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.
On August 15, 1892, the TRC became the second operator of horse-drawn streetcars in the Toronto area to convert to electric trams, the first being the Metropolitan Street Railway which electrified its horsecar line along Yonge Street within the Town of North Toronto on September 1, 1890. (In 1912, the City of Toronto would annex North Toronto.)[1]
History
TRC streetcars on King Street in 1900
In 1891, the 30-year franchise with the Toronto Street Railway (TSR) for horsecar service expired. At the end of the TSR franchise, the city ran the horsecar system for eight months, but ended up granting another 30-year franchise to a private operator, a group involving railway entrepreneur William Mackenzie. The franchise, which involved converting the horsecar system to electric operation, went into effect on September 21, 1891.[2]:11
The TRC made a one-time payment to the city of $1,453,788 for the assets of the TSR, the same amount the city paid for TSR assets when it took over the horsecar system in 1891.[3] Each year, the TRC was required to pay the city $800 per mile of track, plus a percentage of the gross earnings.[4]:16
Fares were: five cents cash for adults, six tickets for twenty-five cents; three cents cash for children with school tickets at ten for twenty-five cents; ten cents cash for night streetcars. The fare entitled the rider to a free transfer between routes.[4]:16
A key requirement of the franchise agreement was that the TRC had to electrify the first line within one year of the beginning of the franchise and the last line within three years. The TRC met this requirement. The first run of an electric car was on August 10, 1892. Car 270 ran from the Frederick Street stables at Front Street, up Church Street, along Bloor Street and Sherbourne Street to Rosedale. The first passenger was a half-sober gentleman who insisted he had the right to board the streetcar at the Metropolitan United Church and pay his fare.[5]
The first electric car ran in scheduled service on Church Street starting August 15, 1892,[6] and the last horse car ran on McCaul Street on August 31, 1894.[4]:16,18
On May 23, 1897, Sunday streetcar service started after city voters gave approval in a referendum earlier that month. This was controversial at the time; churches feared Sunday streetcar service would lead to other activities inappropriate for a Sunday such as sporting events and the sale of alcoholic beverages. The referendum, which had been preceded by two prior unsuccessful attempts, was won by a narrow margin of 0.7 per cent out of 32,000 votes cast.[7]
There came to be problems with interpretation of the franchise terms for the city. A series of annexations, especially in 1908–12, significantly extended the city limits to include such areas as Dovercourt, Earlscourt, East Toronto, Midway (formerly between Toronto and East Toronto), North Toronto, and West Toronto. After many attempts to force the TRC to serve these areas, the city created its own street railway operation, the Toronto Civic Railways to do so, and built several routes.[8]:1,4
The TRC system deteriorated towards the end of the franchise. By 1915, there were complaints of overcrowding due to a shortage of streetcars. In December 1916, a fire destroyed the TRC's King carhouse and 163 motor cars and trailers within it. Repeated court battles did force the TRC to build new cars, but far less than what the city was requesting, and the new cars were of an old design dating from 1906, or 1908 for the newest cars. Streetcars and track were not well maintained, and carhouses and shops were obsolete or deteriorating. The TRC franchise ended on August 31, 1921, and the next day, the Toronto Transportation Commission started operating a system that combined the TRC system with the city-operated Toronto Civic Railways lines. In 1924, the city paid $11,483,500 for the assets of the TRC. The TRC ceased to exist when it was legally dissolved in 1930.[4]:32–33
Track
In 1891, the TRC inherited 109 kilometres (68mi) of horsecar track from its predecessor, the Toronto Street Railway. The TRC learned from the troubled experiences of the Metropolitan Street Railway in North Toronto, which had previously done a horse to electric conversion. Thus, between 1891 and 1894, the TRC replaced all the horsecar track, using heavier rail that could properly support the faster, heavier electric streetcars. The TRC used 69-pound rail on some lightly used lines, and 71-pound rail elsewhere, including all downtown track.[4]:16,18
For parallel tracks on the horsecar system, the distance between the tracks (the devil strip) was 3 feet (910mm);[9]:14 the TRC widened the devil strip to 3feet 10inches (1,170mm). Until 1908, the city prohibited the TRC from making the devil strip wider. Because of the narrow devil strip, later cars were built with a taper to the roof on the passing side, and car bodies were offset to the right by four inches, sitting off-centre on the king pin. The offset allowed a wider car to safely pass another traveling in the opposite direction. From 1903, the TRC built all new track with a devil strip of 5feet 4inches (1,630mm). In 1921, there was still 27 kilometres (17mi) of double track with a narrow devil strip[9]:91 which the successor TTC widened as it replaced old TRC tracks to handle wider equipment.[10]:17
Routes
Routes marked to TTC were operating on September 21, 1921, when the Toronto Railway Company's operations were taken over by the Toronto Transportation Commission.[4]:39–45 Routes marked 1923 by TTC were TRC routes discontinued by the TTC as a result of a major reorganization of routes on July 1, 1923.[9]:25–26
In operation in October 1891 and discontinued prior to December 31, 1891
City-owned tracks
The city built and owned some of the streetcar trackage operated by the TRC. The city-owned, TRC-operated tracks were:[4]:30
Queen Street East between Maclean Avenue and Neville Park Boulevard.
The portion of the Yonge streetcar line between the CPR line and Woodlawn Avenue built in 1916, to replace Metropolitan radial tracks that the city ripped up over a franchise dispute.
A private right-of-way from Bathurst and Front streets through Fort York to the Exhibition Place, built in 1916.
The Ashbridge line in 1917, running south from Queen Street via Don Roadway, then west on Commissioners Street to Charry Street, to serve workers at munitions factories: Unlike other routes at the time, the Ashbridge line had no loops or wyes, and required double-ended streetcars.
Tracks over the Prince Edward Viaduct between Sherbourne Street and Broadview Avenue, in 1918.
By 1909, there were proposals to build subways in competition to the TRC's surface streetcar lines. At this time the city was unhappy with the quality of TRC service and with the TRC's refusal to serve newly annexed areas. The TRC had an exclusive franchise for surface streetcars but competing subways would not violate the franchise.[12]
In 1909, a British syndicate proposed two lines, one under Yonge Street and a second from East Toronto via Queen Street East, Dufferin Street and Dundas Street West to West Toronto. Voters supported this proposal in a referendum during the 1910 election, but also elected a mayor who opposed it. Thus, this proposal died.[12]
By 1912, there was a second city proposal to build three underground routes: streetcar tunnels under Queen and Bloor Streets, and a rapid transit subway along Yonge Street. These routes would have connected with surface streetcar routes and radial railways. The idea died after voters rejected the proposal out of fear of higher taxes.[12]
Roster
TRC single-truck streetcarTRC double-truck streetcarToronto Railway ticket from November 1893
As part of the franchise agreement, the TRC was to build all its streetcars locally. Thus, almost all TRC cars were built in-house at their car shops at Front and Frederick Streets. However, the TRC felt it lacked the capacity to build enough streetcars to convert the horsecar system it inherited to electrical operation by the city-imposed deadline. Thus, the city granted the TRC an exception to purchase ten single-ended, single-truck streetcars from James Crossen-Cobourg Car Works in Cobourg, Ontario in 1893.[4]:16
The TRC streetcars were made of wood over a steel underframe. Cars had a clerestory roof with a destination sign fixed near the front edge of the roof. Seats were wood slat but the TRC provided each with a seating cushion. There was a stove at the front of the car for winter heating. Early streetcars had open platforms; later cars had enclosed vestibules. The rear vestibule could have a single or double rear door. Cars with a double rear door could haul a trailer and had a two-man crew. One-man cars had a treadle-operated single rear door. There was a hook at the rear of each car to hang a baby carriage.[2]:20–24
At first, TRC streetcars had hand brakes, but in 1905, a Torontonian developed an air brake for streetcars. Initially, streetcars did not carry an air compressor; thus, air recharging stations were required along streetcar routes. Later, on-board air compressors were installed.[2]:20–24
After the TRC completed electrification, some horsecars were converted into trailers where one or two would be hauled by a motor car. However, horsecar trailers were found to be unsuited for the higher speed of electric streetcar operation.[3][2]:21
Very early on, in 1894, the TRC decided on single-ended operation. Many of the early streetcars were "open" cars, where there was benches across the width of the car and thus no centre aisle. Passengers had to board on the curb-side of the open car, and for safety, there had to be a barrier along the length of the car on the opposite side. Before the summer of 1893, there were double-ended open cars, which required two men to move the barrier to the other side of the car at the end of the line. Some open cars had one-man crews, requiring a helper to be stationed at the end of the line. Having single-ended cars with loops or wyes saved staff time. Also, both open and closed motor cars could pull one or two trailers; thus, single-ended operation eliminated the time needed to rearrange the consist at the end of the line.[4]:18
Open cars were popular in warm weather. When it rained, there were side curtains that one could unroll from the roof to keep one dry. However, the motorman would stand exposed to wind and rain on the front platform. To handle both warm and colder months, the TSR used the "convertible car" in which the nearside of the car could be removed in the spring, and re-connected in the fall, thus changing from an open car to a closed car. A dangerous feature of open cars was the running board where passengers could stand while the car was in motion. Because of safety concerns, the Railway and Municipal Board banned open cars from the streets on November 22, 1915.[2]:20–24
At the end of its franchise in 1921, the TRC had 830 streetcars on its active roster that the city agreed to accept along with a number of work cars. It also had 18 open motors and 43 open trailers in storage which the city refused to accept due to the 1915 ban on open streetcars.[4]:100 In 1921, the TRC had twelve double-ended streetcars, three double-truck and nine single-truck; all other streetcars were single-ended. Two of the ten Crossan-built, single-truck streetcars survived to 1921. Between 1921 and 1924, the TTC retired 471 of the 830 streetcars the city accepted from the TRC, including the double-ended and Crossan-built streetcars. It retained only 351 single-end, double-track motor cars for longer term use, the last of which were retired in 1951. The TTC did retain one horsecar trailer and a single-ended streetcar from 1892, preserving them as relics ultimately to be given to a museum.[10]:156–157
Roster summaries
The following are summaries of the TRC roster at four points during its franchise:[4]:100
Summary of roster as of January 27, 1897
Type
Closed
Open
Total
Motor cars
177
60
237
Trailers
100
77
177
Total units
237
177
414
Summary of roster as of December 31, 1904
Type
Closed
Open
Total
DT motor cars
91
20
111
ST motor cars
243
195
438
Trailers
73
93
166
Totals
407
308
715
Summary of roster as of August 8, 1907
Type
Closed
Open
Total
Motor cars
401
209
610
Trailers
75
93
168
Totals
476
302
778
Summary of roster as of August 31, 1921
DT motor
ST motor
Trailer
Total
475
234
121
830
Work cars
TTC W-8 and W-4 (ex-TRC construction cars 8 and 4) at Hillcrest, 1965
The TRC had several types of work cars, all built in the TRC car shops. Here is a brief description of some of the types of non-revenue cars the TRC had:[4]:101–108
Construction cars were single-ended, double-truck motorized flat cars with an enclosed operator cab used to deliver rails to carhouses and yards. The TTC inherited four of them (numbers 2, 4, 7, 8) keeping their TRC numbers but prefixing them with a "W-". Today, W-4 is preserved at the Halton County Radial Railway museum.[10]:163
Crane car no. 1, built in 1913, was a flat motor with a cab and a five-ton hoist crane. It supported construction projects. Becoming TTC C-1, the crane car is today at the Halton County Radial Railway museum.[10]:163
Supply car no. 3, built in 1913, delivered motors and wheels between the motor shops and carhouses. It was essentially a flat motor with cab and an open cargo section behind the cab lined with low side walls.
Emergency car no. 5 was a single-truck, box motor, and carried a variety of tools to handle emergency tasks. The TTC retained this car until 1933.
Compressor cars no. 1 and no. 2 were mobile air recharging stations for streetcars before they were equipped with their own on-board air compressors. Both were box motors; no. 1 had a single truck; no. 2 was double-truck. No. 2 had a varied career with the TTC; it was converted into an express freight motor for the Lake Simcoe line in 1927, then as snow plow TP-2 in 1936, then as subway rail maintenance car RT-1 for the Yonge subway.
The TRC's private car was built in 1892 on a single truck car then rebuilt as a double-truck car in 1904. It had 12 chairs, carpeting, window curtains, hardwood trim, and curved windows at the front vestibule. It carried officials for inspections and special events, including trips to Old Woodbine Race Course where the TRC had a streetcar siding into the grounds. From 1912, its use declined with increased use of automobiles. The city reluctantly accepted this car at the end of the TRC franchise, but the TTC stored it unused until it was scrapped in 1931.
Fare box car no. 28, built in 1911, somewhat resembled a passenger car, but had a freight door in the middle. It collected and distributed fare boxes, and delivered tickets and change to the carhouses. The TTC retained this car but replaced it in 1938 with an armoured car.
The TRC built 17 snow sweepers between 1892 and 1918. The TTC inherited all 17 prefixing their TRC numbers with "S-", thus S-1 to S-17. All were scrapped between 1946 and 1948.[10]:166
The TRC built eight sprinkler cars between 1892 and 1909. Sprinklers 1 to 3 had a vertical water tank on a single-truck frame. Sprinklers 4 to 8 had horizontal tanks on a double-track frame. All such cars had operator controls on an open front platform. The TRC had a contract from the city between 1892 and 1915 to flush streets along streetcar lines. In 1915, the city started to use rubber-tire trucks.
Sprinkler car with upright water tank
Crane car no. 1 placing rails at Queen and Bond streets (April 29, 1917)
TTC (ex-TRC) fare box car 28
Ex-TRC snow sweepers
Streetcar sales
Radial car 58 built by TRC in 1906 for T&YRR
The TRC sold a small percentage of the streetcars it built to other operators. The TRC had a subsidiary company, the Convertible Car Company of Toronto, that built cars for systems in Mexico, South America, and Western Canada. Some sales were for used streetcars that had run in Toronto.[4]:109 Here is a partial list of sales:
Between 1897 and 1904, the TRC sold eight batches of double-ended, single-truck streetcars to the Winnipeg Electric Street Railway Company. The sales totalled 38 closed and 4 open cars.[13]:172
The TRC built six new single-ended, double-truck streetcars for the Monterrey Railway, Light & Power Co. in Mexico. These had only a centre door on each side of the car.[14]
In 1907 and 1908, the TRC sold 14 single-truck open cars to Monterrey. These cars were part of a group of 24 cars built in 1894 as doubled-ended cars before the TRC decided on single-ended operation. The Toronto Suburban Railway also bought one of these cars. These were used-car sales.[4]:52
About that time, the Toronto and York Radial Railway, the Toronto Suburban Railway and the Winnipeg Electric Street Railway Company were all affiliated with the owners of the Toronto Railway Company.[10]:9[13]:17 According to a source, the Monterrey Railway, Light & Power Co. was founded in Toronto.[14]
Preservation
The following is a list of preserved TRC passenger and work cars. All except car 327 were built by the TRC, and all were used by the TTC.[10]:156,157,163,164
The brick carhouse was expanded in 1901 towards Richee Avenue and again on the Howard Park side in 1904, with both extensions under iron sheds. In 1914, 144 streetcars and 20 single-truck trailers operated out of Dundas, serving the Dundas, College and Dovercourt routes. Under TTC ownership, Dundas ceased as a division in 1931 and was partly demolished; it was fully demolished after it ceased to be a trailer yard in 1938.
The TRC converted the Toronto Street Railway's King stables into a carhouse which underwent several expansions and modifications up to 1912. In 1904, the carhouse stored 388 of the TRC's 718 streetcars and trailers with space for up to 395 units. The carhouse had 2 storeys; the second floor stored trailers and had a transfer table to access tracks from an elevator. There was a storage yard under sheds on the south side of the carhouse. Tracks were oriented north–south in the carhouse and east–west in the storage yard. The carhouse suffered from fire twice, first in March 1912, destroying the sheds and 145 cars, and again on December 28, 1916, destroying the facility along with 163 passenger and seven work cars. Some storage tracks were relaid but were removed by 1920.[4] Today the condo complex at 45 St. Lawrence Street occupies the site.[16]
Lansdowne Carhouse
Patton & Lansdowne avenues, NW corner
1911
The carhouse had ten storage and two repair tracks accommodating 108 streetcars, plus 12 yard tracks for 132 cars. In 1914, the carhouse hosted 102 double-truck cars, 94 single-truck cars and 18 trailers serving the Belt Line, Bloor, Bathurst, Carlton and Harbord routes. The TTC acquired the facility in 1921,[4] made it a joint trolley bus garage and carhouse in 1947 and ended streetcar storage there in 1967. The facility was abandoned after 1996 and demolished in 2003.[17]
The TRC carhouse faced Roncesvalles Avenue and contained 15 interior tracks with capacity for 75 double-truck cars. In 1907, 12 exterior tracks were added on the north side of the carhouse with capacity for 135 double-truck cars. All tracks were stub tracks oriented east–west. The spacing between tracks was too narrow for larger, modern cars, and the repair facilities were obsolete. In 1923, the TTC demolished the TRC building and constructed a new carhouse building with tracks oriented north–south.
The TRC built the Russell facility as a paint shop with six tracks. The building had an east wing extending to Connaught Avenue, containing offices, a store room and a boiler room. After the King Carhouse burnt down at the end of 1916, Russell was converted into a full carhouse with the paint line using only one carhouse track. Due to cracked foundations, the TTC demolished and rebuilt the carhouse in 1924. The east wing was the only part of the 1913 building that was retained.
Scarboro Beach Carhouse
Queen Street East & Maclean Avenue, SW corner
1920
To partly replace storage tracks at the burnt-out King Carhouse, the TRC built the four-track frame building to handle routine maintenance. Its capacity was 20 single-truck or 16 double-truck streetcars. The TTC chose not to operate the facility. The TRC stored obsolete open cars and trailers there pending disposal. The property was put up for sale in 1928.
Yorkville Carhouse
between Yorkville Avenue & Scollard Street west of Yonge Street
1892
In 1892, the TRC demolished the TSR's Yorkville stables (1861) in order to build a nine-track carhouse holding 44 double-truck streetcars. In 1899, the TRC added a shed along Scollard Avenue to hold 31 double-truck streetcars. Later a 24-car outdoor storage yard was added. The narrow spaces between carhouse tracks became unsuitable for wider, more modern streetcars. In 1922, the TTC closed the carhouse;[10]:31 it was later demolished. Today, a condominium and Townhall Square Park occupy the site.
Shops and work yards
The TRC had several facilities near the intersection of Front and Frederick streets. Many of these facilities were inherited from the Toronto Street Railway (TSR), and the TRC repurposed them for the electric streetcar system. In 1924, the TTC moved some functions from the facilities in this area to the then-new Hillcrest Complex. The following is a list of facilities in the Front and Frederick area:[4]:111–130
Shops and work yards
Facility
Location
Opened
Notes
Car shops
Front & Frederick streets, NW corner
1882
The TRC inherited the three-storey car shop building from the Toronto Street Railway, and upgraded it to handle heavier electric streetcars. The upgrades included a new hoist to move cars between street level and the upper floors. All but ten of the TRC's streetcars were built here. A streetcar track branched into the building from Front Street. In 1924, the building's functions were moved to the Hillcrest Complex, and the building was rented out.
Motor shops
between Frederick and Sherbourne streets, north side of The Esplanade[4]:118
1893
Five tracks passed through the motor shops allowing streetcars to enter southbound from Frederick Street and exit northbound on Sherbourne Street. In 1924, the TTC moved the shops to the Hillcrest Complex. Between 1927 and 1930 the building was used as a freight depot for freight motors from the TTC's Lake Simcoe radial line. The TTC later used the building as a bus garage.
Powerhouse
Front & Frederick streets, SE corner
1888
After 1891, the TRC converted the TSR's Frederick Street stable building into a power plant after reinforcing the structure and installing generators. With power from Niagara in 1907, the plant was put into reserve status; in 1924, the TTC shut it down.[4] Since 1977, the Young People's Theatre has occupied the building.[18]
Stores building
Front Street south side, east side of powerhouse
1883
The TRC repurposed the former TSR Front Street carhouse primarily as a stores building but also for storing and deploying streetcar trailers. A streetcar track branched into the building from Front Street. The TTC vacated the building after its functions were moved to the Hillcrest Complex in 1924.
George Street yard
Front Street East & George Street, SW corner
circa 1903
The yard was on the site of the TSR's George Street stable (built 1881) which burnt down in 1902. The yard was used to store coal for the powerhouse until 1904, and then as a storage area for the Way Department. Into the TTC era, it was also used to store and scrap obsolete streetcars. A streetcar track branched in to the yard from the corner of Front and George.
Front Street yard
Sherbourne Street & Front Street East, NW corner
?
The yard had ten stub tracks all facing Sherbourne Street, and could hold 35 streetcars. Most of the yard was sold in 1925, leaving a strip of land for a TTC loop serving the Sherbourne streetcar route.
Today, only the powerhouse building still stands, now occupied by a theatre. Condominiums occupy most of the former facility sites.
Revenue-generating facilities
Away from downtown, the TRC had a revenue-generating facility:
Revenue-generating facilities
Facility
Location
Opened
Notes
Scarboro Beach Park
Queen Street East and Maclean Avenue
1912
Scarboro Beach Park was an amusement park owned by the TRC, which provided a destination for many streetcar riders. Besides games and rides, the park had a grandstand, a picnic area and a sports field. It closed in 1922.
The Toronto Street Railway (TSR) was the operator of a horse-drawn streetcar system from 1861 to 1891 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its successor, the Toronto Railway Company, inherited the horsecar system and electrified it between 1892 and 1894.
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 line was abandoned by the TTC in 1948.
The Toronto Suburban Railway was a Canadian electric railway operator with local routes in west Toronto, and a radial (interurban) route to Guelph.
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 Metropolitan line in the Toronto area, operated by the Metropolitan Street Railway, 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 Davisville Subway Yard is a rail yard on the Toronto Transit Commission's Yonge subway line. The train maintenance and storage building is referred to as the Davisville Carhouse.
The Toronto streetcar system is a network of nine streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is the busiest light-rail system in North America. The network is concentrated primarily in Downtown Toronto and in proximity to the city's waterfront. Much of the streetcar route network dates from the 19th century. Most of Toronto's streetcar routes operate on street trackage shared with vehicular traffic, and streetcars stop on demand at frequent stops like buses. Since 2019, the network has used low-floor streetcars, making it fully accessible.
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.
The Presidents' Conference Committee Car was a streetcar used by the Toronto Transportation Commission and the Toronto Transit Commission. The PCC streetcar was designed by the Presidents' Conference Committee, a group of transit operators in the United States and Canada.
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 Roncesvalles Carhouse is a storage and maintenance facility for the streetcar network of the Toronto Transit Commission. Located at the northwest corner of the Queensway and Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, west of its downtown core, it is the oldest of the TTC's three active carhouses. The carhouse serves vehicles on routes 501 Queen, 504 King, 505 Dundas, 506 Carlton, 511 Bathurst, and 512 St. Clair.
The Russell Carhouse, located at Queen Street East and Connaught Avenue just east of Greenwood Avenue in Toronto, is the Toronto Transit Commission's second oldest carhouse.
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.
The Toronto Transit Commission operated the Bloor streetcar line along Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue, extending at its longest from Jane Street in the west end of the city to Luttrell Avenue 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.
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.
Public transportation in the Canadian city of Toronto dates back to 1849 with the creation of a horse-drawn stagecoach company. Today, Toronto's mass transit is primarily made up of a system of subways, buses, and streetcars, covering approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) of routes operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and inter-regional commuter rail and bus service provided by GO Transit.
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.
1 2 3 4 5 Partridge, Larry (1983). Mind the Doors, Please! The Story of Toronto and Its Streetcars. Erin, Ontario: The Boston Mills Press. ISBN0-919822-62-2.
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