Ontario Railway Stations
St. Thomas
Related railways
For years St. Thomas was widely regarded as Canada's Railway Capital and for good reason.
The first station was built by the Canada Southern Railway (later Michigan Central) in 1871. It was followed in 1872 by a station for the Great Western Railway (GWR) which went on to lease the London and Port Stanley (L&PS) tracks for 20 years.
The Credit Valley Railway (later CPR) arrived in 1881.That same year the Wabash Railroad leased the tracks operated by the GWR. In 1882 the GWR was taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway (later CN) which retained the leasing agreement with the Wabash for many years.
Last up was the Pere Marquette (later C&O) which arrived in 1894. The PM took control of the L&PS until 1914 when the entire railway was taken over by the city of London. The line was electrified and remained in municipal hands until 1965 when it was shut down.
The LP&S station was demolished in the 1960s. A replica has since been built. The massive MC station, later occupied by New York Central, Penn Central and Conrail, has been restored and is now home to the Elgin County Railway Museum.