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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 13h

Those anniversaries were for the Last Spike at Craigellachie, BC in 1985 and the completion of the "Short Line" across Maine in 1989. Locomotive No. 1201 is currently in long-term storage at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, its boiler certificate expired. 3/3

Former Canadian Pacific Railway steam locomotive No. 1201 outside the new Ingenium Conservation Centre in Ottawa, July 2019. Photographer unknown.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 13h

After returning to operation, the locomotive spent the next ten years hauling excursion trains between Ottawa and Wakefield, Quebec. No. 1201 also attended Expo 86 in Vancouver and participated in two Canadian Pacific centennial celebrations during the 1980s. 2/3

Former Canadian Pacific Railway steam locomotive No. 1201 pulls a three-car excursion train through the Canadian Rockies in 1985 or 1986. Photo by Doug Cummings.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 13h

Oct 14, 1990: former Canadian Pacific Railway 4-6-2 steam locomotive No. 1201 is retired after an excursion between Ottawa and Hawkesbury, Ontario. Built at CP's Angus Shops in 1944, No. 1201 was withdrawn from service in 1960. It was restored at the John Street roundhouse in 1976. 1/3

Former Canadian Pacific Railway G5a class 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive No. 1201 pulls an excursion train circa 1990. Photo from the collection of Ingenium–Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 1d

Physicist and McGill University professor Ernest Rutherford set up the experiment with the GTR. Rutherford would later go on to win the Nobel Prize for chemistry. In 1923, GTR successor the Canadian National Railway introduced radio to entertain passengers in its first class lounge cars. 2/2

McGill University professor, physicist and future Nobel laureate Ernest Rutherford sitting beside some experimental apparatus in 1905. Photographer unknown, published in 1939 in Rutherford : being the life and letters of the Rt. Hon. Lord Rutherford, O. M.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 1d

Oct 13, 1902: for the first time, wireless signals are transmitted from a moving train. The experimental transmission was made on the Grand Trunk Railway's eastbound "International Limited" between Toronto and Montreal. 1/2

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 2d

Most of the Canada Southern's tracks—which once hosted crack New York Central trains such as the Empire State Express—have since been abandoned. The line's former St. Thomas, ON, shops (now The Elgin County Railway Museum) and station (now the CASO Station event venue) both survive. 2/2

The Elgin County Railway Museum, located in the former Michigan Central Railway locomotive repair shops at St. Thomas, Ontario, as seen circa 2015. Photographer unknown.

The former Canada Southern station in St. Thomas, Ontario, completed in 1873 and now used as an event venue and office space. Photographed by Sean Marshall in 2018.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 2d

Oct 12, 1983: the Canadian Pacific Railway ratifies joint purchase with Canadian National of the Canada Southern Railway from Conrail. The sale would conclude in April 1985. This American-owned line across southern Ontario was built in the 1870s to connect the states of New York and Michigan. 1/2

A pair of Canadian-built Conrail GP9 diesel locomotives leads a short freight train past the former Canada Southern Railway station in St. Thomas, Ontario in July 1983. Photo by Larry Broadbent via RailPictures.Net.

A map showing the lines of the Michigan Central Railroad's Canada Division (the former Canada Southern Railway) in 1917. The main line extends from Fort Erie in the east to Windsor in the West, with branches to Amherstburg, Leamington, Courtright and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 3d

Given its population (148,000 and growing rapidly) and proximity to Toronto, Barrie has had a difficult time keeping passenger trains. A short-lived GO Transit Barrie service ended in 1993 and CN abandoned its Newmarket Sub in 1996. GO trains returned to Barrie South in 2007. 3/3

The GO Transit Barrie South station sign, 2018. Photographer unknown.

The Barrie South GO station platform, 2013. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 3d

Barrie insisted on a branch line and the fight over the "Barrie Switch" would continue until 1865. The by-then-renamed Northern Railway of Canada finally began train service into Barrie fully twelve years after it had reached Allandale. 2/3

The Northern Railway of Canada (formerly the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron) Allandale railway station circa 1870, with the "Barrie switch" curving off to the right. Photo from the Archives of Ontario.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 3d

Oct 11, 1853: the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron Railway is extended from Bradford to Allandale, a mile southwest of Barrie. From Allandale, the OS&H planned on building west to Collingwood, bypassing Barrie, much to the consternation of that town's citizens. 1/3

A map of the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron Railway line as it appeared in December 1854, after opening as far as Collingwood. The line had opened to Allandale, on the south shore of Kempenfelt Bay, opposite Barrie, on October 11, 1853.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 3d

Our monthly feature is the mighty Whitcomb centre cab switcher. “Switchers” or “shunters,” are locomotives used to efficiently relocate railway vehicles across shorter distances. “Number 1,” our 50-ton switcher was manufactured by the Canadian Locomotive Company (CLC) in 1950.

The Toronto Railway Museum's diesel switcher Number 1 in front of the stall 15 doors at the John Street Roundhouse.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 4d

However, the Ontario Heritage Act was not enforceable on the station, which was under federal jurisdiction while owned by the CN and CP railways. Now owned by the city, Union Station is protected both by designation and a conservation easement under the Ontario Heritage Act. 2/2

The Great Hall of Toronto Union Station, 2023. Photographer unknown.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 4d

Oct 10, 1975: the City of Toronto serves formal notice of its intention to designate Toronto Union Station under the Ontario Heritage Act. The designation would have given the building far more protection than National Historic Site designation, which also occurred in 1975. 1/2

The Front Street facade of Toronto Union Station, May 1971. Photo by F. Ellis Wiley, City of Toronto Archives.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 5d

Streetcar service ended on the segment between Dundas and Keele with the opening of the Bloor-Danforth subway in 1966. The line between Keele Station and Jane Loop was abandoned in 1968 with the extension of the Bloor subway to Islington station. 2/2

TTC PCC streetcar No. 4469 stops at the Jane Loop on the evening of February 24, 1966, the last day of full service along the entire Bloor streetcar route before the opening of the Bloor-Danforth Subway line. Photo by Robert Rathke, from the John Knight collection, courtesy of Transit Toronto.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 5d

Oct 9, 1921: the Toronto Transportation Commission extends the Bloor West streetcar line from Runnymede Road to Jane Street. This later became the west end of the cross-town Bloor route, the second busiest streetcar route in the city after Yonge Street. 1/2

TTC streetcar No. 2220 on the Bloor streetcar line just west of Dundas Street, heading westbound to Jane on November 28, 1924. Photo courtesy of the Toronto Transit Commission archival collection.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 5d

Shirts and caps by Canadian clothing company Red Canoe are now available in the TRM Shop at Don Station. Red Canoe produces officially licensed Canadian Pacific merchandise - perfect for a gift, or for yourself.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 6d

Many soldiers on the train had enlisted despite being under military age and they were being sent home at the request of their families. 3/3

A portrait of Hector Bulmer (1900-1964) in uniform as a private in the 169th Overseas Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Bulmer enlisted in January 1916 at the age of 16 when the enlisting officer accepted his word that he was 18 years old in spite of evidence to the contrary. He was discharged in January 1918 and returned to his home in Toronto. Photo from the Imperial War Museums, Lives of the First World War.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 6d

Although there were no amputation cases, several of the returning soldiers had been seriously injured in the war. One corporal, who lived on Bathurst Street, died on the train as it was approaching the city. 2/3

A World War I soldier (probably Canadian) with a penetrating wound of the abdomen, 1917. Library and Archives of Canada collection.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 6d

Oct 8, 1918: three Canadian Pacific Railway trains carrying over 900 First World War combat veterans arrive at North Toronto Station. Thousands of Torontonians were on hand to welcome the veterans—most of whom had been "over the top"—as they arrived home. 1/3

A hospital car for wounded soldiers, Toronto, May 25, 1917. Photo by John Boyd, Library and Archives of Canada collection.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 7d

Oct 7, 1930: the Canadian National Railway opens a new underpass at Gerrard St. East and Carlaw Ave. The girder bridge superstructure carrying the railway was built on a skew, enabling Gerrard to be straightened and eliminating the sharp reverse curves that streetcars had previously negotiated.

The recently completed Gerrard Street subway (underpass) beneath the Canadian National Railway tracks, looking west. Gerrard Street itself had yet to be repaved beneath the subway when this photo was taken on October 8, 1930. City of Toronto Archives photo.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 8d

VIA expected that the refurbishment would cost $200 million, which was half the price of purchasing new passenger cars. As of 2025, much of VIA's stainless steel fleet has now been in service for over 70 years, with some cars being even older. 3/3

VIA Rail stainless steel Budd equipment on the Canadian at Vancouver's Pacific Central Station, 2021. Photo by C.J. Stepney.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 8d

Most of the cars had been built for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1954-55, their stainless steel bodies still structurally sound after 35 years. However, the cars were completely rebuilt from the inside out, which VIA estimated would extend their service life by 15-20 years. 2/3

An view of the stripped interior of one of VIA's Budd stainless steel cars during its refurbishment in 1990. Photographer unknown.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 8d

Oct 6, 1990: VIA Rail begins a two-day display of its refurbished stainless steel passenger car equipment at Toronto Union Station. VIA's marketing department named the exhibition "Of Style & Steel" and the Toronto stop was part of a month long transcontinental tour. 1/3

A long train of VIA Rail's freshly refurbished Budd stainless steel passenger cars approaches the east end of Toronto Union Station on October 2, 1990, in preparation for an exhibit that weekend to show off the upgrades to the cars. Photo by Dick Loek, Toronto Star Archives, Toronto Public Library.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 9d

The first train to travel over a GO Transit route was the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron in 1853. This is now the Barrie Line. The Grand Trunk to Brampton was second in October 1855 (now the Kitchener Line) while the Great Western Railway opened from Toronto to Hamilton (Lakeshore West) in December 1855.

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Toronto Railway Museum @torailwaymuseum.bsky.social · 9d

The train was nowhere near adequate for the hundreds of people who showed up for the occasion, so a fourteen-car train was hastily substituted. After the sod turning ceremony was complete, the Prince and other dignitaries had a champagne luncheon in a tent erected nearby. 2/2

The arrival of Prince Arthur at the ceremony for the turning of the first sod of the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway at Weston, 1869. The train is visible at right, with a ceremonial arch to its left and the tent where the luncheon was held afterwards is at centre-left. Large crowds are gathered all over the site. From a painting by William Armstrong, Wikimedia Commons.

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