Summary

Manchester station was built in 1871 by the Port Whitby & Port Perry Railway while its construction was progressing north towards Port Perry. The station was a small wooden structure with a lean-to roof to provide shelter for passengers on the platform. The first train arrived in Manchester on November 23rd of the same year. Despite its best efforts, the railway failed to make significant profits and it soon sought to merge with several other nearby branch lines. The Midland Railway of Canada gained control of it in 1882, though this arrangement would be short lived. The much larger Grand Trunk Railway leased the Midland Railway starting January 1st, 1884, and by 1899 a total of four trains stopped in Manchester on a daily basis. By this point the station was treated as a “flag stop”, meaning trains would have to be flagged down for passengers. This was a common practice for stations that saw little ridership to prevent unnecessary stops.

After the turn of the 20th century, the Grand Trunk began encountering financial difficulties that culminated in its nationalization and subsequent merger into Canadian National in 1923. Manchester saw a brief increase in service to six trains per day by 1924, but this arrangement was short lived. The popularization of automobiles combined with the economic effects of the Great Depression resulted in a significant decline of passenger ridership country-wide. Unprofitable branch lines like the former PW&PP were some of the first to go, and regular passenger service to Manchester ended in 1937. The rails remained in place for some time, until the very last train left in 1939 to bring passengers to Toronto for the arrival of the royal family. The beginning of World War Two just a few months later necessitated an increased production of steel, and the rails were lifted soon after to be melted down for the war effort. Manchester remains a small community on the outskirts of Port Perry, but little trace of the railway can be found today.

Manchester station in the early 1900’s with a Grand Trunk passenger train approaching. Courtesy of the Port Perry/Scugog Heritage Gallery.

Condensed Station Info:

Location:Served By:Current State:Date Built:Date Demolished:
Highway 7 south of
Scugog Line 4		PW&PP (1871 – 1882)
MRC (1882 – 1884)
GTR (1884 – 1923)
CNR (1923 – 1937)		Demolished18711939