Two women waiting for a train at Burford Station
Railways were once a staple of small-town transportation across Canada, and the County of Brant was no exception. Many small communities had their own train stations beginning in the 19th century, and these typically continued operating through into the 20th century.
However, the rise of automobiles in the 1950s meant that many people no longer needed to rely on rail transportation and these stations began to fade away. Most of these small railway stations have since been demolished.
Burford Station[]
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Burford Station in the 1920s/30s. These hats could come from no other era.
This train station once stood in Burford, when passenger service was still available. The horse carts visible in the photo show the age in which the station was crucial to local transportation.
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Harley Station[]
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Two men waiting for a train
This photo shows the passenger train station that once stood in Harley. Passenger train service was once available in small communities all around the County.
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Hatchley Station[]
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This train station once stood in Hatchley. In the past, train service was a crucial method of transportation in the County.
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Paris Junction[]
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The Paris Junction station in 1907, shortly before being replaced. Original photo held by the Paris Museum and Historical Society
The Paris Junction was the junction between the two railway lines that ran through Paris, which belonged to the Great Western Railway and the Buffalo-Goderich Railway. Both lines were later taken over by the Grand Trunk Railway, and are still operated today by Canadian National Railways.
Passenger service, however, is no longer provided. The Paris Junction station was demolished in 1925, replaced in 1907 by the Helen St. railway station that has also been demolished in 1969. The Junction station remained active until 1924 serving trains on the Harrisburg line
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Mount Pleasant Station[]
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Mount Pleasant Station at its new home in 1993
The Mount Pleasant Station was built c. 1916 as a station for the Lake Erie & Northern Railway line, using designs standard among rural CPR stations.
This building is a rare example of an extant rural railway station. While slated for demolition, it was rescued in 1993 by the Merrits who undertook the task of moving the building to their farm, where it still stands today. Recently, 2020 the Brant Railway Heritage Society has undertaken the restoration of the station for their museum project. The station will be moved back to it's original location and developed into the Brant Railway Heritage Museum