Canadian University Press Releases/Newswire

Source: Brandon University
http://www.brandonu.ca/news/article.asp?A_ID=1123

Rural Development Institute and BU Geography Department presents visiting railway expert Charles Bohi

October 12, 2006

BRANDON, MB – On
Monday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m., in Room 3-47 Brodie Building on the BU
Campus, visiting scholar Charles Bohi will give a talk on The Rural Railroad
Station as an Architectural Logo. The presentation in free of charge, and
all are welcome to attend.

>From the 1880s until the 1960s Prairie Canada's railway depots occupied a
central role in the communities they served. This presentation briefly
examines the purposes the railway stations fulfilled and their impact on
town site development. Finally, it looks at the seven designs that were used
to erect nearly 60% of the some 2,000 permanent depots built between the
Lakehead and the Pacific. These designs were replicated so often that the
resulting structures became virtual architectural logos of the companies
that built them.

Charles Bohi has spent literally a lifetime studying the railways of Prairie
Canada and has written or co-written extensively on the subject. The
abstract for his talk is as follows:

Creating lines of communication and transportation has been important to
North American governments almost from the day of their creation. Whether by
gaining control of river systems, building roads, or sponsoring canals,
governments tried improve their transportation and communication systems. By
1870 the superiority of railroad technology had become so obvious that they
became the dominant form of transportation until about 1920. However, from
1920 on, they faced increased modal competition that damaged them greatly.
Indeed, in the 1970s much of the U.S. rail system collapsed in bankruptcy
and the grain gathering system in western Canada was also in crisis. Some
were beginning to write railways off as a viable transportation mode.
However, beginning in the mid-1980s the railways began a remarkable comeback
and, today, they play an increasingly vital role in North America's
transportation system. This presentation will explore the rise, fall, and
rise of North American railways and the role they play in today's society.

For more information, please contact:

Bev Lischka
Rural Development Institute
Brandon University
Phone: (204) 571-8515
E-mail: lischkab@brandonu.ca

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