The Toronto Transit Commission operated the Bloor streetcar line along Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue, extending at its longest from Jane Street (Jane Loop) in the west end of the city to Luttrell Avenue (Luttrell Loop) in the east. Both Luttrell and Jane loops at the termini were transfer points between streetcars and suburban bus routes. The line was abandoned in 1966 with the opening of the Bloor-Danforth subway line, except for two stubs of the line abandoned in 1968. [1] [2]
In 1890, the privately owned Toronto Street Railway started a horsecar service on Bloor Street between Sherbourne and Bathurst Streets. In 1891, the Toronto Railway Company (again privately owned) took over the line and extended horsecar service west to Dufferin Street. In 1893, the TRC replaced the horsecars on the route with electric streetcars. In 1894, the Bloor route was further extended west to Lansdowne Avenue. [3] : 39
The City-owned Toronto Civic Railways opened its Danforth route from Broadview Avenue to Luttrell Avenue in the east in 1913. Passengers could connect with TRC streetcars running south on Broadview Avenue. [4] : 31–36 In the west end of the city, the TCR opened its own Bloor route from Dundas Street West to Quebec Avenue in 1915, and to Runnymede Road in 1917. Passengers could connect with TRC streetcars running on Dundas Street West. [4] : 38–43
In 1918, the Prince Edward viaduct over the Don Valley was completed, and the TRC's Bloor route was extended east from Sherbourne Street to Broadview Avenue. Unlike most other TRC streetcar routes, the City of Toronto built and owned this extension but had the TRC operate it. [3] : 30, 40 The extension was built on a private right-of-way on the side of the street. [5] : 35 Thus, with the completion of the viaduct, the TRC's Bloor route operated from Broadview Avenue in the east to Lansdowne Avenue in the west. [6] There were no streetcar tracks between Lansdowne Avenue to Dundas Street West, and thus no connection between the TRC's Bloor line and the TCR's Bloor line further to the west. [6]
On September 1, 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission (today's Toronto Transit Commission) took over the TRC and TCR streetcar systems, and would connect the TRC and TCR lines along Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue. [7]
On October 2, 1921, the TTC temporarily joined the TRC's Broadview line (on Broadview Avenue) to the TCR's Danforth line after completion of Luttrell Loop at Danforth and Luttrell Avenues; Peter Witt streetcars ran over the route. [4] : 36 In the west end, the TTC extended the former TCR's Bloor line (renamed to Bloor West by the TTC) from Runnymede Road to Jane Street, opening the new Jane Loop on October 9, 1921. [4] : 36
On July 1, 1923, the TTC created its new Bloor route from Luttrell Loop to Lansdowne Avenue. There were still no streetcar tracks on Bloor Street between Lansdowne Avenue and Dundas Street West. After the completion of two railway underpasses on that section of Bloor Street, the TTC extended the Bloor line west to join with the former TCR Bloor line at Dundas Street West. Starting August 25, 1925, Peter Witt streetcars ran on the Bloor line from Luttrell Loop in the east end to Jane Loop in the west end. [5] : 28 [4] : 42 Between the two end loops, the line was 16 kilometres (10 mi) long, [5] : 50 and was served by Peter Witt trains consisting of a large Peter Witt motor pulling a three-door "Harvey" trailer. [5] : 66
On October 22, 1932, Bloor streetcars started running on new track in the middle of Bloor Street between Sherbourne and Parliament streets replacing side-of-street operation on a private right-of-way. [5] : 35
On October 12, 1938, twelve PCC streetcars were introduced on the Bloor line replacing twelve trailers. By November 5, all trailers had been replaced by PCCs. By December 1, PCCs provided all Bloor line service. [5] : 40
On July 4, 1947, High Park Loop opened on the south side of Bloor Street at High Park Avenue. It was built to provide an off-street terminal for picnic charters to High Park. [5] : 49
On August 24, 1949, four new A7-class (4400-series) PCCs with multiple-unit capability went into service during the rush hours but running as single units. On August 30, the TTC had a one-day test run of PCCs 4408 and 4409 running as an MU-train. [5] : 66 However, there was a delay in further use of MU trains in order to resolve concerns from the union about operating MU trains. [6] : 77
On February 9, 1950, the TTC opened the Hillington Loop at Danforth Carhouse at the corner of Danforth and Hillington avenues. This provided an off-street location to couple and uncouple PCC trains, which would go into service the following month. [5] : 51
March 13, 1950, two-car, multiple-unit PCC trains started running during the rush hours. The first trains used pairs of A7-class PCCs of the 4400-series. [6] : 76–77
On September 12, 1953, the TTC opened the Bedford Loop that circled a building located at the north-west corner of Bloor Street and Bedford Road. Besides becoming the western terminal of the Danforth tripper in 1954, Bedford Loop was available to store streetcars to handle crowds from Varsity Stadium across the street. [5] : 55, 105
On March 30, 1954, the TTC opened the Yonge subway to replace its busiest route, the north–south Yonge streetcar line. [6] : 85 The new Bloor subway station had stairs allowing riders to walk up to a pair of platforms in the middle of Bloor Street, where they could board eastbound or westbound Bloor streetcars. [8]
Also on March 30, 1954, the Danforth tripper was rerouted to run between Hillington Loop (stop: Coxwell Avenue) and Bedford Loop using MU trains. Until the Yonge subway opened, this tripper route had run downtown from Luttrell Loop. [5] : 69 [1]
Besides the Bloor route, other routes shared portions of the Bloor streetcar line.
From July 1, 1923, to July 13, 1951, the King streetcar route (today 504 King) provided rush-hour service along Bloor Street West between Dundas Street West and Jane Loop. The TTC ended this service due to declining ridership. Starting July 16, 1951, all King service turned back at Vincent Loop (until 1966 located opposite today's Dundas West station). [3] : 52, 73–74
From July 8, 1923, to 1954, the Danforth tripper ran from Luttrell Loop along Danforth Avenue and south on Church Street to loop downtown. After the opening of the Yonge subway on March 30, 1954, the tripper ran from Hillington Loop (stop: Coxwell Avenue) to Bedford Loop at Bedford Road. The Danforth tripper was a rush-hour service. [3] : 69 [1]
From December 8, 1945, until the Bloor–Danforth subway opened, the Harbord streetcar route was changed to run along Bloor Street West between Ossington Avenue and Dovercourt Road. [9]
Starting July 1, 1923, the Carlton streetcar (today 506 Carlton) ran along Danforth Avenue between Main Street and its terminal at Luttrell Loop. Then on May 15, 1955, the Carlton streetcar started to use its own loop on Main Street just north of Danforth Avenue in order to relieve streetcar congestion at Luttrell Loop. However, between April 25 and June 13, 1966, the Carlton streetcar temporarily returned to Luttrell Loop during the construction of Main Street subway station and the station's streetcar loop. [10]
A characteristic of the Bloor streetcar line was the use of multiple-unit (MU) PCCs running as two-car trains. By 1949, traffic congestion was making it difficult for streetcar service to stay on schedule using less than 2-minute headways. The idea was that a coupled pair of streetcars could go through an intersection faster than two single streetcars. With trains, two cars at a time could approach an intersection, stop for passengers and then proceed together through the intersection. [5] : 50, 51
Only 175 of the TTC's PCC fleet could be run in trains. In 1949, the TTC had received 100 new MU PCCs (designated class A7) from Canadian Car and Foundry in Fort William using shells made by the St. Louis Car Company. [6] : 76–77 Later in 1952, the TTC purchased 75 PCCs second-hand from the Cleveland Transit System. The TTC added couplers to the 50 ex-CTS cars built by Pullman-Standard (class A11), which were already wired for MU operation. However, the remaining 25 ex-CTS cars (class A12, built by the St. Louis Car Company) were not so wired, and the TTC had to wire them from scratch for MU operation in addition to adding couplers. [6] : 82
MU operation required special adjustment to the overhead to handle the two raised trolley poles on each train. To operate an electric switch at an intersection, the overhead wire at had an NA contact and a lock contact before the switch, and an unlock contact after it. The streetcar operator sent a signal from the console to the NA contact to choose a switch direction different from the default direction (usually straight ahead) and trip the lock contact. The unlock contact automatically resets the switch back to the typical or default direction. The locking and unlocking contacts had to be spaced further apart for trains to avoid derailing the second car at the switch. [6] : 76–77 Only switches on the Bloor line could handle MU-trains; if a diversion was required, the cars had to be uncoupled. [5] : 50, 51
A PCC train required an operator in each of the two cars to separately control the doors on each car. Only the operator of the first car drove the train. [5] : 50, 51
On February 26, 1966, the Bloor-Danforth subway opened, replacing the Bloor streetcar line. In addition to the Bloor and Danforth tripper streetcar routes, the Harbord, Coxwell and Parliament streetcar routes were also abandoned at the same time, and the Fort streetcar route was replaced by a shorter Bathurst route. [6] : 107
However, two temporary streetcar routes were created: the Bloor and Danforth shuttles. By 1966, new streetcar loops had been added at the new Woodbine and Keele subway stations. The Danforth shuttle ran between Woodbine station and Luttrell Loop, and the Bloor shuttle, between Keele station and Jane Loop. [6] : 112 On May 11, 1968, the Bloor-Danforth subway was extended east to Warden station and west to Islington station. With these two subway extensions, the Bloor and Danforth shuttle streetcar routes were abandoned, thus fully ending the Bloor streetcar line. [6] : 116, 119
Keele is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located just north of Bloor Street West on the east side of Keele Street. The station opened in 1966, and was the western terminus of the line until 1968. Wi-Fi service is available at this station.
Broadview is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The entrance to the building is from Broadview Avenue just north of Danforth Avenue.
Woodbine is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station is at the southeast corner of Woodbine Avenue and Strathmore Boulevard, just north of Danforth Avenue.
Toronto Civic Railways (TCR) was a streetcar operator created and owned by the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to serve newly annexed areas of the city that the private operator Toronto Railway Company refused to serve. When the Toronto Railway Company's franchise expired in 1921, its services were combined with those of the Toronto Civic Railways, and are now assumed by the new Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC). The first route of the TCR started operation on December 18, 1912.
The Queen Street subway line was a proposed subway line for the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was one of many subway lines planned for, but has yet to be built by the Toronto Transit Commission.
The history of public transportation in Toronto in Canada dates back to the middle 19th century under many different private companies, organizations and owners, which were all later unified as a single government-run entity during the 1920s.
504 King is an east–west Toronto streetcar route in Ontario, Canada. It serves King Street in Downtown Toronto as well as Broadview Avenue on the east end and Roncesvalles Avenue on the west end of the line. The route consists of two overlapping branches: 504A between Line 2 Bloor–Danforth's Dundas West station and Distillery Loop, and 504B between Broadview station – also on Line 2 – and Dufferin Gate Loop. The two branches overlap on King Street between Dufferin and Sumach streets, both passing St. Andrew station and King station on subway Line 1 Yonge–University.
506 Carlton is a Toronto streetcar route run by the Toronto Transit Commission in Ontario, Canada. It runs from Main Street station on subway Line 2 Bloor–Danforth along Gerrard, Carlton and College Streets to High Park. Despite the route's name, less than 10 percent of its length actually uses Carlton Street.
The Relief Line was a proposed rapid transit line for the Toronto subway system, intended to provide capacity relief to the Yonge segment of Line 1 and Bloor–Yonge station and extend subway service coverage in the city's east end. Several plans for an east–west downtown subway line date back to the early 20th century, most of which ran along Queen Street.
The 505 Dundas is a Toronto streetcar route run by the Toronto Transit Commission in Ontario, Canada. The route is roughly U-shaped running mainly along Dundas Street between Dundas West and Broadview stations several blocks south of the Line 2 Bloor–Danforth subway.
Dufferin Gate Loop, also known as Dufferin Loop, is a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) bus station and turning loop for streetcars near the southern end of Dufferin Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. During the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), the loop becomes a primary access point for visitors entering Exhibition Place via the Dufferin Gates. This west entrance to the CNE can be reached by the Dufferin Street bridges across the Lakeshore West railway corridor and Gardiner Expressway.
In 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) was created to integrate and operate the Toronto streetcar system. It inherited the infrastructure of two separate streetcar operators: the Toronto Railway Company (TRC) and Toronto Civic Railways (TCR). The TTC immediately embarked on a program to connect the TRC and TCR lines into one network. The TTC had to rebuild most of the track to provide a wider devilstrip so that the wider Peter Witt streetcars it was ordering could pass without sideswiping. Between 1938 and 1945, it placed five orders for air-electric PCC streetcars to replace the old, wooden streetcars of the TRC, and to address rising ridership. Between 1947 and 1951, the TTC placed three orders for all-electric PCC cars, with one order equipped with couplers for multiple-unit operation. Between 1950 and 1957, the TTC purchased PCCs from four American cities. By 1957, the TTC had more PCCs than any other city in North America. After the opening of the Bloor–Danforth subway in 1966, the TTC considered terminating all streetcar service in Toronto. However, in 1972, a citizens group led by Jane Jacobs and Steve Munro called "Streetcars for Toronto" persuaded the City to retain streetcar operation. This led to the development of the Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) and its longer, articulated cousin, the Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV), to replace the aging PCC fleet. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) mandated that the next generation of streetcars be wheelchair-accessible. Thus, to replace the CLRVs and ALRVs, Bombardier adapted its low-floor Flexity Outlook model for the TTC to navigate the Toronto streetcar system's tight curves and single-point switches, characteristics set in the 1920s to accommodate Peter Witt streetcars.
Jane Loop was an important Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar turning loop and bus station, prior to the completion of the Bloor Danforth Subway line. The Jane Loop opened on December 31, 1923; it was the western end of Bloor Streetcar line from 1925 to 1968. The loop was at a boundary between two zones in the TTC's zoned fare system. Half a dozen or so buses and trolleybuses terminated at the loop.
The Toronto Railway Company Belt Line was a streetcar route that operated in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The route was created by the Toronto Railway Company in 1891 and taken over by the Toronto Transportation Commission in 1921, which cancelled the route in 1923 as part of its reorganization of streetcar routes.
The Rogers Road streetcar line was a streetcar line that operated mainly within the Township of York from 1924 to 1974. The line was owned by the Township of York Railways, which in turn was owned by its namesake municipality. The Township of York Railways contracted with the Toronto Transportation Commission, later the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), to operate the line.
Various organizations operated streetcars on Parliament street, in Toronto, Ontario. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) discontinued scheduled service on Parliament in 1966, when it opened the Bloor-Danforth subway.
The Harbord streetcar line was an east-west line within the Toronto streetcar system. The route was named after Harbord Street even though only a small portion of the route was along the namesake street. One distinct characteristic of the route was its zip-zag nature, making many 90-degree turns onto the various streets along its route. The route was retired in 1966 when the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) opened the Bloor–Danforth subway line, the city's first east-west subway line.
Toronto-gauge railways are tram and rapid transit lines built to Toronto gauge, a broad gauge of 4 ft 10+7⁄8 in. This is 2+3⁄8 in (60 mm) wider than standard gauge of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in which is by far the most common track gauge in Canada. The gauge is unique to the Greater Toronto Area and is currently used on the Toronto streetcar system and the Toronto subway, both operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. As well, the Halton County Radial Railway, a transport museum, uses the Toronto gauge so its rail line can accommodate its collection of Toronto streetcars and subway trains. Several now-defunct interurban rail systems also once used this gauge.
The St. Clair Carhouse was a streetcar facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located south of St. Clair Avenue on a parcel of land bounded by Wychwood Avenue on the east, Benson Avenue on its north side and Christie Street on the west side. It was opened by the Toronto Civic Railways in 1913, taken over by the Toronto Transportation Commission in 1921 and closed by its successor, the Toronto Transit Commission, in 1998. The carhouse was subsequently transformed into a community centre called the Wychwood Barns.
Starting out at Luttrell Loop at the eastern city limits of Toronto's Danforth Avenue, the Bloor Streetcar picked up passengers deposited by suburban buses stopping at the terminal. There, the car trundled west along Danforth Avenue, across the Prince Edward Viaduct and along Bloor Street to the western city limits at Jane Street. There, cars turned at Jane Loop, another terminal where passengers from west suburban buses disembarked to transfer for the journey east.
Many long-time Torontonians will remember when streetcars--often in the form of so-called M-Us (multiple-units consisting of a pair of coupled PCC streamliners)--would shuttle between the two legendary streetcar loops, Jane on the west and Luttrell on the east. They were usually jammed to the doors. The Jane-Luttrell (or if you were headed in the other direction, Luttrell-Jane) service was introduced in the mid-1920s and remained in its entirety until the Bloor-Danforth subway opened in 1966.
To serve communities at the extremities of both Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue, the city constructed and operated two lines as part of its Civic Railways system. Bloor West operated between Dundas Street West and, ultimately, Runnymede Road; Danforth between Broadview and Luttrell avenues. With the creation of the Toronto Transportation Commission these two "stub" lines were eventually merged into the cross-city route that followed Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue.
In 1938 PCC service began and ran until the E-W subway was opened in 1966.
Media related to Streetcars on Bloor Street, Toronto at Wikimedia Commons