Summary
Kleinburg Station was built in 1871 by the narrow-gauge Toronto, Grey & Bruce Railway whilst its construction was progressing northward towards Bolton and Owen Sound. Due to the surrounding topography and the Humber River creating a natural barrier, the closest the railway ever came to central Kleinburg was nearly two kilometres to the west. The station was built where the railway intersected Nashville Road. It was a simple wooden frame structure with a lean-to roof, providing only the most basic amenities. The station’s opening was delayed until the line was complete to Bolton, and the first revenue passenger train arrived in Kleinburg on July 17th, 1871. Service was extended to Orangeville by September of the same year, but it took until August 1873 for the railway to reach Owen Sound.
Over the next decade both the Grand Trunk Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway sought to gain control of the Toronto, Grey & Bruce. The Grand Trunk provided financial assistance in its conversion to standard gauge in 1881, but it was ultimately unable to take over the railway. Through its proxy the Ontario & Quebec Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway gained control of the Toronto, Grey & Bruce through a 999-year lease in 1883. Rail traffic through Kleinburg would only increase as the port facilities in Owen Sound became an important node for Canadian Pacific’s transcontinental service. By March 1884 Kleinburg saw six trains per day, and this was comprised of an express train, mixed train, and mail train in both directions. For a period of 18 months from May 1884 to November 1885, all of Canadian Pacific’s traffic to the prairies moved through Kleinburg to connect with steamships that would take passengers to Thunder Bay. Even after the transcontinental railway was opened through northern Ontario in 1885, the steamship service remained popular in the summer months.
In 1905, Canadian Pacific began construction on a more direct rail link between Bolton and the transcontinental line in Sudbury. This change would vastly increase the rail traffic on the line, requiring it to be straightened and regraded in several areas to support heavier and more frequent trains. This included a segment from just south of Kleinburg Station to Highway 27 in which the line was shifted just over half a kilometer to the west. Kleinburg Station was replaced at some point during this work, though the new station continued to occupy the same area as its predecessor. It was far larger in comparison with a second floor containing the station agent’s living quarters. The first floor had a waiting room, baggage room, and the station agent’s office. Rather than build a new one, the original TG&B station was repurposed as a freight shed and continued to remain alongside its replacement. Work on the Bolton – Sudbury line was completed in 1908. At its peak in 1921, service to Kleinburg had increased to a total of 13 passenger trains per day.
The Great Depression would take its toll on the railway industry in Canada, and service between Kleinburg and Owen Sound ceased with the abandonment of the line between Bolton and Orangeville in 1932. Passenger ridership rebounded during and immediately following World War Two, but it began to sharply decline in the postwar era due to increased automobile ownership and air travel. Service to Kleinburg decreased further after the completion of Highway 400 in 1952, which ran almost parallel to the railway and served many of the same communities. The station’s inconvenient distance from the community it was intended to serve didn’t help either. Service was reduced to eight trains per day by 1961, then it was closed altogether by 1964. For the following twelve years the station remained in its original location but sources differ on what it was used for during this time. The station was selected for preservation by famous Canadian history author Pierre Berton, himself a resident of Kleinburg, who intended to move it elsewhere to be used by Scouts Canada. While the freight shed and former TG&B station was swiftly demolished, the second station was moved adjacent to Kleinburg Public School in 1976 and protected from future demolition under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1978.
An official company photograph of the original Kleinburg station in 1898 with a group of workers posing around a handcar. Photo by J. W. Heckman, courtesy of the Canadian Railway Historical Association. 
An early 1900’s postcard of the second Kleinburg station, likely within a few years of its construction. It followed a standard CPR no. 5 design, used extensively elsewhere on Canadian Pacific. Courtesy of the Ross Gray collection. 
The train order signals have been removed and the station had closed to passengers by the time this photo was taken in 1965. Courtesy of the Al Paterson Collection. 
A 1967 photo seen looking north towards the freight shed and station in the foreground at right, as well as Nashville Road and a grain elevator in the background. Courtesy of the Ingenium Digital Archives. 
A 1987 photo of Kleinburg station in its new home after being moved to Kleinburg Public School. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library Archives.
Condensed Station Info:
| Location: | Served By: | Current State: | Date Built: | Date Demolished: |
| Nashville Road | Toronto, Grey & Bruce (1871 – 1883) Canadian Pacific (1883 – 1964) | Demolished (First) Preserved (Second) | 1871 (First) 1908 (Second) | 1976 (First) N/A (Second) |