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A P.E.I. musician has set his sights on restoring one of the Island’s original train stations.

Tim Archer has put together a group that is working on bringing the former Royalty Junction Train Station back to life.

The station was built in 1874 and sat on Brackley Point Road until Canadian National Railway decommissioned it in 1980. It has been sitting on a property in Greenvale ever since. While the building appears to be in pretty rough shape, it’s still relatively intact.

Archer’s plan is to have the station moved to a location in Marshfield within the next month.

“(CN) actually destroyed a lot of these stations, so it’s very important that we save this original station because it’s one of the last ones left now,’’ Archer says. “For the most part, the integrity is all the same, so we’re very fortunate. It’s a pier station. There were two awnings, so it would serve two different sides of the track. Most of them only had the one.’’

People would actually sit inside Royalty Junction to wait for the train.

Archer said the previous owner had taken the original roof off, left the canopies on the front and added a second storey so it was much taller than what sits in Greenvale today. That’s the only alteration that’s been done to the building.

“We were very fortunate to keep the majority of the structure intact. We have photographs (and) we have blueprints.’’

Archer has a team coming from Holland College’s retrofit program to help out and says he has David Keenlyside from the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation on board, too. He also has a letter of support from Parker Grimmer, director of the Public Schools Branch.

Archer’s plan is to open the station at Marshfield and name it Island Station Artisans and Eatery, a place that features good food, such as Island organic products, music and an educational component. It would also feature Island artisans making pottery, painting, music, photography and homemade jewelry.

“I see this as an excellent opportunity for the educational system in Prince Edward Island,’’ Grimmer wrote in his letter. “Island students would get an opportunity to explore the history of the trains that played a significant role in transportation many years ago.’’

Ricky Lee, a singer/artisan from Texas, is also helping Archer.

“I know how important the railway system is to P.E.I.,’’ Lee said. “I found out how interested (Archer) was in the history of P.E.I. and the history of the railway station and when this fell into our hands we got around to thinking about the educational opportunities for children. That really spoke to me. I’m all about education, (and) I love the history of P.E.I.’’

When the project is finished, Archer will run the food component of the station while Lee will handle the artisan side and co-ordinate school visits.

Archer has some experience with restoration work. He worked on a smaller train station in Pleasant Valley.

“My expertise is (being) put to the test. Can I do this one? I feel very confident . . . we’ve partnered with a lot of great people on this.’’

Archer says there are expenses with this project so he has set up a Go Fund Me page that can be accessed through his Facebook.

Anyone interested in helping out is asked to call him at 902-330-9343.

dave.stewart@theguardian.pe.ca

Twitter.com/DveStewart