During the 1960s, the Canadian government commissioned the building of multiple Fallout Reporting posts (FRP) across the country. Initially, over 200 were planned to be built within Manitoba, with at least 100 completed. Typical locations for FRPs included RCMP headquarters, hydroelectric plants, border crossings, and railway stations.
The Miami Railway Station was one of the locations chosen for a Fallout Reporting Post. The year it was built is currently unknown, but it was probably sometime before passenger services were discontinued here, which was in 1961.
Today, the Fallout Reporting Post no longer exists at this location. As part of a railway clean-up project, this site was demolished and buried in the 1970s, just like many other railway FRP locations across Manitoba.
The railway building, built in 1889, still stands today and has been turned into a unique museum! It has been registered as a National Historic Site and a Municipal Heritage Site. Built with a gable roof, and a dormer that was used as an observation bay, it is the only surviving railway station built by Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway of this style.
More information about the Miami Railway Museum can be found at https://miamirailwaystationmuseum.com/.
At the former location of the fallout shelter, you will find a plaque dedicated to it, which even includes a photo taken by myself from one of my previous excursions inside a FRP. The plaque includes a short overview of Canada’s construction of Fallout Shelters and reminds visitors to question how different life could have been.
