Don railway station was built in 1896 by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

(CPR) on the western bank of the

Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

at the south side of Queen Street in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

History

Permission was given to the CPR to build a branch line (Don Branch) from

Leaside Leaside (/'liːˌsaɪd/) is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northeast of Downtown Toronto, in the vicinity of Eglinton Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. The area takes its name from William Lea and the Lea family, who se ...

to downtown Toronto. In 1892 the railway company completed construction of the line and the Don Station opened for business in February 1896. A collision in 1904 several blocks east of here at the Riverdale Station level crossing, between a

Toronto Railway Company The Toronto Railway Company (TRC) was the operator of the streetcar system in Toronto between 1891 and 1921. It electrified the horsecar system it inherited from the Toronto Street Railway, the previous operator of streetcar service in Toronto. ...

streetcar and a freight train, which killed three people and injured seventeen, showed the danger of such urban crossings. This resulted in the station building being moved farther south, to allow the City of Toronto to build a higher bridge in 1911, which carried Queen Street over the railway tracks, river and roadways. The

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Mani ...

began using the Don Station in 1906, which sharing continued by the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

(CNR) after they absorbed the company. The pool train arrangement between CPR and CNR in 1933 resulted in the station's decline in importance, as most CPR trains then moved to the more direct CNR main line. The end came in 1967, when trains on the Toronto- Havelock route no longer stopped here, and the building was moved to

Todmorden Mills Todmorden Mills was a small settlement located in the Don River valley in Toronto, Ontario. It started out as a lumber mill in the 1790s. Originally known as "Don Mills", it grew into a small industrial complex and village before becoming part of ...

in 1969. For some time it housed a railway heritage exhibit but eventually it was boarded up and closed to the public. In 2008 the City of Toronto relocated it to

Roundhouse Park Roundhouse Park is a 17 acre (6.9 ha) park in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is in the former Railway Lands. It features the John Street Roundhouse, a preserved locomotive roundhouse which is home to the Toronto Railway Muse ...

, where it was repainted and repaired and opened as a reception area for visitors to the

Toronto Railway Museum Roundhouse Park is a 17 acre (6.9 ha) park in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is in the former Railway Lands. It features the John Street Roundhouse, a preserved locomotive roundhouse which is home to the Toronto Railway Muse ...

References

External links

* {{cite web , url=http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/06/the_lost_train_stations_of_toronto/ , title=The lost train stations of Toronto , author=Derek Flack , date=6 June 2011 , publisher=blogTO , accessdate=February 1, 2015 Railway stations in Toronto Canadian Pacific Railway stations in Ontario Railway stations in Canada opened in 1896 Relocated buildings and structures in Canada