What’s going on subway surfers, we’re back on the surface today exploring some of
Simcoe County’s lost VIA Rail stations. While VIA trains continue to stop in Simcoe
County today on route to Vancouver, there were previously four additional stations located
throughout the region, which serviced VIA trains running across the province and the
country. Today, we visit these four stations to see if any traces remain since their closure,
and we’ll explore their history, as well as what we found. I’m Zach with Vanishing
Underground, and let’s get started.
The first station on our list is Barrie, located
at the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and Tiffin Street. Originally serviced by CN commuter
and intercity trains, the route was taken over by VIA Rail in 1978. For commuter service,
one southbound trip was operated on weekday mornings from Barrie to Union, followed by
one northbound trip returning to Barrie in the afternoon. Travel time from Barrie to
Union was 95 minutes, with the southbound train departing the station at 6:45am on weekdays,
and the northbound train arriving at 6:50pm. Trains between Toronto and North Bay also
stopped in Barrie, with a northbound train departing Barrie at 8:23pm on Fridays and
Sundays beginning in 1979. Transcontinental trains on the Super Continental began servicing
Barrie daily in 1979. The Canadian replaced by the Super Continental in November 1981,
which stopped northbound at 1:40am, and southbound at 5:23am daily. Ontario Northland trains also stopped
at this station, with a northbound departure to Timmins departing at 1:47pm six days per
week. The station building remained on site, but was closed down and fell into disrepair while VIA was servicing the station.
Commuter service between Toronto and Barrie was discontinued in 1982, with GO not opting
to service the station until 1990. Just before the arrival of GO service, budget cuts saw
the cancellation of the twice weekly Toronto- to North Bay train, as well as the reduction
of the Toronto to Vancouver train to only three days per week. In 1992, Ontario Northland service
was discontinued at Barrie, with northbound trains now following the southbound route
along the east side of Lake Simcoe. VIA service continued until 1996, when the tracks north
of the station were abandoned, forcing VIA to reroute service to the opposite side of
the lake. Today, the station building has been restored to its original state, with
plans to construct a new city bus terminal nearby on the site. GO Trains also service
a newly constructed platform just south of the former station, with traces of the old VIA platforms still visible.
The second station on our list is Bradford,
located at the intersection of Bridge Street and Dissette Street. Originally serviced by
CN commuter trains, the route was taken over by VIA Rail in 1978. One southbound trip was operated
on weekday mornings from Barrie to Union, followed by one northbound trip returning
to Barrie in the afternoon. Travel time from Bradford to Union was 69 minutes, with the
southbound train departing the station at 7:11am on weekdays, and the northbound train
arriving at 6:25pm. The station building remained operational on the site, having originally
been constructed around 1900. VIA trains serviced this station for only 4 years, until GO Transit
took over service in September 1982. With this change, trains servicing the stop were
cut back south to end at the station, with train frequency remaining the same for many years
after GO’s takeover. Very little evidence remains at the station of the former VIA service,
with a new platform being extended to accommodate longer GO trains, and a small
layover yard being constructed on the station property. The station building remains in
place and in use today, with traces of the original platform still visible.
The third station on our list is Lefroy, located along the south side of Killarney Beach Road
between 20th Sideroad and Ewart Street in Innisfil. Originally serviced by CN commuter
trains, the route was taken over by VIA Rail in 1978. One southbound trip was operated on
weekday mornings from Barrie to Union, followed by one northbound trip returning to Barrie
in the afternoon. Travel time from Lefroy to Union was 80 minutes, with the southbound
train departing the station at 7:00am on weekdays, and the northbound train arriving at 6:36pm.
VIA trains serviced this station for only 4 years, until GO Transit took over service
in September 1982. With this change, trains servicing the stop were cut back south to
Bradford, and all train service at Lefroy was discontinued. Very little evidence remains
at the station of the former VIA service, with the platform and station building having
been demolished. While GO Transit currently has plans to build a new station in Innisfil, the location
selected is 3 kilometres north at 6th line, meaning that there are currently no plans
for the old Lefroy station site.
Fourth on our list is Orillia, located along
Front Street South between Colborne Street and Atherley Road. Originally serviced by
CN intercity trains, the route was taken over by VIA Rail in 1978. Service at the station consisted
of a daily train between Toronto and Vancouver. A twice weekly train
from Toronto to North Bay also stopped at the station on Fridays and Sundays, departing
the stop at 8:53pm. Ontario Northland trains serviced the station, with a northbound
trip to Timmins departing 2:15pm six days per week. The station building was originally
constructed in 1917, with a station platform and ample parking provided. Budget cuts in
1990 saw the twice weekly train to North Bay get discontinued, and frequency on the train
between Toronto and Vancouver reduced to 3 days per week. Ontario Northland trains continued
to service the station until 1992, when northbound trains were changed to follow the southbound
trains along the east side of Lake Simcoe. VIA trains to Vancouver continued to stop
in Orillia until 1996, when the track owners, Canadian National, applied to abandon the
line between Barrie and Washago, the next station on the line. Today, the station building remains
largely intact, with the platform still visible, and the building being used as a tourist
information centre. After train service withdrew, Ontario Northland buses continued to use the
station as a bus stop until January 2021, when they'll be relocated to a new location.
Thanks for watching! We hope you enjoyed this
video, and learned something new about the history of VIA Rail in Simcoe County. If you
haven’t already, be sure to check out our video on the complete evolution of the VIA
Rail network, which you’ll be able to access by clicking the button in the top right corner
of this video. If you have any questions or we got anything wrong, leave us a comment
down below, and we’ll be sure to get back to you. Feel free to leave a like if you want
to see more, and as for us here, we’ll be Vanishing Underground until the next one.