Thursday, April 18, 2019

Postscript: Riding the TTC, April 2019

A guy gets on a streetcar in Toronto. OK, this isn't a joke, it's actually the topic of this previous post. And it actually happened! But along the way, I took some photos that were not part of my actual day-long trip. Photos worthy of a postscript post. And that actually happened, too! Looking across nathan Phillips square from the Doubletree Hotel, I could zoom in on Flexity (top photo) and CLRV streetcars on the Queen route.
It looks like a bus under an overpass somewhere in Russia, but it's actually a TTC "Bathurst streetcar" in theory. I'm at Exhibition loop (above) and my ride, TTC bus 1139 is about to loop around for boarding. Once I eschewed the Dufferin Loop ride, I was able to get a photo of two Flexity articulated streetcars at the King-Dufferin intersection:
Around she goes, past a former Bank of British North America, under a maze of wires as a TTC bus waits on the curbside:
Boarding the King streetcar, everything seemed black and white:
In the Beaches, this graffiti-ish Not In Service CLRV headed toward the Neville Loop as I noshed on a bagel and warmed up with a Tims coffee:
And another 501 route car posed in front of the Tims, as a shadowy prolific pigeon platoon posed skyward on wires. No Standing. Not Mind the Gap, but mind something that rhymes with gap!
Passing the Russell carhouse, lines of CLRV's and ALRV's:
Up Spadina, this 501 route car posed at an intersection :
My conclusion? Toronto streetcars are such an integral piece of the community fabric in many parts of the city that in any era with any equipment, and a suitable backdrop, it's hard to take a bad streetcar photo!

Running extra...

Who doesn't enjoy a cup of 'Timmies' when trackside, whether in the Beaches or by the bay (Collins Bay, that is). CN No 376 provided the backdrop while I rested and refreshed along Kingston's new railfan walking trail.
The view from the Bayridge Drive overpass, completely unsullied by any CN or VIA activity, is always refreshing, any time of year. The foreground will soon be besmirched by a whack of new homes in the Graceland development that will soon fill this space. Railfans, looking for a railfan-friendly new home?
On June 29, 1955 Dave Stevens photographed CPR 437 lifting new H16-44's 8549-8550 from the Canadian Locomotive Co. here in Kingston. Thanks to Don McQueen for kindly sharing this photo. Last night's Associated Railroaders of Kingston module session discussed modelling the waterfront of Kingston including CLC, Kingston Shipyards (Grant LeDrew!) and this City Hall area. We are learning a lot, planning and modelling!
Happy Easter to all Trackside Treasure readers!
--Eric

2 comments:

Robert Archer said...

Nice tour of Toronto. I always enjoy seeing the city through the eyes of others.
I had to look up the "Doubletree Inn" and found it on Chestnut Street.
Hotels change names frequently today; I think that was a Holiday Inn at one point.
That Tim Hortons has a sign I've not seen out here in the Burbs of Mississauga - Coffee House.
Hmmm....maybe that's a Downtown Hipster thing.

Rob Archer,
Mississauga.

Eric said...

Hi Robert,

Yes, the Doubletree was previously the Metropolitan before being purchased/rebranded, I believe.

Tim Hortons also has another branding in the US - bake shop or something!

Glad you enjoyed the tour of T.O.!
Eric