Allandale Waterfront GO Station[1][2] is a train and bus station serving as the northern terminus of GO Transit's Barrie line. The station was built just south of Allandale Station, a historic train station that occupies a large property on the southern shore of Kempenfelt Bay (Lake Simcoe) in the waterfront area of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The current and former station were built on a burial site of the Huron indigenous peoples.
Construction of the new facility began in 2009. GO Transit announced on 15 June 2011 that the station would open in the autumn of 2011,[3][4] but construction delayed its opening until January 2012. Bus service to the station began on 28 January 2012, with the train service following two days later.[5] A ceremonial train trip from Allandale Waterfront GO Station to Bradford GO Station officially opened the station on 29 January 2012.[6]
History
Old Allandale Station undergoing renovations in 2012
The Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Union Railway (OS&HUR) first built a station here in 1853. Four historic stations, the last of which still stands on the site near the present station, was built in 1904 and opened by then-operator Grand Trunk Railway on 19 June 1905.[7][8][9] The station was used by Grand Trunk and later Canadian National Railway (both of which had trains branching northwards from here to serve either North Bay or Meaford), Ontario Northland, and Via Rail until closing in 1980.[9] However, Ontario Northlands's Northlander and Via's Canadian continued to stop at the closed station's platform until 1992 and 1996 respectively. In 1990, GO Transit itself reopened it during its first attempt to extend service into Barrie (running one rush hour train per direction), but terminated the service in 1993 due to low ridership. In 1992, during this reopening period, the Northlander was rerouted to the Bala Subdivision east of Lake Simcoe, but the Canadian served the platform until September 22, 1996, when it was also rerouted. Shortly thereafter, CN lifted the rails between the junction just to the north of the station to Longford, but the branch to the northwest, the former Meaford Subdivision, was retained as a connector to the shortlineBarrie-Collingwood Railway.[10]
ACDC
The Allandale Community Development Corporation or 'ACDC' (with City interests) purchased the buildings and adjacent 7 acres (28,000 m2) from CNR after train service was discontinued in the 1980s.[11] ACDC then sold the station to CHUM Ltd in 2000.
CHUM ownership
CHUM Ltd. purchased the 6.9 acres (28,000 m2) of land, including the station buildings, for CA$1,050,000 in 2000. CHUM planned to restore the Allandale Station building as part of their plan to develop of a new broadcast centre on the site for their television station, CKVR, but changed their plan in 2004. In 2007, CHUM agreed to sell the property to the city for the same amount CHUM originally paid. CHUM received a Charitable Donation tax receipt reflecting the increased value of the property since 2000 largely due to the restoration and site works completed by CHUM.[12]
Redevelopment
Construction of the new Allandale Waterfront GO Station (located adjacent to the historic Allandale Station) broke ground in spring 2010 and the station officially opened on 28 January 2012. Redevelopment of the station cost approximately $5 million.[13]
Archeology
The Allandale station site is located on a site used by indigenous peoples. Prior to the original railway construction, a large pit of several hundred indigenous peoples' remains was found. Other ossuaries were found in 1884 and 1889.[14]
It was the subject of an archeological excavation, during which objects were recovered from the Uren substage of the Middle Ontario Iroquoian period.[15] It has been dated to the late 12th to early 13th century and was used as a fishing station by the Huron people.[15] It is the only documented fishing station from the Uren period, and one of few sites of that period to have been discovered.[15]
The site is regarded by archeologists as a temporary location "for exploitation of local fish resources".[16] Numerous fish remains were found in the site's midden, but no longhouses were found there.[16]
In 2011, human bone fragment remains were discovered underneath the crawl space of the original station's office building at the site during an excavation for an archeological site assessment as part of grading work for the new train station.[17] These were later determined to have been in the fill used as backfill for the foundation, but were of indeterminate origin.[17] An incisor found amongst those remains was interpreted to be part of the Uren archeological material, but data are insufficient to ascertain its ultimate origin.[17]
The Huron-Wendat people consider the site to be a disturbed site of indigenous remains which could be an ossuary. The original train station and yard's construction disturbed the remains and the new station disturbed them further without proper archaeological study.[14] Further, the construction of the GO station did not follow Government of Ontario heritage regulations, which prohibited the disturbance of human remains at a known site.[14]
Heritage station buildings
The station buildings comprise a federally designated heritage railway station protected by the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act.[18] The Italianate structures are near the southwest shore of Kempenfeldt Bay, separated from it by a public park.[19][15] The station complex was originally adjacent to the bay until the land behind the station was infilled and levelled to build a rail yard.[19]
The station complex consists of a station building, an office building, and a restaurant adjacent to each other along the rail line. They have a uniform roof pitch, and form an atypical layout for a railway station.[19] The low-pitched roof and deep overhanging eaves are indicative of Prairie School design influence.[15] Two of the buildings were designed by the Detroit firm Spier & Rohns and built in 1904 by Richard Scruton. The station opened in 1905.[15]
The interior and exterior features of the buildings are provincially protected under an Ontario Heritage Trust conservation easement.[15] The station building was considered the "flagship of the Grand Trunk" upon its opening.[19]
Services
The new Barrie Allandale Transit Terminal under construction in November 2024
Allandale Waterfront station has a weekday train service consisting of 7 trains southbound to Union Station in the morning, and 7 trains returning northbound from Union Station in the afternoon. At other times, GO bus route 68 operates hourly to Aurora GO Station where passengers can transfer to the all-day train service to Toronto.[20]
Weekend train service consists of 5 trains in each direction throughout the day. GO bus route 68 also operates hourly to Aurora GO station or East Gwillimbury GO station where passengers can connect to the hourly weekend train service to Toronto.[20]
Intercity services using the Barrie Bus Terminal are slated to move to the Barrie Allandale Transit Terminal[22] which is being built adjacent to the GO station.
