Transportation history and railway heritage site.
Details of Site Location: The end of Moore Avenue east of Welland Avenue.
Boundary History: The station occupied approximately one third of an acre on the side of the rail line.
Current Use of Property: Currently, the site is open and unused and is covered by grass and weeds.
Historical Description: The Belt Line Railway was one of the most visionary schemes ever dreamed up by a railway company in Toronto. Sadly, it failed within two years, and the expansion of the city did not follow, as envisaged, until several years later. The plan was for a railway encircling the city to carry passengers to areas ready for development. Chartered in 1889, the Belt Line’s principals were Edward Osler, William Hendry, and Sir James Edgar. The Belt Line laid trackage in two routes and leased trackage in the south from the Grand Trunk Railway. Reciprocally, the Grand Trunk leased the Belt Line’s new tracks as well. Associated with the railway was a land company interested in selling properties along the routes. The station that survived longest and the only one known to have been photographed was the one at Moore Park. Facing the tracks over a wooden platform, it had four towers surmounted by conical roofs centred in the station. There were three units to the station buildings, all connected. The depression of the 1890s caught up with the company, which was losing potential customers across the city to the Toronto Street Railway. Both the land company and railway failed. But one community developed as the planners had hoped, and this was Moore Park, which grew up around the station. When the company failed, the station was closed and abandoned. After World War I it was demolished. The site has never been reused; it is still clear and partly visible. A hiking trail up the Don Valley ends at the site, but hikers have no way of knowing why their route exists or what was ever on this property.
Relative Importance: Although the site is quite undisturbed, it is unlikely that there is any archaeological potential there, since the railway was so short lived.
Planning Implications: A plaque at the site explaining the railway company, station, and growth of the Moore Park community would add to local pride and enlighten hikers visiting the site. The entire Belt Line as a railway is better commemorated on the line’s west side, where it crosses Yonge south of the Davisville subway station. At this location, the Belt Line, York Radial line, and Yonge Street’s various transportation routes could all be commemorated in one exhibit of a permanent nature. It has also been suggested that a silhouette of a Belt Line train be mounted on the overpass at Yonge, where the late and much lamented horses stood briefly. Horsepower in the flesh and in steam could be the theme of the silhouettes.
Reference Source: William Hood, private collection.
Acknowledgement: Eastern Canada Transit Club.