Ontario Railway Stations
Toronto
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Union Station (1858-1873)
Toronto Public Library, Acc: JRR 291 Cab III, William Armstrong, 1859
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Union Station (1858-1873)
National Archives, 000945391, William Armstrong, 1860
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Northern Railway of Canada (Spadina and Front)
City of Toronto Archives - Beaumont Fonds, ca. late 1850s
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Northern Railway of Canada (Spadina and Front)
City of Toronto Archives - Beaumont Fonds, ca. late 1850s
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Northern Railway of Canada (Spadina and Front)
Toronto Public Library, Acc: JRR 890, ca. 1860s
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Great Western Railway
Photo: Octavius Thompson, Toronto Public Library, Copy E 2-35a, ca. 1867
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Great Western Railway
City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 317, ca. late 1800s
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Great Western Railway
Photo: James Victor Salmon, Toronto Reference Library S 1-952A, ca. 1951
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Union Station (1873-1927)
Library and Archives Canada, 3929, Illustration: Eugene Haberer, 1873
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Union Station (1873-1927)
Frank Micklethwaite / Library and Archives Canada / PA-146822, ca. 1885
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Union Station (1873-1927)
Toronto Archives, Fonds 1548, Series 393, Item 21, Photo: John Boyd Sr.
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Union Station (1873-1927)
Publisher: Valentine & Sons, ca. 1905
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Union Station (1873-1927)
Publisher: W.G. Macfarlane, ca. 1905
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Union Station (1873-1927)
ca. 1910
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Union Station (1873-1927)
John Boyd / Library and Archives Canada / MIKAN no. 3327455, ca. 1915
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Union Station (1927-present)
Publisher: Valentine & Sons, ca. 1923 (pre-dates the opening of the station)
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Union Station (1927-present)
ca. 1930
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Union Station (1927-present)
Publisher: Valentine Black, ca. 1930
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Union Station (1927-present)
Photo: Ted Wickham, Publisher: JBC Visuals, ca. 1980s
Related railways
Toronto's first Union Station was built by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1858 not far from the location of the present day Union Station. It was shared with the Great Western Railway and the Northern Railway until those railways built stations of their own.
It was followed in 1873 by a second Union Station, also built by the Grand Trunk. The station proved to be woefully inadequate and in 1893 was extensively enlarged and refurbished. It was used until 1927 and dismanteled in 1931.
Toronto's third union station was built in 1920 but did not open until 1927, largely due to beaureaucratic wrangling. It remains in use as a railway station and transportation hub.
The Northern Railway of Canada's second station was built in 1861 and located at what is now Spadina and Front Streets. A third station (not pictured) was built in the centre of town in 1867. Known as the City Hall Station, it was far more convenient for travellers and quickly became the more popular of the two. The Northern Railway was absorbed by the GTR in 1888.
The Great Western station was built in 1860 and replaced an earlier structure. It was used as a freight terminal from 1884 to around 1900, after the railway was taken over by the GTR. From then on it was used as a wholesale fruit distribution centre until 1952 when it was destroyed by fire.
The North Toronto CPR station was opened in 1916 and replaced an earlier station that was demolished in the 1920s. It closed in 1930. Since that time it has operated as a liquor and beer outlet. It was restored in 2004.