Summary
The Great Western Railway was built through the Sunnyside area in 1855, though a station would not exist here until well after it was merged into the larger Grand Trunk Railway in 1882. Between 1910 and 1912, the railway eliminated a troublesome hill in the south end of Parkdale by cutting through the terrain and establishing a right-of-way beneath several of the roads it used to cross at grade. This involved widening the right-of-way from two to four tracks beyond Mimico. As part of this same project, the stations at South Parkdale and Swansea were eliminated and the new Sunnyside Station was built at the midpoint to replace them both. Located at the foot of Roncesvalles Avenue, a temporary structure was built in 1911 for passengers to use while construction on the actual station was underway. The finished product was opened in December 1912 and featured a flyover for passengers to access the platform located in the middle of the tracks from street level. It was conveniently located at the convergence of In addition to the Grand Trunk, the line Sunnyside was situated on was also shared with Canadian Pacific who secured trackage rights from Hamilton to Toronto in 1897. These trains were handled by CPR crews up to Hamilton, then Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway crews to Welland, and New York Central Railway crews to Buffalo. They often featured a combination of locomotives and passenger cars from all three of these railway companies. A total of 10 Canadian Pacific and 14 Canadian National trains stopped daily at Sunnyside after the financially ailing Grand Trunk was nationalized in 1923.
The popularization of automobiles in the 20th century contributed to a significant decline in passenger ridership. By the early 1960’s, service to Sunnyside had reduced to six Canadian Pacific trains and thirteen Canadian National trains per day. Most of these trains had their conventional consists replaced by Budd Rail Diesel Cars, which were self-propelled passenger cars that were more economical to run as ridership decreased. Service to Sunnyside ended entirely when the last train departed in 1967. GO Transit was formed that year to provide commuter service in the Toronto area but they didn’t opt to use Sunnyside Station, instead building their own at Exhibition and Mimico. The station was torn down in 1973 and the Beaty Boulevard Parkette was created in its place.
A trackside view of the temporary Sunnyside station on November 29th, 1911. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
The new, permanent Sunnyside Station under construction on September 19, 1912. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
An eastbound Grand Trunk passenger train heading for Toronto comes to a stop at Sunnyside on May 19th, 1915. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
A circa 1920 postcard of the station, taken looking west from the adjacent station garden. At the time, gardens were a common feature of train stations and they were often cared for by the station agent. Courtesy of the Ross Gray collection. 
A Canadian National Railway train is stopping at Sunnyside station on Canada Day in 1925. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
Looking south towards Sunnyside station from Roncesvalles, showing the vast array of streetcar wires above the street. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
Another street view of Sunnyside station, this time looking west on May 2, 1955. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
A new slogan appears on the flyover in this photo of the station from 1961, reading “Go Relaxed Go By Train”. Photographer unknown. 
A 1966 photo of Canadian Pacific train No. 422, “The Ontarian” at Sunnyside Station. Courtesy of the Roger Puta collection. 
The last outbound weekday train to stop at Sunnyside, Train No. 989, is seen here in this 1967 photograph. The concrete pedestrian bridge above the lead locomotive still exists today. Courtesy of the James A. Brown Collection.
Condensed Station Info:
| Location: | Served By: | Current State: | Date Built: | Date Demolished: |
| Queen Street and Roncesvalles Avenue | GTR (1911 – 1923) CNR (1923 – 1967) CPR (1911 – 1967) | Demolished | 1911 | 1973 |