CNR Type "E" Stations.

Canadian National Railways, Tyee Station, Mile Post 92.8, Skeena Subdivision, August 7, 1958. Steam locomotives needed water to survive. So that's why many, if not most, stations on subdivisions were located on or near dependable year 'round water sources such as lakes, rivers, steams, creeks, or springs.

To keep that water tank full, Tyee Station was located near the Ecstall River, where she flows clear and cold from the Coast Range Mountains into the mighty Skeena River.

More than 400 of these “Type E” stations were scattered across Canada. "Type E" is a designation assigned to CNR Floor Plan 100-152, by Charles Bohi in his books Canadian National's Western Depots (1997) and Canadian National's Western Stations (2002). The Grand Trunk / Canadian National Railways did not assign this designation.

Almost all were built on the north side of the track, when alignment permitted, to take advantage of the sun to warm the un-insulated waiting room. Tyee is an exception, located on the south side of the main.

This view is looking to the east up the Skeena River. The Train Order Paddle is up, and the station is unmanned. The transition to diesel marked the beginning of the phase out of these stations. Indeed, most were burned to the ground in the early 60's.

As you look at this photo, imagine the ambient August sounds of horseflies, bee’s, and the forest chatter of chipmunks and squirrels … shattered by the stentorian blast of a steam engine blowing at the Mile Board just around the curve up ahead ...