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The Height of The Michigan Central Railway
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1872
Official construction date of the station. Built by Canada Southern, with track.
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1874
Canada Southern is bankrupt.
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1876
Vanderbilt has acquired stock and takes control of New York Central.
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1883
Leased to Michigan Central Railroad (MCRR), which is also owned by Vanderbilt.
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1903
MCRR assumes 999 year lease of CASO holding.
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1929
Subleased back to NYC for 99 years.
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1917
Dormers are installed on the roof.
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1923
Fiewalls are installed.
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1925
Fire destroys the kitchen and one chimney.
 In September 2008, workers discovered a cache of documents dating to 1905 and 1911, some of which showed evidence of burning. The papers were found up in the eaves, and speculation is that they may have been drawn there by the updraft from the fire.
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Alterations and Decline of The Station
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1950s
The chimneys are removed
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1962
East, North, West canopies are removed.
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1968
February 1, NYC changes corporate name to Pen Central.
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1969
South canopy is removed.
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1976
In May, Conrail buys controlling interest in CSR.
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1980s
Freight traffic ceases.
April 25, 1980, passenger travel ceases.
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1986-1996
Canada Southern Railway Station building is slowly shut down. Windows are intact in 1986.
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The Station Returns to Life
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1988
City of St.Thomas turns down an opportunity to purchase the building. Cost - one dollar and the attached property for $58,000
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1988
The Canada Southern Railway Station building receives Heritage status, becoming a Heritage Railway Station, under the National Railway Stations Protection Act.
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1989
Architectural description provided by the Historical Sites and Monuments Board of Canada
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1996
CNR abandoned the station, and the building quickly became the target of vandals and a large colony of pigeons. The resulting damage was considerable.
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1996-2001
Various potential owners investigated purchase of the building, but no essential maintenance or 'mothballing' is carried out. Deterioration continued unabated.
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1999
North America Railway of Fame - eventual administrators of the Canada Southern Railway Station restoration project - held the first Induction Ceremony.
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2001
The On Track Board of Directors secured an agreement to purchase the building, property and contents, with the intention of developing a formal business plan for the restoration and the operation of the the property as a community tourist attraction.
Mothballing begins with advice from Heritage Ontario.
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2002
Feasibility of the plans was confirmed in a study by Commonwealth Historical Resources Management Ltd.
HRDC funds summer student position, and tours of the station begin.
An easement agreement was entered with the Ontario Heritage Foundation, giving the station a provincial heritage designation.
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2003
The feasibility study confirms the board's plans.
Tours of the station continue through the summer months.
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2004
A new roof is installed, funded paritally by a Trillium grants, as well as a loan from Community Futures.
North America Railway Hall of Fame enters negotiation with OnTrack
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2005
Ownership of the building was turned over to North America Railway Hall of Fame.
First Stawberry Social is held.
First wedding is held.
Late in the year, a part-time Office Manager is hired
First Job Creation participants take up positions in construction and administration.
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2006
A provincial innovation team visited the facility and provided a erport with suggestions for procedures, uses and sources of funding..
Restoration of the windows begins.
Another induction ceremony takes place.
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2007
An Executive Director is put in place.
The HRDC grant was renewed for 2007-2008
Administration staff is hired as a result. Total staff employed; 19
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2008
Another induction ceremony takes place.
September 4, 2008: Rural Economic Development provided funding at a rate of approximately 45% of dollars spent (based on predetermined benchmarks), totalling almost a half million dollars.
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