Related railways

• Canadian National Railway
• Grand Trunk Railway
• Northern Railway of Canada

The original Collingwood station was built around 1855 by the Northern Railway of Canada. In 1873 it was destroyed by fire and replaced with a magnificent structure befitting the town's prominence as the NRC's northern terminus. The station survived under GTR and later CN ownership until 1932 when fire struck once again, destroying the tower and both portico wings leaving only the centre portion. The remains of the old station were rebuilt and used by CN until 1960 when passenger traffic was discontinued.

In 1965 the station was purchased by the Town of Collingwood and converted to a museum. Unfortunately damage from the 1932 fire had left the building structurally unsound. It was finally determined that the building could not be salvaged and it was demolished in 1997. Fortunately the original plans from 1873 survived. Using the original plans, the building was replicated and reopened in 1998 as the new museum.