Together with the permanent way, buildings were constructed to meet the needs of the railway. Initially, Gulbene railway Junction was built as a narrow-gauge railway centre, with buildings constructed at the beginning of the 20th. century. The locomotive depot and repair shops, the passenger building at Vecgulbene station, buildings and dwelling houses for the use of railway staff and the so-called "tea house" for the refreshment of railwaymen and passengers were compactly placed behind the railway line, as viewed from the present city centre.

Tea house

Significant changes came to Gulbene with the construction of the Leriki - Gulbene broad-gauge railway and the line from Gulbene to Sita, providing the means to get from Riga up to Abrene via Gulbene. As a result, after the establishment of the independent Latvian state, Gulbene became one of the most economically significant railway junctions in the country. With the development of rail transport, the number of railwaymen employed at Gulbene junction increased considerably. In order to provide them with accommodation, the Central Railway Administration ordered a building project for Vecgulbene. It was designed by the architect Pauls Kundzins (1888 - 1983). Out of this far-sighted project, only six dwelling houses with a standardized wooden structure were built in 1920-21: nos. 20, 22, 24, 29, 29a and 35 Viestura Street. Further construction was abandoned due to lack of funding. These buildings, in a romantic interpretation of a national traditional style, have been preserved as a monument to the city's architectural history and to its care for the living conditions of its railwaymen.

Railwaymen colony buildings

The most architecturally significant building at the junction is the passenger building at Gulbene railway station, built in 1926 to the design of the well-known professor of architecture Peteris Feders (1868 - 1936). It is one of the largest and most magnificent railway station buildings in Latvia, of which the inhabitants of Gulbene are still proud today.

Gulbene station

The buildings and structures of the Stukmani - Valka narrow-gauge railway were mainly built at the same time as the railway. Only Paparde station and the water tower were built at the end of 1903, after the railway was put into operation. During the course of time, there have been very few changes to the appearance of the buildings. Individual buildings, e.g. the passenger building at Vecgulbene station and the "tea house", have been converted into flats, and, as a result of war damage, only a third of the passenger building at Aluksne remains. There were no significant changes on the railway line in the 1920s and 30s. In some places, new luggage storage buildings and outhouses were built near the railway stations. The largest building constructed in this period is the living quarters built on the Gulbene - Birze line.

Paparde station

In order to harmonize station names with new place names, an order from the Central Railways Administration came into effect from May 1st., 1927. Stamere station was renamed Stameriene, Annas muiza became Anna (now Paparde), Kalnamuiza was changed to Kalniene and Ope became Ape. In 1928, upon request from the local inhabitants, Umernieki halt was opened near the present Anna village centre, and, in 1937, a new station building was built there. Alongsite the premises needed for the maintenance of the railway there was also a flat for the Stationmaster, as well as a separate outhouse, which was used as a shed, granary and barn.

Stameriene station

On Easter morning 1944 there was one of the most disastrous Soviet air raids on Gulbene. Many buildings in the city were destroyed, and the railway junction, including the locomotive depot and Gulbene broad-gauge station building also suffered greatly. During the immediate post-war years, the ruins of the old narrow-gauge depot were levelled, and the broad-gauge railway depot and the station building were restored.

Gulbene depot

The brick houses built by the Vidzeme Branch Line Company at the beginning of the 20th. century are in the same architectural style: red brick structures with decorative brick friezes and window surrounds. The wooden passenger station buildings are architecturally more modest, but similar to the brick houses in layout. Passenger waiting rooms, office premises, cash desks and the Stationmaster's flats all follow the same basic format. Only the passenger building at Umernieki station differs from the stations built at the turn of the century in terms of architecture and layout. The structure of horizontal logs with plaster grouting has been built with more modest resources, and the operational premises are more distinctly separated from the dwelling part.

Vecgulbene station