When I was about 5 or 6 I spent a week with my cousin in Toronto, I remember one day my aunt taking us downtown to Honest Ed's we went on a trolley bus, a streetcar, the subway and then back to there place in a taxi. It was quite the day for a farm kid. Thanks for the great videos.
Wow! That brought back some memories..Thanx! LOL I loved those old Streetcars,Alot of times the lights would flicker and go out for a few seconds when on the road.And they were pretty cozy..And those Trolley buses! Wow how everything has changed ..I miss those days so much.. :)
I think thats what makes Toronto stand out are them old streetcars. I remember those as a kid. In the late 90s when TransLink came into power in Vancouver, first order of business was to scrap the trolley buses. That is until the envirnomentalists stood up screaming. They replaced the aging 40 year old fleet about 3 years ago now to all brand new buses. Some now even 60 foot artics
You know, you're right! The TTC should have it's own museum. The TTC is world class. It would be nice to have the classics running again. I wish the commission would take some of those new T-1 subway cars and paint them as the classic red Glousester cars from 1954. I believe in keeping nostalgia alive.
The trolley buses were fun, the Junction, Ossington, Annette, Bay etc. They did become dislodged more than street cars did though. When in San Francisco riding on a PCC car on the Embaracadero was a bit of a thrill, love those PCCs!
There are 3 PCC Streetcars, and 1 Peter Witt streetcar that are used by the TTC for tours and charters. The Halton County Rail Museum also operate retired TTC vehicles. The only exception are the trolley buses. They're somewhere out to pasture.
That was a great video! Took me back to when I was a kid visiting Toronto! I remember those trolly buses..thought they were so neat! I didn't realize they were all gone! I was in Toronto this spring and noticed New Looks still going! Great buses! We got rid of our last two a couple of years ago....so sad! I loved driving them! Always real warm in the winter! Still have a bunch of Classics though! We have mostly New Flyers and Orion Sixes now.
@ArtStone Car 1074 which was a former Newark, New Jersey car was sent back to a comapny in Pennsylvania to correct mechanical issues with the car. Also they bought about 12 cars from TTC(Toronto Transit Commission)in 1973 to suppliment the PCC cars they had. the old PCCs San Francisco had were also used for parts to keep the Toronto cars running.
Those were the good old days. I worked for TTC for 32.3 years and I started with those trolley buses. They were great and alot were at Lansdowne garage where I worked for 10 years. That was Lansdowne pictured near the end of the video. My best years of my working career were there with alot of great employee friends. Love those buses and the night shift at Lansdowne.
The trolley buses were interesting; they had them running in my neighbourhood as a kid. They sure were a pain in the ass in the winter though...the bus cables would become dislodged if there was too much ice surrounding the overhead wires. Apparently a lot of the old PCC streetcars were exported out to Egypt for use on their transit system. There's an archive photo somewhere of them sitting in a train yard outside Cairo.
@trainmaster500 In this video, the trolleys are on Bay Street. I remember trollies being on Ossington, Lansdowne, Dupont, Mount Pleasant, and an additional route out of Eglinton station.
@johncornish We (Kingston Transit) are down to three classic, one is being used for training, the other two still in regular service. Ten New Flyers are on order.
It's more of a problem for streetcars, especially when the tracks have to be replaced. These things should be well planned, like have extra buses run on parallel streets. The trolleybuses are a little more flexible and can make slight detours.
Ah Toronto the way I remember it. Ashame they got rid of the TTs. But its also hard to believe that the CLRV's are now starting their 4th Decade of service. They still look great even with today's standards.
EXCELLENT film. Am I the only one that finds it odd that the TTC did away with trolley buses, brought in hybrid busses and are now looking to expand light rail. Hybrids and light rail are good, but seems a bit of "the long way round" if you know what I mean!
OMG! This reminds me of when I was little...and there was actually a Spadina bus on Spadina Avenue! Remeber when you could only drive forward into the parking spaces which were all at an angle to the sidewalk...and to get out, you could only reverse?! Remember when Kennedy was the very end of the line with no more trains to take? (Not today with the LRT.) And remember when the whole city shut down on a holiday? It was super quiet on those mornings with no traffic at all in the streets.
@trainmaster500 Bay Street, Ossington, Annette. The last time I rode on a trolley bus in Toronto was 1990. I live in San Francisco and they are still running.
@johncornish Plenty of Classics left here, in Montreal. My division alone has like 30 or 40 of them, still... Being gradually replaced since 1996 by Novabus LFS, which I'm not too crazy of, especially the LFS Artic (a Slinky with engine & drivetrain in the trailer... Very tricky in slippery conditions)... And from what I've been hearing about them (quiet and quick), I would like to see some Orions, here...
I live in tram oasis in Central Evrope. USA and Western Europe deleted trams in 50s 60s. Russia is deleting trams now and my tram system in Prague still lives good. I wish return of tram system to cities all over the world!!! Trams are effecient. No expensive like subway and no small capacity like buses. PCC trams are nice and they are still working in Europe.
i was pretty sure there were only 2 pccs left. I drove one. for a split second. ps, i also believe in keeping nostalgia alive. i personally don't like the ideas for the new street cars. i hate new buses. i hate that clean, sterile, plastic feel.
