See also
- Hydro-Electric Railways was another organization intended to promote radials in Ontario.
- Interurban
- List of defunct Canadian railways
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Reporting mark | CNER |
| Locale | Ontario and Quebec |
| Dates of operation | 1923– |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Canadian National Electric Railways (CNER) was a subsidiary of the Canadian National Railways created to operate a few electric lines. It was formed in November 1923, with headquarters in Toronto. [1]
The CNER inherited the following lines or systems from the Canadian Northern Railway and unified them under one management: [1]
The CNER was closely associated with three railways which Canadian National Railways inherited from the Grand Trunk Railway. These railways never became a corporate part of the CNER: [1]
With the creation of the CNER, CNR president Henry Thornton was enthusiastic to develop Canadian National's own network of electric railways. This followed setbacks that Adam Beck had in promoting an Ontario Hydro radial network with its subsidiary the Hydro-Electric Railways. [2]
Thornton planned to link the unfinished Toronto Eastern Railway to the Toronto Suburban Railway's Guelph line via the Toronto Belt Line Railway running through northern Toronto. [2] There was also another plan to extend the Guelph line from its "temporary" terminal at Keele Street and St. Clair Avenue to downtown via the nearby CNR line. [3] The CNER's Toronto Suburban district never turned a profit, [2] and its abandonment in 1931 was the result of huge deficits from that line. [4]
Yonge–Eglinton is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the intersection of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue. It is central to the area of Midtown Toronto, one of four central business districts outside Downtown Toronto. The City of Toronto defines its boundaries as Briar Hill Avenue to the north, Yonge Street to the east, Frobisher Avenue and a line in that direction west to Elmsthorpe Avenue, then north to Eglinton Avenue, east to Avenue Road and north to Briar Hill.
The Halton County Radial Railway is a working museum of electric streetcars, other railway vehicles, buses and trolleybuses. It is operated by the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association (OERHA). It is focused primarily on the history of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and its predecessor, the Toronto Transportation Commission, Its collection includes PCC, Peter Witt, CLRV and ALRV, and earlier cars from the Toronto streetcar system as well as G-series and M-series Toronto subway cars.
Hoggs Hollow is a residential neighbourhood in North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Don River Valley and centred on the intersection of Yonge Street, York Mills Road, and Wilson Avenue.
The Toronto Railway Company (TRC) was the operator of the streetcar system in Toronto between 1891 and 1921. It electrified the horsecar system it inherited from the Toronto Street Railway, the previous operator of streetcar service in Toronto. The TRC was also a manufacturer of streetcars and rail work vehicles, a few of which were built for other streetcar and radial operators.
The Toronto and York Radial Railway was a transit operator providing services to the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was a subsidiary of the Toronto Railway Company. The company was created by merging four Toronto-area interurban operations. The company was part of the empire of railway entrepreneurs Sir William Mackenzie and Donald Mann which included the Canadian Northern Railway and the parent Toronto Railway Company.
The Toronto Suburban Railway was a Canadian electric railway operator with local routes in west Toronto, and a radial (interurban) route to Guelph.
The Metropolitan Street Railway was the operator of the Metropolitan line in the Toronto area that started out as a local horsecar line and transformed itself into an electric radial line extending to Lake Simcoe, following an old stage coach route. In 1904, the railway was acquired by the Toronto and York Radial Railway (T&YRR) and became the T&YRR Metropolitan Division. In 1922, the City of Toronto acquired the T&YRR and contracted Ontario Hydro to manage the four T&YRR lines including the Metropolitan. In 1927, the TTC took over the operation of the Metropolitan Line to Sutton, and renamed it the Lake Simcoe line. In 1930, the TTC closed the Metropolitan Line but shortly reopened the portion between Glen Echo and Richmond Hill operating it as the North Yonge Railways until 1948.
The North Yonge Railways was a radial railway line operated by the Toronto Transportation Commission from 1930 to 1948 between Glen Echo (Toronto) and Richmond Hill. The line was created by reopening the southern portion of the TTC's Lake Simcoe radial line that had closed in 1930.
The Guelph Transit Commission is a small public transportation agency that operates transit bus services in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1929 after the closure of the Guelph Radial Railway Company streetcar lines, Guelph Transit has grown to comprise over 70 buses serving 28 transit routes.
The Sudbury and Copper Cliff Suburban Electric Railway was a privately-owned electric interurban railway and streetcar system that connected several neighbourhoods in the town of Sudbury, along with what was then the town of Copper Cliff in Ontario, Canada. Incorporated in 1912, the company began revenue passenger service in November 1915. It ultimately grew into a system of three radial lines which joined together in downtown Sudbury. By the late 1940s, however, rail service was being supplemented with diesel buses. Rail service ended in October 1950 and was completely replaced with bus service, which over time evolved into municipal Sudbury Transit and later GOVA services.
Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company was established in August 1892 to provide street railway service to the Upper Beaches district within the City of Toronto, Ontario and to the neighbouring Township of Scarborough. Except for two branches, the line ran as a radial along Kingston Road.
The Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company was incorporated in 1890, and operated the Mimico radial line in the Toronto area. The line started operation in 1892 as a short suburban line that later was extended to Port Credit. In 1904, the railway was acquired by the Toronto and York Radial Railway (T&YRR) and became the T&YRR Mimico Division. In 1922, the City of Toronto acquired the T&YRR and contracted Ontario Hydro to manage the four T&YRR lines including the Mimico line. In 1927, the TTC took over the operation of the Mimico line and extended its service eastward to Roncesvalles Avenue. In 1928, the TTC double-tracked the line from Humber to Long Branch and made that portion part of the Lake Shore streetcar line. The portion beyond Long Branch to Port Credit became the Port Credit line, and continued operation as a single-track radial line until its closure on February 9, 1935.
The Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway was an interurban radial electric railway in the Niagara Peninsula of Southern Ontario, Canada. It operated from 1899 to 1959. It was based in St. Catharines and had lines to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Dalhousie, Niagara Falls, Thorold, Welland and Port Colborne.
The Hamilton, Grimsby and Beamsville Electric Railway (HG&B) was an interurban railway that operated between Hamilton and Vineland in the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. It was incorporated in 1894.
The Toronto Eastern Railway, or Toronto and Eastern Railway, is a noted "ghost railroad" in southern Ontario, Canada. It was part of William Mackenzie's ambitious plan to provide high-speed electric "interurban" service throughout the district that first appeared in 1910; however, those plans fell afoul of World War I and, later, political manoeuvres.
The Schomberg and Aurora Railway was a 36 km long railway in Ontario, Canada, running from the town of Schomberg to Oak Ridges, just south of Aurora. It connected Schomberg to the Metropolitan Line of the Toronto and York Radial Railway (T&YRR) tram service running along Yonge Street, and from there into the Toronto city proper. The service ran for 25 years between 1902 and 1927; the rails were pulled up shortly thereafter.
Beginning operation in 1861, the Yonge streetcar line was the first streetcar line in Toronto and the first in Canada. It started off as a horsecar line and closed in 1954 operating two-unit trains of Peter Witt motors pulling a trailer. Under the Toronto Transportation Commission, the Yonge line was the busiest and most congested streetcar line in the city leading to its replacement in 1954 by the Yonge Subway line, also Toronto's first and the first in Canada.
Hydro-Electric Railways, a subsidiary of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was an operator of radial railways in the province of Ontario, Canada. Its parent agency, the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, would later evolve into Ontario Hydro and, later, Hydro One.
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.
Chapter 9 - Who Wants to Run the Radials?
Chapter 6 - The Toronto Suburban Railway
Chapter 10 - The End of The Line