Summary

Hornby Station was built by the Credit Valley Railway in 1879 whilst its line between Toronto and St. Thomas was under construction. It was located in a rural area on Trafalgar Road, about halfway between the more substantial communities of Streetsville and Milton which were also served by the railway. The first revenue passenger train arrived at Hornby on September 1st, 1879 ahead of the first annual Toronto Industrial Exhibition. However, regular service would not commence until September 15th. Service was extended west of Campbellville to St. Thomas in 1881, and by October 1883 the station saw a total of five trains per day. The Canadian Pacific Railway gained control of the Credit Valley through one of its proxies, the Ontario & Quebec Railway, in November 1883.

The station’s isolated location would contribute to a reduction in service to just three trains per day by 1899. To allow for a higher volume of trains on the former Credit Valley line, a second main track was laid between Toronto and Guelph Junction during the mid-1910’s. Unlike other stations in neighbouring communities, the original Credit Valley station at Hornby was not replaced alongside this project. Service to Hornby Station would reach its peak at sixteen trains per day by 1921, followed by a reduction to eight trains as a result of the Great Depression. A brief rebound to eleven trains by 1947 would be cut short by the popularization of automobiles and air travel during the postwar era. The station was closed to passengers in 1955 but remained in use by Canadian Pacific in other capacities until it was torn down in July 1962.

A business case for a new GO station in roughly the same location as Hornby Station was released by Metrolinx in 2021. Upon its expected opening year in 2041, this station would return direct passenger rail service to this area for the first time in 86 years.

  • An undated photo of Hornby station in winter, likely around the 1950’s Courtesy of the Trafalgar Township Historical Society.
  • A pair of steam engines lead a freight train past Hornby Station (background at right) in 1954. Photo by Dick George, courtesy of the Trafalgar Township Historical Society.

Condensed Station

Location:Served By:Current State:Date Built:Date Demolished:
Trafalgar RoadCredit Valley (1879 – 1883)
Canadian Pacific (1883 – 1955)		Demolished18791962