At the height of the railway boom, dozens of railway lines snaked their way across Southern Ontario, but there was no direct link between Hamilton, Guelph and Lake Huron until 1912.
In 1910, the South Ontario Pacific company received permission to build the line between Guelph Junction and Hamilton, via Waterdown. The line was leased to the Canadian Pacific Railway for 999 years and two stations were built. The station on Parkside Drive was called Waterdown North, and the other, built on the 9th Concession (Carlisle Road) near Carlisle, was called Flamboro Station.
The two original stations were built according to Canadian Pacific Railway Standards No. 5 Station, but with larger freight room space. On the ground floor there was a waiting room, a ladies' waiting room, office and freight room in the public area, and a kitchen and living room for the station master. Upstairs were four small bedrooms.
The construction of the railway was watched with much excitement and the newspapers continuously printed updates, noting that it was being built from only the finest materials such as the best oak ties and first-class gravel from the pit at Waterdown to ensure a smooth ride.
People young and old frequently walked the rails and investigated progress of the stations and the bridges.
On July 1, 1912, the first train left Guelph at 6:40 a.m., arriving at Hamilton at 8 a.m. The first train from Hamilton left the Hunter Street station at 8:36 a.m. and arrived at Guelph at 9:26 a.m., having also stopped at Waterdown North and Flamboro stations. Both trains carried railway and municipal dignitaries along with the press for this auspicious occasion, and the Guelph baseball team was along for the ride to Hamilton. The train consisted of one passenger coach and a baggage car.
The stations were described as being "handsome little structures so arranged as to be of the most comfort and convenience to the travelling public."’ All along the line people came out to cheer the first train and wave flags. The route through the ravines and escarpment was described as one of the prettiest and most picturesque of the C.P.R. lines.
For over four decades, the train was an important transportation link between Hamilton and Guelph. The schedule of four trains north and five trains south per day was adjusted so that students could take it to school in Waterdown and Hamilton. Farmers took their produce to the Hamilton Farmers Market and many people used it to commute to Hamilton. But eventually automobiles began to replace train travel, and passenger trains on the line stopped in 1955. The Flamboro station at Carlisle was eventually demolished in the 1970s.
Today, it is the site of a hot-box detector and other railway equipment although the outlines of the original station foundation can still be seen.
In 1912 the Waterdown council petitioned the C.P.R. to have a station within Waterdown and the Vance house at the bottom of Board Street eventually became the Waterdown South station. It was destroyed by arson in 1966. The only surviving station on this once busy line is now the office of Opta Minerals Inc. on Parkside Drive.
