John Wilkins wrote an excellent trip report regarding the journey that he, Rich Aaron and I took to Toronto and other nearby locations from August 22 to August 27, in connection with a planned charter trip aboard a TTC PCC car and a Canadian LRV (CLRV) organized by the Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys and the Wilmington Chapter of the NRHS. We took this opportunity to also visit Buffalo, Kitchener-Waterloo and Rockwood. In late July I mentioned this trip to them, and also to long-time friend and fellow traction enthusiast Julien Wolfe, and they decided to attend as well.
I have modified John’s document to include my experiences during the times we were apart, as well as adding some commentary. His words, which I have edited, are presented in italics.
John spends much of his summer at his camp in the Adirondacks, but he had medical appointments near his home in Gillette, N.J. prior to our journey, so he and I took the opportunity to travel together in his SUV for the trip north on Thursday, August 22.
Thursday, August 22, Day Zero -
It seems that the older one gets that all things, especially including trips, begin with a doctor’s visit. So did this one. I left the Adirondacks on August 13th and headed to Gillette.
Friday, August 23, Day One - Following an excellent breakfast, i.e. plenty of tasty choices, an intense discussion occurred (weather related of course) with regard to the day’s schedule. The decision was to head to Kitchener since a mostly sunny day was predicted. The city is located about an hour to the west via the Gardiner Expressway and routes 427 and 401. Jack directed us to the south end of the new light rail line at the Fairway Station, in a Shopping Mall of the same name, which is redoing its parking facilities. After winding around the mall, we serendipitously obtained a parking space immediately adjacent to the station platform. Our first step was to ride the line to its northern terminus to get the lay of the land and look for photographic opportunities.
The Ion light rail line, also known as Grand River Transit’s route 301, was inaugurated on June 21, 2019. It is 12 miles long (see map below) and connects the cities of Waterloo (population 105,000) and Kitchener (225,000) within the Region of Waterloo, which encompasses a number of municipal entities including Galt and Cambridge (the latter also a city). With a population of 535,000, the Region of Waterloo is the governing body of the area, handling most of its important services, including police, fire, garbage, health, roads and transit. The community of Galt, in the city of Cambridge, will be served by phase two of the light rail project. GRT is respo
Continued from Part 2 The text from John Wilkins’ report remains in italics.
Saturday, Day Two – This was the day for our charter trolley tour. After another good breakfast, we braved a steady heavy rain using umbrellas kindly supplied by our B&B, and boarded a Queen Street Flexi for our tip to Russell Carhouse, where the charter would begin. The trip was sponsored by the Wilmington NRHS Chapter and the Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys. The proceeds would go towards the restoration of a PTC Perter Witt at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. It was still raining, but more softly when we made our way to the streetcars in the yard. We did not see a PCC, and instead boarded an ALRV. Thus the first bit of news we received was that the advertised PCC car had mechanical problems (a critical part was not available). ALRV 4207 (an articulated CLRV) was substituted and would be accompanied by a CLRV.
Some great photos! There used to be a “head in and back out” turn-around on Lake Shore Blvd east of Royal York and west of the Humber loop but that’s gone. Construction of the Eglinton LRV is proceeding, the tracks are in and the stations are being built. Peope in the area nearby between Yonge St and Mt. Pleasant are getting punchy from the construction, not just from the LRV but also from the condos going up everywhere. Dust, noise and a constant flow of trucks and bulldozers. Glad I don’t live around there.
As far as the Finch line is concerned, all I have seen are trees that are fenced off to protect them but so far, I haven’t seen any shovels in the ground, same as the Hamilton LRV and the one that is supposed to be built in Mississauga.
Continued from part 3. John Wilkins helped in the preparation of this portion of the report.
Sunday, Day Three – Today’s scheduled activity was a visit to the Halton County Radial Railway in Rockwood (Guelph), Ontario. We easily found our way onto the Gardiner Expressway, whose entrance was only a few blocks from our B&B, and then followed highways 427, 401 and finally Guelph Line Road to the museum, roughly a total distance of 50 miles. John made excellent time and the drive took less than an hour, as there was little congestion on the roads. With the sky being overcast we took our time with breakfast, not rushing at all, and didn’t
Continued from part 4. John Wilkins contributed to the preparation of this portion of the report.
Segments 5 and 6 cover our activities on Monday and Tuesday, our last two days in the streetcar capital of North America. This portion contains photos of the CLRVs and Flexities we encountered while forthcoming chapter 6 will include photos of heavier rail equipment operating in the city and its environs.
But first, here is a sample of the photographs we took on Sunday afternoon, as described in part 4.
Above and below: Two scenes on the Queensway, since 1957 the fastest stretch of track in Toronto, as there are few cross streets and thus little interference from automobiles. The upper photo is taken from the Kingsway overpass, while the lower street level view
The 1875 gothic revival structure at Spadina Crescent shown in the photo was totally restored recently. In the first world war it was a hospital. A woman named Amelia Earhart worked there as a nurse and learned to fly in a field that is now the TTC Hillcrest shops on Bathurst street.
When the new streetcars were first in service on Spadina Avenue, there were huge crowds and people on the patforms telling you how the doors worked, how you pushed a button to open the door when the car was at your stop. That system has been abandoned and all doors open at every stop. When the new cars on Spadina first operated, the voice would say, “510 Spadyna to Bloor Subway” going north and going south it would say “Queens Quay and Spadeena.” Funny, that. But it has been changed to say “Spadina” in both directions. On the King and Queen lines, the stop at Niagara Street is announced as “Niama Street.” Can’t figure that out.
54light15-- That’s a good one, thanks for that. For about a year during my years in Toronto I lived on Balliol St.
In one direction they announced Bally-All… in the other it was Baaaal-Oil.
Quite humorous with the locals.
Continued from chapter 5.
This is the last chapter of the report describing my August 2019 trip to Southern Ontario with Rich Aaron and John Wilkins. In addition to the last day’s narrative it contains some photos of the Scarborough ALRT line (now TTC’s route 3) taken on the previous day and of railroad operations is the area. First the Scarborough line:
No. 3020 is at the rear of a typical 4-car train of TTC’s 28 intermediate capacity transit cars. It has just left the Lawrence East station and is en route to the commercial center of what was the borough of Scarborough, now just the Scarborough section of Toronto. This was the first time I saw the attractive blue (Dodger Blue?) livery, which had been recently applied as a wrap to the UTDC-built rolling stock. The fully automated line opened in 1985, but trains have always carried a single crew member, who monitors operations on the linear-induction powered cars.* Equipped with 600-volt
I’ve only ever heard it pronounced “Buh-loyal.”
I’ve always used Bally-All , just a preference, but it’s quite a topic among the folks in the area.