarket. These properties are considered to be prime real estate by the company and it has indicated that the York Street Railway Station will not be restored unless J.D. Irving Ltd. receives an economic return on the property. As of 2007, the parcels surrounding and including the York Street Railway Station have not been sold for development and J.D. Irving has refused to spend what it estimates to be a $2.1 million renovation to restore the structure without a business case.

J.D. Irving Ltd. came into ownership of the McAdam railway station, a massive stone structure that is at least four times the size of the York Street station (and the largest railway station in the province) in 1995. The NBR Co. owned the land that CP Rail operated upon in McAdam and this station was also prevented from demolition by the federal Heritage Railway Station Preservation Act. The tiny village of McAdam, with a flat real estate market, meant that the McAdam railway station property that the J.D. Irving Ltd. subsidiaries inherited from CP Rail had little re-sale potential, therefore J.D. Irving Ltd. donated ownership of the entire structure to the village, something which it refused to do in Fredericton.

The legal dilemma for the York Street Railway Station has left the station building to deteriorate further and led to the creation of a lobby group named Fredericton Friends of the Railway Inc. which is attempting to coordinate public and private sector support for restoring the structure. A public lobby in local newspapers has been ongoing for several years, however municipal authorities claim to have no ability to enforce unsightly premises legislation on the station, since it is governed under federal railways legislation (despite the railway station now being physically cut off from any potential restoration of rail service as a result of the Sobeys development to the east).

The Fredericton Heritage Trust, Fredericton Trails Coalition, Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, Fredericton Friends of the Railway, as well as numerous other groups are continuing the lobby campaign to have the building restored to its former glory and repurposed as part of a comprehensive redevelopment of the former industrial district bordered by the York Street Railway Station, the Hartt Shoe Company factory and the Chestnut Canoe Company factory.

The Fredericton Friends of the Railway Inc. was formed around 2002. The first president, Bill Thorpe died and the presidency was taken over by Tim Scammell of New Maryland. Tim Scammell stepped down as president in 2008 following his election onto the Council of the Village of New Maryland. Steve Boyko took over as president until May 2009 at which time he moved from the Fredericton area to Manitoba. Currently Tim Scammell has returned as president.

The current lobby effort is upon the City of Fredericton to purchase the parcel of the former CP Rail yard from J.D. Irving Ltd. which would include the station, thereby transferring its ownership to the public and permitting restoration.

Recent interest has been expressed in the station by the New Brunswick Liquor Corporation and the Royal Canadian Legion Fredericton Branch 4.

The building was added to the Heritage Canada Foundation's list of the top 10 most endangered heritage places in the country.