Memory Junction Railway Museum facts for kids
Postcard showing the Brighton station, circa 1910.
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| Established | 1857 (station) 1995 (museum) |
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| Location | 60 Maplewood Avenue, Brighton |
| Type | defunct railway museum |
| Key holdings | former railway station, locomotive and cars |
| Collections | rail equipment and memorabilia |
| Owner | Ralph and Eugenia Bangay |
The Memory Junction Railway Museum was a special place in southeastern Ontario that kept a collection of old railway items. It closed its doors in 2017. Later, in 2021, all its cool collections were sold off. The museum was located inside the old Grand Trunk Railway station in Brighton, Ontario. This station first opened way back in 1857 and served train passengers until the 1960s.
Contents
A Look Back at Brighton's Train History
Brighton is a town that sits on the main train lines connecting Montréal and Toronto. Both the Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) tracks run right next to each other through the village. Long ago, there was even a third railway called the Canadian Northern Railway.
At its busiest time, ten trains would stop every day at one of the three local train stations in Brighton. These stations were all just a few blocks apart!
The First Railway in Brighton
Brighton's train story began on October 27, 1856. That's when the Grand Trunk line opened, connecting Montréal to Toronto. Back then, Maplewood Street was called Railroad Street. Farming was slowly becoming more important than cutting down trees in the area. Towns that used to rely on boats were excited for trains. They hoped trains would help them reach bigger markets to sell their goods.
The Old Brighton Station
In its best days, the Brighton Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) station was a busy place. It had seven buildings and a place for animals. There was a shed for freight, two private sheds for coal, and a large wooden water tank. There were also big piles of wood because GTR's steam trains used to burn wood for power.
The station building itself was a "Type C" station. It was a single-story building with five arched doors or windows on its sides. It had two arches on each end. Many stations like this were built from limestone. They followed a standard GTR design with a stone chimney on each corner. However, the Brighton station was different because it was made of brick. The original chimneys are not there anymore.
Trains and Community Life
The railway helped Brighton's fruit canneries send their products to ocean ports. From there, the fruit could be shipped all over the world. Trains also carried Brighton's dairy products to markets in Toronto. In the summer, thousands of people would take the train to Presqu'ile Provincial Park. This park became an Ontario provincial park in 1922.
When the Great War started in 1914, there were only about fifty cars in the village. That's when a second railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway, came to town. A new third national railway, the Canadian Northern (CNoR), finished its line from Quebec to British Columbia in 1915.
Changes in the Railway World
The CNoR railway went out of business by the end of the war. It was too much for the market to handle three big railways. The government then combined it with what is now Canadian National. CN built a CNoR Brighton station in 1920, but it didn't last long. The Grand Trunk railway also had problems and went bankrupt in 1922. It became part of CNR by 1923.
Much of the CNoR railway's setup was similar to CN's Grand Trunk line. So, many parts of CNoR were no longer used. Passenger trains then started using the original 1857 Brighton station. The 1920 CNoR station was eventually torn down.
The End of Passenger Service
Around the end of the Great War, people started trying to pave the old York Road. By 1964, most of that road had been replaced by a four-lane highway, Ontario Highway 401. The number of people traveling by train had reached its highest point around World War II. After that, train passenger numbers quickly dropped.
Brighton's small 1857 passenger train station was left empty and boarded up a few years after the new highway arrived. It stayed empty through the 1970s and 1980s. Even though much of the old railway equipment was removed, the original Brighton station building survived. It served as a museum until 2017. On August 16, 2000, it was officially recognized as an important historical building under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Memory Junction Railway Museum
In 1995, a couple named Ralph and Eugenia Bangay bought the old Brighton Station from CN. They paid $400 for it! They wanted a place to keep their growing collection of Brighton railway items. They fixed up the gentlemen's waiting room, the express office, and the agent's room in the old brick station. These rooms then held hundreds of historical objects. They used the ladies' passenger waiting room as a souvenir shop.
What You Could See at the Museum
A huge 1906 Grand Trunk steam locomotive (train engine #2534) was a main attraction. It was moved from Zwick's Park in nearby Belleville. Next to it, you could see two box cars (one from 1913), a flat car, and three cabooses (including one from 1929). There was also an 1898 velocipede, which was a handcar used by railway workers to travel along the tracks.
The Murrow Building was also part of the museum. Before 1920, this building was a place where Ford cars were sent. They would then go to dealers from Bowmanville to Gananoque. This building held even more railway items. The museum also had an 1880s Hops Barn. You could find all sorts of things there, from old Coca-Cola bottles from Brighton to Morse code equipment.
The busy CN and CP main train lines still run right next to where the museum used to be. However, the many Via Rail trains carrying passengers from Montreal and Ottawa to Toronto do not stop there anymore.
The museum closed in 2017. In 2021, everything inside was sold at an auction.
Other Railway Spots to Explore
Old Train Stations
Many old Grand Trunk stations were built when the line first opened. About half a dozen of the original ones are still standing on the Montréal-Toronto 1856 Grand Trunk main line:
- Napanee railway station and Port Hope railway station have been fixed up and are still used by passengers.
- Belleville, Ontario railway station was used until 2012. A new station was built nearby. Now, the old one holds offices.
- The station in Prescott, Ontario now has the local history group's office. Trains don't stop there.
- The station in Ernestown, Ontario is boarded up and empty.
- Brighton's station was the Memory Junction Museum.
Not much is left of the Kingston, Ontario outer station ruins except its stone outside walls. Two original stations on the Toronto-Sarnia line are still standing. One of them, the Georgetown GO station, is still used by passengers.
Railway Museums Nearby
There is one museum left on the old CNoR line that went from Toronto to Brighton, Napanee, and Smiths Falls. The old Smiths Falls station is now the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario. The train line through Sydenham was removed in the 1980s.
