Summary

Oshawa Station was built by the Canadian Northern Railway in 1910 while its construction was progressing east towards Trenton and Ottawa. It was located in the far northern reaches of town, approximately four kilometers north of Oshawa’s main intersection of Simcoe and King Street. Specifically, it was built on the north side of Russett Avenue on the east side of Simcoe Street, the latter of which was established in 1822 as a “colonization road” to facilitate settlement in the area. The station followed a standard design that was built extensively by the Canadian Northern in rural areas across their system. The second floor contained the living quarters of the station agent, while the first floor contained the waiting room, freight room, and the station agent’s office. The first revenue train came west from Trenton on October 9th, 1911, and in 1913 a spur line was constructed from just east of the station to the Oshawa Railway at Bond Street. This would facilitate interchange between the two railways, an important connection as the Oshawa Railway directly accessed many of Oshawa’s booming industries. Service to Ottawa was made available in December of the same year. By 1917, the station saw a total of four trains per day.

Simultaneously, the Canadian Northern encountered financial issues that would culminate in its nationalization in 1917. The railway was informally managed by federally-owned Canadian National upon its formation in 1919, and the two entities were formally merged in 1923. The Grand Trunk Railway had encountered similar financial issues around the same time and it was merged into Canadian National the same year. Intercity train service over the Canadian Northern Toronto-Ottawa line was cut almost immediately as Canadian National made efforts to gradually abandon it, but a local passenger service remained in place. The former Canadian Northern station was subsequently renamed Oshawa North to differentiate it from the former Grand Trunk station in the south end of town.

Passenger service to Oshawa over the former Canadian Northern line ended on February 1st, 1936, and freight service would follow suit in 1937. The station was saved from demolition and moved approximately 200 metres south to Wayne Avenue where it has since been readapted into a residential duplex. The building retains its overall shape but renovations over the years have rendered it almost unrecognizable. The Canadian Northern line was torn up following its abandonment, and the CN spur to the south around the same time. The former has largely been taken over by surrounding properties, while the latter south of Nonquon Road has been paved over and readapted into a multi-use trail called the Michael Starr Trail.

  • A postcard of the Canadian Northern Oshawa Station just after it opened in the early 1910’s. Note that Canadian Northern was often abbreviated as “C.N.R.” prior to the formation of Canadian National. Courtesy of the Oshawa Public Library.

Condensed Station Info:

Location:Served By:Current State:Date Built:Date Demolished:
Russett AvenueCanadian Northern (1911 – 1919)
Canadian National (1919 – 1936)		Repurposed1910N/A