Summary
Whitby Station was built by the Port Whitby & Port Perry Railway in 1871 while its construction was progressing north from the Whitby harbour. It was a two-storey brick structure, rectangular in shape with a pitched roof and a pair of chimneys at either end. The first train arrived on November 23rd, 1871 once construction to Port Perry was complete, and service to Lindsay began in 1877. The railway’s name was subsequently changed to the Whitby, Port Perry & Lindsay Railway. 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 1886 a total of six trains stopped in Whitby on a daily basis. The junction between the former PW&PP and the Grand Trunk approximately 2.2 kilometers to the south was subsequently reconfigured to allow trains to go from one line to the other.
To differentiate from the existing Grand Trunk station in Whitby, the former PW&PP station was denoted as “Whitby Town” on timetables and signage. 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. 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 Whitby Town Station ended in 1937. Freight service to remaining customers was subsequently replaced with trucks. The last train to use the line was carrying well-wishers to Toronto for the arrival of the royal family in 1939. The beginning of World War Two just a few months later necessitated an increased production of steel, and the rails north of the diamond with Canadian Pacific at Garden Street were torn up soon thereafter.
The former PW&PP line through Whitby remained in use by both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, who each had connections to the line to access local industry. Whitby Town station was subsequently readapted as a post office shipping depot, and remained in this function until it closed in 1963. After sitting abandoned for several years the building was torn down 1970, almost exactly a century after its construction. The tracks adjacent to the station became disused soon afterward and they were torn up in 1978. Hickory Street was extended south of Dundas along the railway right-of-way and the station site is now occupied by a commercial property.
A 1920’s photograph of a northbound Canadian National freight train passing Whitby Town station. Courtesy of the Whitby Public Library. 
An undated photo of Whitby Town station still bearing its sign, likely during the early 1960’s. Courtesy of the Al Paterson Collection. 
A photo of the station as seen from the south in 1964. Courtesy of the Whitby Public Library Archives.
Condensed Station Info:
| Location: | Served By: | Current State: | Date Built: | Date Demolished: |
| Hickory Street and Dundas Street | PW&PP (1870 – 1882) MRC (1882 – 1884) GTR (1884 – 1923) CNR (1923 – 1939) | Demolished | 1870 | 1970 |