A few short clips from GPS Video's "Farewell to the M1s" DVD All footage is Copyright of GPS Video & Ray Neilson You can buy the DVD here www.gpsvideocanada.com/subway/... or at the HCRR
I remember these trains. They had separate throttles for the power and brakes, sort of like the Gloucester trains. I was in high school when they were still in service. Sometimes at rush hour the B-D line would run a mixed consist rush hour train of a M-1, H-2 and H-6. : )
I'm from Australia and the M-1's had retired a few months before I came to Toronto. Even that time I was scared of subway tunnels lol. The subways I know I've ridden on are T1s, H5 and possibly H6 as well 2nd time I went in 2010. Shame that most of the old stuff is gone. T1's are left for another 10 years and I do not like the "Toronto Rockets" at all
These sound like the really old TTC trains, and reminds me of the old TTC H4 trains which got retired nearly a year ago. I remember riding on these old TTC M1 trains back when I was in daycare, somewhere in the mid 1990's, if im not mistaken, these TTC M1 trains were retired from revenue service in the late 1990's when they were replaced with the arrival of the T1 trains around this time or so.
Yes, they did actually. The H1 was built 1964, two years after the M1s but dropped from service 1998, a year before the older M1s. I lked the M1s a lot since they were similar to Boston's MBTA Red Line's 01400-series car, which was built exactly at the same time as the M1s but by Pullman-Standard
Those I missed! I was borrowing a camera off Ray Neilson, the gentleman who made the video you posted. It was a lower quality camera and he didn't end up using the videos in this production. Anyway, I didn't get the chance to film the H-1s before retirement.
Heh, it was awesome. I was born in 79 and was a huge fan of subways since I was about 4 onwards. As a kid, there were so many different kinds running at once. And it was always a treat bc it was a surprise. I consider myself to be super lucky to have experienced the last golden age of the subways in the 80s and early 90s. The Gloucestor really was the most fun to ride (they actually had windows that would open) and lights would flicker. The most fun part was that part heading southbound just before Bloor. The noise, the shaking, and lights going out all at once. But by the 80s, they were getting more rare. Out of all the trains, outside of that, the M1, which still operated until the mid 90s, really had the most unique look and feel. It felt like going into a space ship with the design (, the colour, really round windows and less of them). As a kid, sitting at the front trying to look out the window, the spacing was something like 1/2 - 3/4 of a foot, so it was hard to look out unless you were really on your knees stretched high to look out. The thing I miss about these trains is the sound and shakiness they had. Really fun as a kid. All the different trains had their own character. Even coming into the station, the made a thunderous noise (H5s and H6 also had it). Today, it's all smooth, sleek and you can't sit at the front and look out anymore!
No the H-1s went after the M-1s. Video wasn't as popular back then for transit fanning. I suppose video cameras were alot more expensive and RU-vid wasn't around yet.
Mr Transatlantic Yes they have & they also took the Gloucester unit numbers as well In fact the unit numbers from the Hawker Siddelys & the Flyer D901As have all been taken by the TRs Everytime I ride the TRs I always think of the Hawker Siddelys & the Flyer D901As
Those old trains didn't have any aircon until the H5, those trains that made the buzzing noise. But I remember they also had a funny, musty smell from the aircon. Sometimes there was dripping too, or it was cool inside but still felt humid. Not until the T1s, the aircon was much better.
