Riverdale railway station (Toronto)

Riverdale Station
Location De Grassi Street, Riverdale,
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Coordinates 43°39′39″N 79°20′46″W / 43.66083°N 79.34611°W / 43.66083; -79.34611Coordinates: 43°39′39″N 79°20′46″W / 43.66083°N 79.34611°W / 43.66083; -79.34611
Line(s) CN Kingston Subdivision
Distance 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to Toronto Union Station[1]
Connections  501 
Other information
Status Demolished in 1974[2]
History
Opened 1896
Closed 1932
Rebuilt Proposed by SmartTrack for 2022

Riverdale railway station was located on De Grassi Street just north of Queen Street East[3] in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Constructed by the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) in 1896 as "Queen East Station", on what is now the Lakeshore East line, the station was renamed "Riverdale Station" in 1907.[2] The Canadian National Railway (CNR) took over the station in 1923, when they absorbed the Grand Trunk Railway.[4] CNR discontinued passenger train service at the station in 1932 and demolished the building in 1974.

History

The station was originally built at grade, with a level crossing at Queen Street.[5] This level crossing was considered very dangerous and on November 17, 1904, a collision here between a Toronto Railway Company streetcar and a GTR freight train killed three people and injured seventeen.[6]

Construction began in 1925 on the Toronto Grade Separation project which was completed in 1930. The rebuilding of this eastern approach, beyond the Toronto Terminals Railway limit, eliminated the level crossing.[7] The station had to be moved northwest to accommodate construction of the Queen Street overpass.[2]

The last site of the station building is now part of City of Toronto's Bruce Mackey Park,[5] (formerly Wardell Parkette[8]) which runs along the westerly side of the railway tracks, between Queen and Dundas Streets.[9]

Plans to build a GO Station at this location have been discussed as part of Metrolinx's Yonge Relief Network Study.[10] The proposed SmartTrack plan, raised during the 2014 Toronto Mayoral Election, would also build a station here, where GO Transit's Stouffville commuter service crosses Queen Street.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY - MAIN LINE". Mileages. NiagaraRails. Retrieved February 2015. 332.3 Toronto, Riverdale station; 334.0 Toronto, Union station Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. 1 2 3 "Riverdale Railway Station". Toronto's Historical Plaques. Retrieved February 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. ↑ Chris Bateman (June 6, 2014). "5 Toronto railway stations we wish we still had: RIVERDALE". blogTO. Retrieved February 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. ↑ "The Start of Riverdale". riverdaler. 2014-03-21. Retrieved February 2015. These railway tracks are now part of CN Rail after the Grand Trunk Railway ran into financial problems and was nationalized. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  5. 1 2 Jeff Low (February 7, 2012). "Then and Now: Riverdale Station". urbantoronto.ca. Retrieved February 2015. At one time, there was a level rail crossing at Queen and Degrassi streets Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. ↑ Mike Filey (2013-03-27). "Shares Historic Toronto Railway Images". Toronto Railway Historical Association. Retrieved February 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  7. ↑ R.L.Kennedy (2009). "Toronto Terminals Railway: Waterfront Viaduct". Old Time Trains. Retrieved February 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  8. ↑ Joe Halstead (2002-12-17). "Wardell Park Renaming Proposal" (PDF). Staff Report. City of Toronto. Retrieved February 2015. That the name Wardell Parkette, located on Wardell Avenue be renamed the Bruce Mackey Park. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  9. ↑ "Bruce Mackey". Toronto's Historical Plaques. Retrieved February 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  10. ↑ "Yonge Relief Network Study" (PDF). Metrolinx. Retrieved February 2015. Build a new GO station south of Pape and Gerrard at the former Riverdale Station (now in present-day Bruce Mackey Park) Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  11. ↑ Natalie Alcoba (November 14, 2014). "The dust from the election is settled. Now John Tory moves to make SmartTrack actually happen". National Post. Retrieved February 2015. add stations along the way, at places like Gerrard, Queen, Liberty Village and St. Clair West. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

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