Huntsville station

Huntsville station is located in the town of Huntsville, Ontario.

Huntsville
Railway station at Huntsville on June 19, 2011
General information
Location26 Burrow Pit Lane
Huntsville, ON
Canada
Coordinates45°19′25″N 79°13′35″W
Owned byOntario Northland Railway
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
History
Opened1924
Closed2012
Former services
Preceding station Ontario Northland Railway Following station
South River
toward Cochrane
 Northlander Bracebridge
toward Toronto
Official nameHuntsville Canadian National Railway (CNR) Station
Designated1988
Designated1993

It was a station stop for Northlander trains of Ontario Northland. However the station is no longer in use since the cessation of the Northlander passenger service in 2012.

In 2021 the Government of Ontario announced plans to restore service using ONR from this station north to either Timminis or Cochrane by the mid 2020s.[1]

Ontario Northland services the community with motorcoach, however they do not use the original train station for passengers. The Huntsville Yard and freight shed next to the station is still in use by CN Rail.

Huntsville is in the heart of Muskoka, known to Torontonians as "cottage country".

History

The first station building (a board and batten structure) was built in 1885 by the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway, which later became part of the Grand Trunk Railway.

The present brick structure was erected in 1924 by the Canadian National Railway.[2] The station has been protected under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act since 1988. It has also been designated as a Heritage Railway Station by the Federal Government since 1993.[3]

In 2017 the town of Huntsville sold the building to a trio of local businessmen for $2. The trio hoped to open "a community initiative centre" in it. Some town residents were upset that the building was sold, as the town had invested over $150,000 to upgrade the storm and sanitary sewers at the station. "Unresolved problems [at the station] include needing to remediate mould and asbestos at an estimated cost of $120,000 and repairing the HVAC system for $30,000."[4]

References
  1. "Passenger rail service in northeastern Ontario to return by mid-2020s | CBC News".
  2. "By-Law Number 88-61". Ontario Heritage Trust. 1988. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  3. "The Directory of Designated Heritage Railway Stations in Ontario". Parks Canada. 17 February 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  4. Cilliers, Roland (July 25, 2017). "Huntsville's train station sold, council optimistic". MuskokaRegion.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.

Media related to Huntsville railway station at Wikimedia Commons

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