Toronto Suburban Railway
Encyclopedia
The Toronto Suburban Railway was an electric railway operator with local routes in west Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, and a radial (interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...

) route to Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...

.

History

The railway began in 1894 as Toronto Suburban Street Railway, a merger of the City and Suburban Electric Railway Company and the Davenport Street Railway. In 1900 it changed its name to Toronto Suburban Railway (TSR). It was taken over by Canadian Northern Railway
Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...

 in 1911. Routes inside the city were purchased by the City of Toronto in 1923, which then turned them over to the Toronto Transportation Commission
Toronto Transportation Commission
Before 1954, the Toronto Transit Commission was called the Toronto Transportation Commission.-History:Toronto's first public transportation company was the Williams Omnibus Bus Line and owned by undertaker Burt Williams. The franchise carried passengers in horse-drawn stagecoaches along Yonge...

. Outside the city, the Guelph line and the Woodbridge extension to the Weston Road line were abandoned early. The TTC did upgrade the city routes, and operated Lambton Weston and Davenport lines for some years, connecting them with the St.Clair and Dundas routes.

A small part of the Guelph line's right-of-way is operated as the Halton County Radial Railway
Halton County Radial Railway
The Halton County Radial Railway is a working museum of electric streetcars, other railway vehicles, trolleybusses and buses. It is operated by the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association...

 museum. Much of the right-of-way between Limehouse
Limehouse, Ontario
Limehouse is a community in the Town of Halton Hills in southern Ontario, Canada. it has a population of about 800 people and its closest neighbours are Georgetown and Acton. Limehouse has many hills, trails and even a small school.-Limehouse Public School:...

 and Guelph is maintained as the Guelph Hiking Trail.

A power house on Weston Road is now a lumber store and a power house on James Street in Guelph has been converted to residential use.

City

  • Crescent: a short-lived short local route west and south from Keele and Dundas.
  • Davenport: from Keele and Dundas north to St. Clair Aveniue, then east, and along Davenport Road to Bathurst Street.
  • Lambton: from Keele and Dundas west on Dundas Street to Lambton.
  • Weston: from Keele and Dundas north to the town of Weston.
  • Woodbridge
    Woodbridge, Ontario
    Woodbridge is a large suburban community in the City of Vaughan, just north of Toronto in Southern Ontario. It was once an independent town before being amalgamated with nearby communities to form the city in 1971. Its traditional downtown core is the Woodbridge Ave...

    : from Keele and Dundas, continuing north beyond Weston to the town of Woodbridge.

Radial

  • Guelph
    Guelph
    Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...

    : from Keele and Dundas (later Keele and St. Clair) to the city of Guelph.

Rolling Stock

Number Built Builder Trucks Type Route Notes
1 DEST city line car 1-17 in service by 1911
2 DEST sweeper
3 known to have existed
4 known to have existed
5 no details
6 no details
7 no details
8 open
9 no details
10 open
11 DEST open
12 DEST closed
13 open
14 known to have existed
15 TRCo DEST LAMBTON
16 spare for CRESCENT or LAMBTON
17 DEST LAMBTON
18 WESTON no details
19 DEDT WESTON
20 WESTON
21 WESTON
22 TRCo DEST CRESCENT
23 CRESCENT
24 1914 Preston DEST DAVENPORT to Canadian National Railways
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

 15702 in 1923; see below
25 DEST DAVENPORT
26 WOODBRIDGE
27 WOODBRIDGE
28 TRCo DEDT COOKSVILLE
29 TRCo DEDT COOKSVILLE
30 DEDT semi-convertible WESTON ex-Tuscaloosa, AL
31 DEDT semi-convertible WESTON ex-Tuscaloosa, AL
32 DEDT semi-convertible ex-Tuscaloosa, AL
33 DEDT semi-convertible WESTON ex-Tuscaloosa, AL
Guelph Radial Cars
101 1915 Preston SEDT centre entrance GUELPH rebuilt to DE in 1924-25
102-103 1915 Preston SEDT centre entrance burnt in storage before delivery
104-106 1915 Preston SEDT centre entrance combine GUELPH rebuilt to DE in 1924-25
107 1924 NS&T DEDT coach GUELPH to NS&T 83 in 1927
108 1926 NS&T DEDT combine GUELPH to M&SC
Montreal and Southern Counties Railway
The Montreal and Southern Counties Railway Company was an interurban streetcar line that ran between Montreal and Granby until 1956. A second branch served the city of Longueuil....

 300 in 1927; rebuilt to snow plow
150-153 DT open-platform trailer GUELPH ex-New York City, 1918; rebuilt with closed platforms
201 TRCo? DEDT express motor GUELPH
250 DEDT express motor GUELPH to Montreal & Southern Counties Railway
Montreal and Southern Counties Railway
The Montreal and Southern Counties Railway Company was an interurban streetcar line that ran between Montreal and Granby until 1956. A second branch served the city of Longueuil....

 305, 1927
251 flat trailer GUELPH
252 DT line car/plow GUELPH to NS&T in 1927; scrapped 1947
300 1926 NS&T DEDT 60-ton box cab locomotive GUELPH to Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern 7 in 1927
Canadian Nitro Products
“1000” c.1916 DEDT flat motor rebuilt from Toronto and York Radial Railway
Toronto and York Radial Railway
The Toronto and York Radial Railway operated radial transit services outside of Toronto. Service began in 1904 with the merger of several operators:* Metropolitan Street Railway...

 flat trailer; originally James Bay Railway flat trailer; to Stanstead Granite Quarries Ltd. (Beebe, PQ) in 1920; scrapped 1940



Abbreviations

Builder
NS&T Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto
Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway
The Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway is a historic Canadian railway that operated in southern Ontario from 1899 to 1959.The NS&T was an interurban electric railway located in the Niagara Peninsula. It was based in St...

Preston Preston Car Company
Preston Car Company
The Preston Car Company was a Canadian manufacturer of streetcars and other railway equipment, founded in 1908. The company was located in the town of Preston, Ontario...

TRCo Toronto Railway Company
Toronto Railway Company
The Toronto Railway Company was the first operator of horseless streetcars in Toronto.Formed by a partnership between James Ross and William Mackenzie, a 30-year franchise was granted in 1891 to modernize transit operations after a previous 30 year franchise that saw horse car service from the...


Trucks
DE double-ednded
DT double trucked
SE single-ended
ST single truck




The one remaining TSR car is number 24. It was built in 1914 by the Preston Car Company
Preston Car Company
The Preston Car Company was a Canadian manufacturer of streetcars and other railway equipment, founded in 1908. The company was located in the town of Preston, Ontario...

, reusing an 1897-vintage Taylor truck. After the TSR was absorbed by the CNR
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

 in 1923, the car was renumbered as CN 15702 and used at Neebing Yard in Fort William, Ontario
Fort William, Ontario
Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...

. It was retired in the 1960s, donated to the Canadian Railway Museum
Canadian Railway Museum
The Canadian Railway Museum Musée Ferrovaire Canadien) is a rail transport museum in Delson/Saint-Constant, Quebec south of Montreal.-Collection:...

, then leased to the Edmonton Radial Railway Society
Edmonton Radial Railway Society
The Edmonton Radial Railway Society operates historic streetcars in Fort Edmonton Park and across the High Level Bridge.-History:Streetcars ran the streets of Edmonton from November 9, 1908 to September 2, 1951, by the Edmonton Radial Railway. In 1964 an old streetcar was restored and showed at...

in 1987.
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