Related railways

• Canadian National Railway
• Canadian Northern Railway
• Grand Trunk Railway
• VIA Rail

The first railway to arrive in Washago was the Northern Railway in 1873. It was taken over by the GTR in 1888. In 1890 the GTR built a small wooden station. It is not known if there was an earlier structure.

A second railway, the CNoR, arrived in 1905-06 and built a second station. Other than occasional turf battles, the CNoR and GTR operated independently and had very little to do with one another.

By the end of the second decade, both railways were in serious financial difficulty. The CNoR became part of the newly formed Canadian National Railways in 1918. Two years later the GTR was placed under CN management.

In 1921 CN closed the CNoR station and moved it to its present location. It reopened in 1922 replacing the older GTR station. According to one source, the old GTR station may have been used for freight for a number of years. According to another, it was destroyed by fire. Whatever happened, it no longer appears to exist. The GTR became part of CN in January 1923.

Although the tracks have seen considerable realignment, Washago is still a major divisional point on the CN mainline. The former station remains in use by CN for railway purposes. It has seen a number of alterations.

The VIA shelter is in use by VIA Rail.