Shortly after the closure and demolition of Toronto’s first Union Station in 1871, the Grand Trunk Railway set to work on a much larger structure in the same place to eliminate the overcrowding issues encountered by its predecessor. A temporary station was built in the meantime while the new terminal was under construction. A new headhouse with Italianate and Second Empire influences was built, along with a trainshed accommodating three tracks and a trio of towers protruding from the south facing wall. The central tower was taller than the other two, measuring 100 feet in height and having clocks on all sides of its mansard roof. Above the arched portals of the trainshed, the words “Union Station” were embossed in the exterior wall. Early plans included an “excursion platform” at the north end of the building, but it was never realized. The cornerstone was laid in June 1872 and the station opened to passengers on July 1st, 1873; the largest and grandest in Canada at the time of its completion. Upon its opening the Grand Trunk shared this station with the Toronto & Nipissing Railway and the Toronto, Grey & Bruce Railway, and all three of them used it as their primary passenger terminal in the city. The Great Western Railway and Northern Railway of Canada had trains stop on the tracks adjacent to Union Station as well, but this was only for passenger convenience as they both had their own passenger terminals elsewhere in the city.
The importance of boat travel on Lake Ontario influenced the design of the station significantly, so much so that its main entrance was originally oriented to face the water rather than the city. There was an entrance at the north side of the building, but it was much less architecturally grandiose. In just a decade of operation, the new Union Station quickly became overwhelmed with the volume of trains and passengers it served. After much resistance from the Grand Trunk, the Credit Valley Railway was granted the ability to use Union Station starting May 17th, 1880. Two years later in 1882, the Grand Trunk gained control of the Great Western Railway and subsequently shifted some of its passenger trains over to Union Station. Through its proxy the Ontario & Quebec Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway gained control of both the Credit Valley and Toronto, Grey & Bruce in 1883, gaining access to Union Station in the process. Union Station saw a staggering 60 trains per day by 1884, all utilizing the same three-track trainshed which had been in use since the station’s 1873 opening. That year the Grand Trunk acquired the Midland Railway of Canada, followed by the Northern Railway of Canada in 1888. Many of the terminal stations used by these railroads around the city were kept in operation for a number of years by the Grand Trunk to ease the strain on Union Station in the meantime.
The Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific, who were the only tenants of Union Station by this point, agreed to jointly undertake a significant upgrade of the station in 1892. These changes would include a new trainshed along the south side of the station with three additional tracks, and a seven-storey Romanesque office building and grand entrance on Front Street. Perhaps most importantly, the rail corridor was equipped with new safety mechanisms which included our interlocking tower, Cabin D. Since significant portions of the Union Station corridor had been laid by companies that no longer existed, the arrangement and positioning of the tracks were thoroughly rationalized and rearranged to optimize the efficiency of train movements. All westbound trains would now use Union Station’s new south trainshed, while eastbound trains used the original trainshed to the north. The renovated Union Station officially opened on May 11th, 1896, though the platforms continued to be used by the public while the work was underway.
Even with these efforts to improve the efficiency of Union Station, its design was fundamentally flawed and this became abundantly clear as the station was almost immediately deemed inadequate. An 1899 issue of Railway and Shipping World stated that “…the general consensus of opinion is that the Toronto Union is one of the most inconvenient stations in [North] America, expensive to run and unsatisfactory in very many other respects”. The Great Fire of 1904 opened up a large plot of real estate to the immediate east of Union Station, and the Grand Trunk soon made attempts to secure this land for a new passenger terminal. It wouldn’t come soon enough as the Canadian Northern Railway commenced their passenger service into Union Station on November 19th, 1906, further exacerbating the overcrowding issues. These issues reached their apotheosis with the onset of World War One, as the vast number of soldiers now departing for training camps required other stations and even freight terminals around the city to be used for this purpose instead. Work on the new Union Station would only commence in 1914 and its progress would be mired by the war effort’s effects on materials and the labour force. After the war, both the Grand Trunk and Canadian Northern were nationalized and merged into the newly-formed Canadian National Railways, who would continue to serve old Union Station for several more years. As Toronto’s third Union Station neared completion during the late 1920’s, its predecessor was gradually dismantled. The last trains departed old Union Station in 1927, after which the south trainshed was subsequently torn down. While the headhouse and remaining trainshed were torn down between 1927 and 1928, the clock from the central tower was saved and donated to Huntsville where it has been repurposed on their city hall. The last surviving piece of old Union Station, the office and entrance on Front Street, finally met the wrecking ball in 1934.
Union Station as it looked from the south in 1873, not long after opening. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
Looking east from the central clocktower of Union Station in 1873. This shows the rail corridor and waterfront before a lot of the expansion and development that would occur in later decades. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
A look under the trainshed in 1875 shows the broad gauge tracks on the left and a narrow gauge track on the right. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
An 1875 image showing the freight bypass tracks and esplanade on the left, with Union Station center frame as seen from the east. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
A new express building was built on the east side of the station by the time of this 1884 image. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
The Credit Valley Railway’s freight shed on the harbour is in the foreground at left of this photo from 1884 with old Union Station in the background. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
A set of old wooden passenger cars are seen in the foreground on the west side of Union Station in this 1887 image. 
A circa 1890’s photograph of the eastern end of Union Station. New additions include the additional train shed at left and the large tower in the distance at right. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
The 1896 office and main entrance as seen from Front Street in 1908. 
A 1910 image showing the west end of the Union Station platforms. Grand Trunk locomotive 203 prepares to depart with a westbound passenger train. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
A 1925 photo looking east from the John Street bridge showing one of the interlocking towers (likely Cabin B) at left. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. 
Destruction of old Union Station’s south trainshed in 1927 
After the removal of the south trainshed, the platforms remained in use in the meantime. Courtesy of the Toronto Public Library Archives. 
Construction of the current Union Station is seen from the central tower of old Union Station in 1928, giving an idea of where it existed in relation to the current station. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives. 
After the removal of old Union Station, temporary platforms remain in its place as work continues on the new Union Station in 1928. The tower on Front Street remains as the sole reminder of what once stood here. Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.
Condensed Station Info:
| Location: | Served By: | Current State: | Date Built: | Date Demolished: |
| Front Street at Simcoe Street | Grand Trunk (1873 – 1923) Great Western (1873 – 1882) Toronto & Nipissing (1873 – 1882) Toronto, Grey & Bruce (1873 – 1883) Midland Railway (1882 – 1884) Northern Railway (1873 – 1879) Northern & North-Western (1879 – 1888) Canadian Pacific (1883 – 1927) Canadian Northern (1906 – 1919 Canadian National (1919 – 1927) | Demolished | 1873 | ~1927-1934 |