Uxbridge railway station in Uxbridge, Ontario, last served as a railway museum and a station of the now defunct York–Durham Heritage Railway. The station building, constructed by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1904, is owned and maintained by the Township of Uxbridge and has been designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.[1]
Uxbridge | |||||||||||||||||
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| Heritage railway station | |||||||||||||||||
 Station in 2013, showing the witch's hat style roof | |||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||
| Location | 19 Railway Street, Uxbridge Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 44°06′37″N 79°07′29″W / 44.11028°N 79.12472°W | ||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Township of Uxbridge | ||||||||||||||||
| Connections |  GO Transit (71) Durham Region Transit (605 and 905c) | ||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||
| Status | Inactive as of 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| Station code | GO Transit: UXBA | ||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||
| Previous names | Toronto and Nipissing Railway Midland Railway Grand Trunk Railway Canadian National Railway York–Durham Heritage Railway | ||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||
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History
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The Toronto and Nipissing Railway originally built a 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge line in the late 1860s, with service between Toronto and Uxbridge commencing in 1871. In late 1880 the line was converted to standard gauge and soon after this, due to financial reasons, was sold to the Midland Railway in 1881. The line was then firstly leased to the Grand Trunk Railway in 1884; eventually purchased by them in 1894; and finally transferred to Canadian National Railways in 1923.[2]
Grand Trunk constructed the current station building in 1904, with its distinctive "witch's hat" roof, to replace the more basic shed structure that had previously been used.
The Township of Uxbridge bought the railway station from CN in 1988 for $1.00.[3]
Due to the poor state of repair of the roof and the cost of renewal, closure of the heritage train station was discussed by the Township of Uxbridge Council in 2013. It was noted that the structure is important to the community and it is the only train station in Ontario with a witch's hat style roof that is being maintained in relatively good shape.[4]
The remaining sections of track continues briefly and rest removed with former line becoming part of Trans Canada Trail.
GO Transit
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North of Uxbridge to Lindsay the line was abandoned in the early 1990s and the York–Durham Heritage Railway reopened the line to the south between Uxbridge and Stouffville in 1996.[2] That southerly section of trackbed was purchased by GO Transit to prevent abandonment and disposal,[5] because Metrolinx has long term plans to expand service on the Stouffville line to Uxbridge.[6]
Current GO Transit service consists of a connecting bus from the end of the line at Old Elm and from Union Station Bus Terminal at off peak times when there is no train service.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Uxbridge CN Railway Station". Designated Properties Under the Ontario Heritage Act. The Township of Uxbridge. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ a b "History of the Rail Line used by the YDHR". York-Durham Heritage Railway. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ "Detailed History". York-Durham Heritage Railway. July 30, 2018.
- ^ Jennifer Walker (January 17, 2013). "Closure of Uxbridge heritage train station discussed". durhamregion.com. Metroland Media Group. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ Daniel Garcia and James Bow. "GO Transit's Stouffville Line". Transit Toronto. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ "Expansion Planning" (PDF). Overview of GO Transit Expansion Plans and Capital Projects. Metrolinx. July 13, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
Stouffville Service Expansion • Phase 1: expand service to all day two way • Phase 2: expand service from Lincolnville to Uxbridge
- ^ 70-71 Stouffville GO Train and Bus Schedule
External links
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Media related to Uxbridge, Ontario railway station at Wikimedia Commons- Ontario Railway Stations, Uxbridge
