December 1896 saw the arrival of the first train to Dauphin, Manitoba on a small local railway called the Lake Manitoba Railway and Canal Company (LMRCC) that was purchased, owned and operated by future Canadian rail magnates Sir William Mackenzie and Sir Donald Mann. This event would spark the binding of over 550 communities across Canada with the development of the 16,093km/9,500 mile transcontinental rail system called “Canada’s Second Transcontinental”, Canadian Northern Railway. The laying of rail from Gladstone, MB to Dauphin, MB would set forth a path that would forever change the landscape of immigration, settlement, agriculture and commerce in Canada. To this day this impact is felt with current day Canadian National Railway which is a $90 billion transportation company. Dauphin’s current location and development as a community is a direct result of the arrival of the LMRCC in 1896. The Dauphin Rail Station was designated a Heritage Railway Station of Canada in 1990 and as a Manitoba Historical Site on January 27th, 1998. The Dauphin Rail Museum, formed in 2002, is located in the former baggage room within the large picturesque 1912 Pratt designed Canadian Northern Railway station.
