McAdam Railway Station Webcam – A Chateau on the Border

The McAdam Railway Station Webcam faces the old Canadian Pacific station in McAdam, New Brunswick, a granite building with steep red roofs and rows of dormer windows that looks more like a country chateau than a train stop. The camera looks across the gravel lot and a grassy island where visitors park, over the tracks to the long station front. McAdam Pond spreads out to the left, with a low line of forest beyond it, and strings of freight cars often sit on the sidings farther up the line to the right. Trains of the New Brunswick Southern Railway still pass the platform, so the view moves between a quiet small-town lot and a freight train rolling past a building that once served sixteen passenger trains a day.

About McAdam Railway Station

Canadian Pacific built the station in 1900 and 1901 and enlarged it in 1910 and 1911, to a design by the Canadian architect Edward Maxwell. It is a two-and-a-half-storey building in the Chateau style the railway favored at the time, but its walls are local granite rather than brick, which gives it a look of its own. McAdam sat on the Canadian Pacific main line into Atlantic Canada, and wealthy passengers changed trains here for the resort town of St. Andrews. To serve them, the station doubled as a hotel: a 20-room hotel filled about two-thirds of the second floor, and the lunch room downstairs had a long W-shaped counter seating 65 people on stools, serving coffee and railroad pie.

In the steam era, up to the late 1950s, sixteen passenger trains and up to a dozen freight trains came through every day. The hotel closed in the early 1960s and the rooms became railway offices. The station was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1976 as a rare surviving example of a Chateau-style station combined with a hotel, and it is also a Provincial Historic Site and a designated Heritage Railway Station. Passenger service ended when VIA Rail’s Atlantic made its last run on December 17, 1994. The Village of McAdam took ownership of the building from the New Brunswick Southern Railway in the late 1990s, and the McAdam Historical Restoration Commission now runs it as a museum and visitor information center.

The village grew up around the junction and takes its name from John McAdam, a lumberman and politician who held land grants in the area. It had 1,173 residents at the 2021 census. Vanceboro, Maine, and the border crossing over the St. Croix River are about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away.

Weather and Climate in McAdam

McAdam has a continental climate with long, cold winters. January averages a daily high of about -3.9 C (25 F) and a low of -15.6 C (4 F), so the pond beside the station spends the heart of winter frozen and the red roofs often carry snow. Precipitation totals about 1,177 millimeters (46 inches) a year.

Summers are warm, with July highs averaging about 24.9 C (77 F) and lows around 12.2 C (54 F). Summer is the station’s tour season, so the lot in front of the McAdam Railway Station Webcam is usually busiest then. By late September the trees around McAdam Pond start to turn orange and red behind the station.

Things to Do Near McAdam Railway Station

The station itself is the main draw. Guided tours through the old waiting rooms, lunch counter and hotel floor run daily during the summer tourist season, and the Commission holds events through the year, including Railway Pie Sundays and Christmas at the Station. Behind the building, the McAdam Nature Trail loops around McAdam Pond, a small pond created by a dam that once supplied water to steam locomotives. The path is mostly flat, winds between large boulders, crosses a small covered bridge over one of the streams feeding the pond and comes back out along the tracks, with views of the station across the water from several benches.

Farther out, the village promotes canoeing on the St. Croix River, which forms the border with Maine, and picnics at Spednic Lake, along with a lakeside campground and several country shops. St. Andrews, the seaside resort that Canadian Pacific passengers once changed trains here to reach, lies to the south, and Fredericton, the provincial capital, is the nearest city.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

For more rail heritage and New Brunswick views, try these cameras next.

• Fredericton Webcam
• Conway Scenic Railroad Webcam
• Saint John Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is McAdam Railway Station located?

The station is at 96 Saunders Road in the village of McAdam, York County, New Brunswick, Canada, about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the border crossing at Vanceboro, Maine.

What can you see on the McAdam Railway Station Webcam?

The camera looks across the visitor parking lot and the tracks to the front of the granite, red-roofed station, with McAdam Pond on the left and freight cars on the sidings to the right. New Brunswick Southern Railway freight trains pass through the frame.

What is the weather like in McAdam?

Winters are cold and snowy, with January highs around -3.9 C (25 F) and lows near -15.6 C (4 F). Summers are warm, with July highs close to 25 C (77 F).

Do trains still run through McAdam station?

Yes, but only freight. The New Brunswick Southern Railway runs freight trains through McAdam. Regular passenger service ended on December 17, 1994, when VIA Rail’s Atlantic stopped running.

When was McAdam Railway Station built?

Canadian Pacific built it in 1900 and 1901 to a design by Edward Maxwell and enlarged it in 1910 and 1911. It became a National Historic Site of Canada in 1976.

Why did McAdam Railway Station have a hotel?

McAdam was a junction where passengers changed trains, including travelers bound for the resort town of St. Andrews, so the railway built a 20-room hotel on the second floor and a lunch counter seating 65. The hotel closed in the early 1960s.

Can you visit McAdam Railway Station?

Yes. The McAdam Historical Restoration Commission runs the station as a museum with daily tours during the summer tourist season, which wraps up in late September. Outside the season, the Commission’s office answers inquiries on weekdays and the station still hosts events such as Christmas at the Station.

Source: Boston and Maine Live