Beginning in 1885, Grand Trunk Railway (later CN) "Suburban" service between the Inner and Outer Stations (Kingston City and Kingston Junction in timetable parlance, respectively). The Suburban would arrive or depart from trackage behind the Outer Station, allowing passengers to transfer to mainline trains across the platform. Making ten round trips daily, taking 12 minutes each way, as shown in a GTR timetable from October, 1920 (top photo). A through sleeper to Toronto operated from 1911 to 1929 - passengers were encouraged to board the sleeper early to start their nocturnal inter-city trip in comfort. Usually the Suburban comprised one locomotive, baggage and coach by the 1920’s, though photos of the service have proven elusive.
The demise of the Suburban seems due to the substantially lower number of passengers, concurrent with the advent of automobiles and taxi service (1924 Whig ad - above, and 1927 Whig ad - below).
The expense of dedicated CN crews and equipment to maintain the shuttle service was estimated at $30,000-35,000 annually. At the time, streetcar service linked the Outer Station with downtown, but that too would change with the disastrous March 1, 1930 car-barn fire that overnight switched the city's transit mode from streetcar to bus. Another aspect of the Suburban's discontinuance was ongoing discussions with CN regarding the impending construction of a CN spur to the new terminal grain elevator on Cataraqui Bay, construction of which begun in 1929, and the railway markedly decreasing the amount the city would be asked to pay. The promise of a CN station relocation was never fulfilled.
The last run of the Suburban was on January 4, 1930. The J.P. Hanley ticket agency moved to a more central downtown location. One unexpected benefit was the arrival of mail from the mainline trains 30-45 minutes earlier at the downtown Post Office! The mail was then carried by truck driven by J.D. Morris, leaving the station at once.
Whig clippings chart the downfall and end of the Suburban service:
Published October 22, 1929 - CN asked the city to join in its BRC application for Suburban discontinuance.
Published January 3, 1930 and taking effect two days later:
The following Whig account of the Suburban's last run on Saturday, January 4 was published on January 6, 1930. It gives an interesting breakdown of the number of passengers departing and arriving on intercity trains that day, plus their mode of transit into the city. It also lists running trades employees who operated the Suburban:
The Canadian National Railways suburban train, which has operated between the Outer Station and Kingston City Station since 1885 started its last trip on Saturday afternoon at 5.30 from the city station to make connections with the east-bound inter-city train at 5.45. When it steamed back into the city station at 6.15 on Saturday night it completed forty-five years of faithful service, during which time thousands of passengers had been carried to and from the city and thousands of pounds of baggage and mail have also been transported. With the passing of the Suburban train, Kingston loses something very familiar to it, an institution which has been part of the daily life of the city for as long as most citizens can remember. Only freight and express will be carried on the Suburban train in future and the run will be from the Outer Station to the freight sheds on Wellington street. One train crew will be employed on this but the other crew, which comprises an engineer, conductor, fireman and two brakemen, whose homes have been here, will be forced to go elsewhere on the Canadian National lines.
What has been known as Kingston Junction will be known as Kingston Station and passengers will now depend entirely upon taxi cabs or privately owned cars and on the street car service to get to and from the statton. The street car schedule will not be changed for at present the cars make very satisfactory connection as far as bringing passengers to the city from the day trains. The street railway does not pretend to make close connections with outgoing trains nor any connection with the late night trains.
During the early years of its operation, the Suburban line was thriving one and carried large numbers of passengers to and from the two stations, but of recent years the motor car has cut deeply into its business. At times the Suburban train has carried but one passenger, the taxi cabs and privately-owned cars carrying the great majority of passengers from the Outer Station into the city. The Canadian National claimed a heavy loss by the operation of the Suburban line and the fate of the line figured in the agreements made between the city of Kingston and the Canadian National Railways in negotiations undertaken of late for the erection of a new station in Kingston, the spur line to the elevator and other matters affecting the railway facilities of Kingston. There was a certain amount of sentiment connected with the suburban on its last trip to Kingston Junction on Saturday at 5.30 and many, who had a more or less close connection with it were loathe to see it pass out of existence. A Whig-Standard representative was one of the passengers who made the last round trip on the suburban train and heard nothing else talked of on the train but the last trip, the removal of the train from service, the fate of the travelling public to and from Kingston and several other aspects of the changed condition.
The last Suburban ticket was sold by C. V. Hanley to Clair Devlin of the Whig-Standard staff. The number of the ticket was 00036. Needlees to say, the ticket will be retained by the purchaser as a souvenir.
On its final trip to the Outer Station the Suburban carried eight passengers, six of whom were going on the inter-city train. It is worthy of note that on her return trip to the city, the Suburban carried thirteen passengers. There were forty-nine passengers got off the intercity train for Kingston and of that number thirty-eight took taxis or private cars into the city, the Suburban getting eleven; two of the thirteen on the trip into city had made the trip out to the station. The Suburban train has been operating between Kingston City-Kingston Junction since 1885 and in that year city station was built although Suburban had the been operating for two or three months before the station was erected.
Previous to the time the station was built, the ticket office was situated next to where the Anglo-American Hotel stands now on Ontario Street. The office was in charge of Mr. Thomas Hanley, who was the first Kingston agent of the railway | and in whose family the agency has remained, going to his son, the present agent, J. P. Hanley. Since Mr. J. P. Hanley's illness, nearly two years ago, the office has been in charge of James Hanley, his son, and Cleary V. Hanley, his brother.
At the time the ticket office was on Ontario Street, the train ran into the foot of Johnson Street and the baggage was kept over in a freight shed near the water on the south side of the tracks. As soon as the new station was finished, some two or three months later, however. these conditions were changed and tickets and baggage were handled in the new building. There is an idea in some quarters that the Suburban train ran only to the foot of Brock Street for some time and that the track was later extended to Johnson Street. This idea is exploded however, by a veteran of the railway line, who declares that the line always went to the foot of Johnson Street and in recent years the line was extended to the Collingwood Shipbuilding plant as it was then, now the Kingston Shipbullding Company. Tracks had always run into the Canadian Locomotive Company's plant at the foot of William Street.
First Conductor H. Tucker of Brockville was the first conductor of the Suburban train and Patrick Smith of Kingston was the first engineer on the line. Thomas McDermott, who resides on Garrett Street, is the veteran of the road, and incidentally was on the Suburban's final run. He served as conductor for over forty years, retiring from the service nearly two years ago. James Summerby of Brockville was the second conductor on the Suburban line, succeeding Mr. Tucker. Mr. McDermott, who started on the train as baggageman and held that post for two years, was the next conductor on the line.
It was at this time, when Mr. McDermott went on as conductor, that the late John Doyle, who for many years was Mr. McDermott's partner on the train and who was killed at the Outer Station about two years ago went on the Suburban as baggageman. After Mr. Summerby left the line Mr. Doyle took over the position of conductor on the night train while Mr. McDermott was conductor on the day train. Altogether Mr. Doyle and Mr. McDermott worked together on the Suburban line forty-four years, a truly remarkable length of service together.
Edward Clarke of Brockville was the night conductor on the train during the time that Mr. Tucker was the day conductor. J. A. Wilson, the present conductor, and who was in charge of the last Suburban train on Saturday, succeeded Mr. McDermott as conductor, when the latter was retired. Conductor Davy of Brockville was the man who succeeded the late Mr. Doyle as conductor on the train when he was killed at the Outer Station. [A fatal skull fracture caused by falling from a boxcar on October 25, 1925.] Mr. Wilson's engineer on the last trip was Thomas Hiddelston of Belleville.
James Brown of Belleville was engineer on the train when Mr. MeDermott started as conductor. In the list of engineers who have served on the line are John Myrne of Belleville, Louis Rogers of Belleville and W. J. Logue of Kingston, who was retired a short time ago.
Andrew Kennedy of Belleville, and E. McHardy, who is the veteran engineer on the line. Mr. McHardy, it will be recalled, suffered a broken foot in a smash at the Outer Station some weeks ago.
