Minnedosa Manitoba - A Manitoba heritage group's plan to open a rail museum is in limbo because Canadian Pacific Railway told them the company wants the old train station back, after the group spent more than $50,000 renovating the building.
 
"The idea was that CP was going to sign the building over to us, and we were going to proceed with a museum," spokesperson Bryon Polon said.
 
For the last 10 years, the Minnedosa Heritage Committee believed the building would eventually be theirs, Polon said.
 
They spent between $50,000 and $75,000 renovating the old CP station in the town about 200 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, he said.
 
Now they are at risk of losing that investment, he said.
 
After years of negotiations with the rail company, Polon said, CP came back to them in January and said they want the building back to use as office space.
 
They were offered the building's attic, but the heritage group determined the space would not work, he said.
 
The committee never had a written agreement from CP stating the building was to be turned over to them, but verbal commitments were made by officials from CP as early as 2005, Polon said.
 
CP offered the group a lease, then withdrew that offer and asked for a purchase proposal, Polon said.
 
The heritage committee offered to buy the station for $1, but with both the earlier lease and the purchase, CP wanted them to have significant liability insurance due to their proximity to the tracks, Polon said.
 
The approximately $5,000 per year cost of insurance, which the organization would have had to cover through fundraising, became a "big point of contention," he said.
 
Roof and Other Fixtures Upgraded by Volunteers
 
Discussions about compensation for the work the heritage committee did haven't yet taken place, Polon said.
 
"The cedar shingles were in rough shape and it needed quite a bit of upgrading," he said.
 
"Over the course of a few years, we had the roof redone, replaced the cedar, and we had the windows replaced."
 
The group also raised funds to install an air exchange system in order to keep humidity levels in check, Polon said.
 
"Some of that money was personal private donations, and some of it was foundation money that we got from different foundations," he said.
 
All of the memorabilia has now been moved out of the building, but Polon isn't sure what the group's next steps will be.
 
"I suppose there is enough memorabilia and stuff put together that we could look at relocating it (the museum)," he said.
 
CP said in a statement that the group was presented with a contract for the building's sale in January 2014, but it was not completed and the station remains CP property.
 
The statement went on to say that the company continues to consider its options regarding the building, but there are no immediate plans for it right now.
 
Riley Laychuk.