Not to be confused with the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Don Station, which is now at our museum.

Summary

Don Station was built by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1856 whilst construction of its “central division” between Toronto and Montreal was underway. It was originally the western terminus of the central division, as Toronto’s waterfront was impassable until the Esplanade was completed a couple of years later. The western division originally began on the other side of downtown near Fort York, and a horse-drawn omnibus would have ferried passengers along Front Street to get from one station to the other. This particular station was originally built at the corner of Front Street (this section has since been renamed Mill Street) and Beachell Street. The road network in this area was significantly altered ahead of the 2015 Pan Am Games, and it would have been closest to the foot of the modern-day Rolling Mills Road. No photographs are known to exist of this station, though it was described as a “substantial structure of stone” in a firsthand account from Toronto resident Ewart Farquhar. On August 25th, 1856, the first train departed from this station on a round trip to Oshawa. The train was a one-off passenger excursion and regular service to Montreal would not commence until October 27th of the same year. A special train to Montreal to celebrate the opening of the Grand Trunk’s central division also left the Beachell Street station a couple of weeks later on November 11th. Passengers on board the eight-car train included Sir Edmund Head, Governor-General of Canada and Mayor John Beverly Robinson of Toronto.

After rails were laid across the Esplanade and opened to traffic on February 12th, 1857, a new temporary station was opened at Bay Street where the central and western divisions now met. At some point between this and the opening of Toronto’s first Union Station the following year, the Beachell Street station was given the name Don Station and appeared as such on timetables from that point forward. Adjacent railway buildings included a freight depot and an engine house, though the latter was almost immediately replaced by a roundhouse closer to downtown. The station was originally located on what was then the outskirts of Toronto, but the nearby population rapidly grew in subsequent decades. In 1884, the Grand Trunk decided to build a freight rail yard opposite Don Station to move some of their operations further away from downtown Toronto. In addition to several new sidings for freight cars, an ice house, car repair shop, and a large cattle yard were built just west of the station. In 1887, the Grand Trunk began operating commuter trains to Danforth which frequently stopped at Don Station.

The Grand Trunk’s commuter trains to Danforth were discontinued at some point around the turn of the 20th Century. Soon afterward, the Grand Trunk embarked on a project to significantly modify the Don rail yard which would involve the demolition of Don Station. These modifications were completed at the end of the year 1902 which is when we believe the station was removed. Reportedly, the small amount of passenger traffic which originated at Don Station was subsequently consolidated at Riverdale Station to the east.

Condensed Station Info:

Location:	Served By:	Current State:	Date Built:	Date Demolished:
Front Street	Grand Trunk Railway (1856 – 1902)	Demolished	1856	1902