Halton County Radial Railway

Halton County Radial Railway
A former TTC streetcar (PCC A-15 #4618) at the museum, now serving as an ice-cream shop.
Established December 1953 (December 1953)
Location 13629 Guelph Line, Milton, Ontario
Type Railway museum / Heritage railway
Website http://www.hcry.org
The sign for the Museum on Guelph Line.
Look for the sign on Guelph Line.

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 (OERHA). It is focused primarily on the history of the Toronto Transit Commission and its predecessor, the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC), with a collection including PCC, and Peter Witt cars, earlier streetcars and Gloucester series and Montreal-built subway cars.

The museum is open to the public, with rides on many of its vehicles. It is located between the villages of Rockwood and Campbellville in Milton, Ontario, Canada, along part of the Toronto Suburban Railway’s former right-of-way. The tracks conform to TTC’s gauge of 4 ft 10 7⁄8 in (1,495 mm), 60 mm (2.36 in) wider than 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge. Vehicles from other systems must be altered to accommodate the tracks, and cars intended for third-rail power must be reconfigured for use with overhead wire. In 1889, electric railway service on routes radiating from Toronto, Ontario began. An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected at the Halton County Radial Railway Museum by the province to commemorate the Radial Railways' role in Ontario's heritage.[1] Museum Peter Witt streetcars can be seen in the 2005 film Cinderella Man on the streets of Toronto to give it a 1930s New York City appearance.[2]

History

The Halton County Radial Railway and the OERHA was formed in 1953 by a group of men who wanted to save Toronto Transit Commission streetcar 1326 from being sent to the scrap yard. After the donation of this streetcar, the dream grew. Land that used to be a part of the Toronto Suburban Railway in Nassagaweya Township was acquired, and subsequently, a number of other street and radial cars were eventually rescued. The museum's grand opening took place in 1972.

Since the beginning, the vision of the HCRR was to inform, educate and inspire the public about the electric railway history of Ontario and Canada. Today, the museum displays and operates a variety of historic streetcars, radial cars and work cars, and maintains a collection of photographs, memorabilia and archival materials. The oldest rail car in the collection dates from the late 1800s.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ontario Plaque
  2. ↑ photo of a streetcar repainted for the film
  3. ↑ "Halton County Radial Railway web site". Halton County Radial Railway web site: About Us. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
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