Summary

The community of Malvern was established in the 1800’s around the present-day intersection of Sheppard Avenue and Markham Road, and it was promoted by local Senator David Reesor as the future “Capital of Scarborough”. It was anticipated that the Toronto & Nipissing Railway would bolster development of the community in 1871, but instead the railway was routed through the neighboring village of Agincourt. Three decades later, the potential opportunity of a railway passing through Malvern returned with the construction of the Canadian Northern Railway eastward from Toronto in the early 1910’s. In 1911, a station called Malvern was built by Canadian Northern near the intersection of Sheppard Avenue and Malvern Street – which was just over a kilometre west of the Malvern townsite at the time. The station building was a two-storey structure with the usual passenger amenities on the lower floor (waiting room, freight room, telegraph and ticket office), but the station agent lived with their family in the upper floor. Combining the station with employee accommodations was a common design trend for passenger stations in rural areas where it was more practical than separate housing. Firsthand accounts from the time also describe a freight shed and water tower nearby. Passenger service to Malvern commenced on October 9th, 1911 when Canadian Northern began running its trains between Toronto and Trenton. Service was extended to Ottawa a couple of years later in 1913.

The worsening financial condition of the Canadian Northern Railway following the start of World War One would lead to its nationalization a short time later in 1917, and its subsequent absorption into the newly-formed Canadian National Railways in 1919. Once the Grand Trunk Railway similarly fell into federal hands, rationalization efforts by Canadian National would lead to a steep decline in Malvern Station’s importance. In about 1920, the Toronto-Ottawa through trains were all moved to the former Grand Trunk mainline further south. This left only one local passenger train, running in each direction between Toronto and Cobourg. The telegraph office inside Malvern Station was shut down effective September 3rd, 1925, when the station agent was replaced by a caretaker. Just one year later, the entire segment of the Canadian Northern line between Todmorden and Greenburn was abandoned by Canadian National. This included the section which Malvern Station was situated on and it was likely torn down a short time later.

Condensed Station Info:

Location:	Served By:	Current State:	Date Built:	Date Demolished:
Sheppard Avenue and Malvern Street	Canadian Northern (1911 – 1919) Canadian National (1919 – 1926)	Demolished	1911	1926