Under The Bubble

 

This is one of the bubble-like entrances to the Dupont St subway station. Opened in 1978, they certainly look like the 70s to me. The bubble motif even continues down on the platforms with round tiles etc.

Streetcar Art

 

When the streetcar line along St Clair was updated, artists were commissioned to design art for the top edge of each stop. This one called "Scenic Routes" by artist Carlo Cesta was installed at the stop near Avenue Rd. It is said to resemble vines growing along the top. I like it.

Art At The Subway

 

This long mural by First Nation artist Thomas Sinclair was spotted on the Markham St entrance to the Bathurst St station. Apparently each panel references a different indigenous story. It was a pleasant surprise to see it.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world. 

Past Generations of Transportaton

 

One from my archives shows two past generations of streetcars that were on display last fall during the TTC Open House  at the Hillcrest yards. The one on the left still appears during special events while the one on the right was a familiar sight until just a few years ago. The newest streetcars are a lot longer and are articulated.

Spares

 

We all have spare tires for our cars and the TTC has spare wheels for the streetcars. These will be refurbished and used again on the different models of cars.

Ads On The Old Streetcar

 

Even today all or streetcars have ads inside running along above the windows but these ones were from the old Peter Witt streetcar that I showed you last week. I loved that they put up ads suitable to the age of the car itself. It was hard to take interior shots of the car as there were so many people standing in the aisle but you can see from this shot all the wood used. 

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Flexing

 

This is the interior of one of our present day streetcars, the Flexity Outlook, looking towards the driver's location. You can see in the floor how the sections slide against each other to give the flex or bend to the streetcar. I couldn't get anywhere near the front as there were kids totally enjoying themselves pretending to drive.

The Driver

 

This is the driver of the old Peter Witt streetcar that I showed you last Tuesday. The interior of the streetcar was beautiful with wonderful wood used every where as you can see. I like seeing the old fare box.

Our Present Day Streetcars

 

This is one of our present day streetcars, called Flexity Outlook, which first appeared in service in 2014 and now make up the whole fleet. I guess they are called Flexity because they have 5 articulated sections. I remember how excited everyone was when they first started running here.

The CLRV Streetcar

 

These are the streetcars I have traveled on most, the CLRV (Canadian Light Rail Vehicle). These ran here from 1979 to 2019. Since most of the downtown surface routes are serviced by streetcars there were a lot of them. One more model to show you tomorrow.

Streamlined

 

The next model of streetcar to appear on Toronto streets was the streamlined PCC (Presidents Conference Committee) with the first arrivals in 1938. By 1958 there were 744 of this model running in the city with the last one in regular service in 1995. These are the ones I remember from when I was a kid going downtown shopping with my Mum. This one, #4549, is one of two that are still used for special runs and has been here since 1951.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

An Oldie

The Hillcrest yard of the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) celebrated its 100th anniversary this year and recently held an open house. This old Peter Witt streetcar was one of the stars of the show. It was in operation from 1923 until 1965 when it was used the last time in active duty for a retirement ceremony. As part of the open house you could take a 5 minute ride in this streetcar around a loop in the yards which of course I did.
 

October Theme: Transportation

The October theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Transportation and for this one I offer a shot of one of our streetcars as it heads down Bathurst St. Our transit system, the TTC, transports many thousands of people each day and the streetcars are a vital part of that transportation. 

Taking part in the theme Transportation. Click HERE to see more transportation from around the world.

Subway Above Ground

This is one from my archives showing one of our older subway trains running along a section of the route which runs above ground. Although the vast majority of the subway route is underground there are a few sections on each line which emerge into the daylight for a short run. This train was seen along the Yonge St line.

Busy Corner

This is a shot of yesterday's building taken from the diagonal corner. You can see that it is a busy corner with lots of cars and streetcars passing along Dundas St here. All those wires overhead in the intersection are for the streetcars, one of which is approaching the corner. You can see Monday's mural in the background.  

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Urban Flowers

When the updated streetcar line was installed along St Clair Ave artists were commissioned to design images for panels that run along the top of the stops. Some are really nice as is this floral one while some others leave you shaking your head. I don't know who the artist is for this one. 

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Transit Signs

These signs were found displayed along one of the walls in the space that I showed you yesterday at the Wychwood Barns. There was no info that I saw to tell us where they had originally been along our transit system but they may have been signs showing the destination of various bus routes. I quite like them all together like this. 

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Do Not Distract

 When I was at the open house for the TTC (our transit company) they toured us through all the maintenance and refurbishing areas and this particular space contained huge sanders and saws of many different kinds. I loved the Danger sign warning people not to distract the operator. A good one don't you think?

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Bending A Rail

When I visited the open house at the TTC yards a few weeks ago they took us through all the buildings and showed us all of the wonderful machinery they have for keeping out streetcars, buses, and subways rolling. This machine was really fascinating as it used large strong rollers to bend straight streetcar rails  into nice curves for the cars to turn corners. You can see one of the bent ones off to the right.

Going Electric

 This is one of the new models of electric buses that the TTC is slowly bringing into their fleet of vehicles. I like the streamlined look of them.