The TTC purchased 745 PCC streetcars in all, making it the largest PCC fleet in North America.[2] Of that, 317 were air-electric (with air-compressor) and 428 all-electric (no air-compressor); 540 ordered new and 205 used (from several U.S. operators abandoning streetcar service). 175 PCCs had couplers for multiple-unit operation, and the TTC used them to assemble 2-car PCC trains.[3] The TTC had only a maximum of 744 PCCs in service because car 4063 was scrapped after it derailed and crashed into Lansdowne Carhouse wall on 20 January 1947.[4][5] Today, only two PCCs remain in Toronto, bearing the original 1951 fleet numbers of 4500 and 4549, for charters and special events.[6]
Most of the PCCs were scrapped, with some becoming stationary structures such as restaurants, shops or farm sheds. Other retired TTC PCC cars were purchased for preservation by other organizations, such as rail museums, a few of which continue to operate Toronto PCCs on their own museum rail lines. Five former Toronto cars continue to operate on the Kenosha Electric Railway, a new heritage streetcar line, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Fleet
The TTC had two broad types of PCCs: air-electric and all-electric. Air-electric PCCs were built until 1945; all-electrics after 1945. Air-electrics used a compressed air system to operate doors and brakes while the all-electrics had no air functions as all its components were electrically operated. The all-electrics had a different styling that usually made them easily distinguishable from air-electrics. A major visual difference was that the all-electrics (except the former Kansas City PCCs, A-14-class) had standee windows, which none of the air-electrics had.[7]
MU-train with a class A-11 (former Cleveland) & A-7 car on the Bloor streetcar line at Bathurst Street in 1965
The TTC ordered 100 air-electrics (A-7-class) with couplers for two-car multiple-unit operation. Later it installed couplers on 75 PCCs purchased second-hand from Cleveland (classes A-11 and A-12). MU-trains operated during the rush hours on the Bloor streetcar line between 1950 and 1966, and on the Queen streetcar line, today's 501 Queen, between the Neville and Humber loops, from 1967 to early 1977.[8][9] The theory was that a two-car train could load/unload at a stop and pass through an intersection as fast as a single car. In 1960, there were 55 PCC-trains operating on the Bloor line operating on frequencies as little as 129 seconds.[10] Two-car trains could only be run on lines specially prepared for such operation. Trains had two trolley poles contacting the overhead; thus, necessary-action contacts on the overhead wire had to be relocated. (NA-contacts relay an operator command to change a track switch setting.)[11]Neville Park Loop on the Queen streetcar line (today 501 Queen) had to be rebuilt to broader radius to handle two-car trains.[12]
New purchases
A-1-class air-electric PCC 4024
The first PCC acquisitions, classes A-1 to A-8, were for new PCCs, with each class representing a separate order to the manufacturer. PCCs ordered new by the TTC were built in Montreal, Quebec by Canadian Car and Foundry under license from the St. Louis Car Company of St. Louis, Missouri. The car body shells and trucks were fabricated by St. Louis Car Company, and shipped to Canadian Car and Foundry, who then installed the components and completed the cars.[2]
Initially, the first 3 PCC classes were numbered PC-1, PC-2 and PC-3. However, by 1944, they would be renamed to A-1, A-2 and A-3.[13]
The first order for PCCs (class PC-1, later renamed as A-1) was placed in March 1938 for 140 air-electric cars. At this time, this was the largest PCC order placed to date in North America, although it would be surpassed by a later order from Chicago. They replaced 27 wooden former TRC cars and 30 3-door class Q "Harvey" trailers. The new PCCs first went into service on 23 September 1938 along the St. Clair streetcar line (today's 512 St. Clair).[14]
In the fall of 1940, the TTC ordered 50 class PC-2 (later A-2) cars. The PC-2 cars went into service on 24 September 1940 along the King streetcar line (today 504 King). The TTC retired 30 more former TRC cars and another 30 Harvey trailers.[15]
By March 1942, the TTC received its third PCC order (class PC-3, later A-3) of 60 cars. This class had technological improvements over the first two classes such as super-resilient wheels.[16]
A-6-class all-electric PCC 4315
In March 1942, the TTC wanted to order 60 more PCCs. However, due to war-time rationing, it received only 15, arriving in January and February 1944. These class A-4 cars were assigned to the St. Clair Carhouse, and boosted service on existing lines. The final 25 air-electric PCCs that the TTC ordered (class A-5) arrived in 1945. Because of war-time shortages, both class A-4 and A-5 cars had lower quality components for passenger fixtures, that were replaced after the war. The A-5 cars permitted the replacement of Peter Witt streetcars on the Dupont streetcar line.[13]
The next three PCC orders came after the war, and were for all-electric PCCs. The TTC wanted to retire its 195 remaining wooden former TRC cars built between 1911 and 1917.[13]
The TTC ordered its first 100 all-electric PCC cars in May 1946. These A-6 cars arrived from December 1947 to the spring of 1948. The new cars were assigned to the Bloor and Carlton (today 506 Carlton) routes displacing their air-electric cars to other routes.[10]
Class A-7 all-electric PCC 4427 equipped with couplers
The next order (to become the A-7 class) were for 100 multiple-unit PCCs to be assigned to the busy Bloor streetcar line. These cars would later be supplemented by second-hand cars from Cleveland (classes A-11 and A-12) fitted with couplers.[10]
The final order the TTC made for new PCC cars was delivered in 1951. There were only 50 cars purchased for class A-8 because by this time new PCCs were much more expensive to buy. The A-8 class was the third last order for new PCCs in North America, with only orders from Boston and San Francisco remaining to be completed.[17] The arrival of the A-8 class provided enough streetcars to retire the last of the wooden, class BB streetcars that the TTC inherited from the Toronto Railway Company in 1921.[18]
Second-hand purchases
In 1951, the TTC still had 348 Peter Witt cars and 105 trailers. Since the Yonge streetcar line used only 70 Peter Witt trailer trains, the opening of the Yonge subway (part of today's Line 1 Yonge–University) in 1954 would in itself not allow the retirement of the remaining Peter Witt fleet. The TTC wished to avoid the high cost of buying new PCCs; thus, it had started to search for second-hand PCCs from U.S. transit operators closing out streetcar operations.[17]
In 1950, the TTC acquired 50 all-electric PCCs (class A-9) and 27 older air-electrics (class A-10) from the Cincinnati Street Railway. Both sets of former Cincinnati cars were built by the St. Louis Car Company.[17] In Cincinnati, these cars all had two trolley poles like for a trolley bus. The TTC removed one of the two poles.[19]
In 1952, the TTC purchased 75 all-electric PCCs from the Cleveland Transit System. Fifty were built by Pullman-Standard becoming class A-11 (dubbed "Cleveland"), and twenty-five by the St. Louis Car Company becoming class A-12 ("Louisville"). Each class had roof housing for fan equipment, a feature which the TTC chose to disable. The housing gave the cars a distinctive appearance, with each class having a distinctively different style of housing.[17] The A-12 former Louisville cars were built for the Louisville Railway Company but were never put into service there. The cars were sold to the Cleveland Transit System as deliveries to Louisville were being made, the last 10 of the 25 "Louisville" cars being shipped directly to Cleveland.[20]
Also in 1952, the TTC purchased 48 all-electric PCCs from the Birmingham Electric Company. These class A-13 ("Birmingham") cars were built by Pullman-Standard.[17] In Birmingham, Alabama, these PCCs had the notoriety of having racially-segregated seating, a practice that ceased with their shipment to Toronto.[21]
Class A-14, St. Louis-built all-electric without standee windows
In 1957, the TTC purchased 30 all-electric PCCs from the Kansas City Public Service Company, and became class A-14 ("Kansas City").[17] These are the only all-electric PCCs not to have standee windows as the president of Kansas City Public Service wanted "none of those little apertures".[22] The A-14 cars supported only one-piece front rollsigns. Because of this, the A-14 cars would show only destinations for the St. Clair and Earlscourt routes (today 512 St. Clair) effectively confining the A-14 cars to the St. Clair streetcar line.[23]
The "Kansas City" PCCs became the TTC's final purchase of second-hand PCC streetcars. At this time, only Mexico City had more second-hand PCCs.[17]
The TTC had to modify all its second-hand PCCs to its standards. The work included:[17]
Adding Necessary Action circuits (an exclusively Toronto feature) to activate track switches.
Removing or sealing (A-14) backup controls.
Removing one of the two poles from the former Cincinnati cars (A-9 & A-10).[19]
Adding treadle-operation to A-9, A-11, A-12 and A-13 cars.
Modifying doors to fold outward, if not so configured.
Adding the green advance light on the roof above the front rollsigns.
Removing ventilation fans from A-11 and A-12 cars.
Adding two couplers each to A-11 and A-12 cars.
By 1958, there were still 132 Peter Witt streetcars in service despite the presence of 744 PCC streetcars. The opening of the University subway extension (part of today's Line 1 Yonge–University) in 1963, and the closure of the Oakwood and Dupont streetcar lines ended Peter Witt operation, making the Toronto streetcar fleet 100% PCC.[17]
Class A-15 and retirement
In the late 1980s, as CLRVs (Canadian Light Rail Vehicle) were replacing the aging PCC fleet, the TTC started to create a new class of PCC cars, the A-15 class, by rebuilding A-8-class cars for use on the then-new Harbourfront streetcar line (part of today's 509 Harbourfront route). The refurbishment program was cancelled in 1991 following an edict by the Metropolitan Toronto government that all future vehicle purchases must be accessible; all 19 PCCs were rebuilt, with the last car outshopped in 1992. However, in 1995, the A-15 class PCCs were retired because the new CLRV fleet could handle the ridership, which had declined by that time.[6]
The class A-15 cars were numbered 4600–4618; however, two cars (4604 and 4605) were painted with their original A-8-class numbers for historical accuracy. Thus, officially they were 4604 and 4605, but publicly they were known as 4500 and 4549, respectively. These two cars were classified as A-15H ("H" for "historical") and were restored as closely as possible to their original condition. These are the only two PCCs remaining in Toronto, and they are used for charters and special events.[6]
Rail grinder trains
W-30 & W-31 rail grinding train at Hillcrest Complex, 1995
The TTC constructed two rail grinder trains from two pairs of PCC cars retired from passenger service. One train was adapted for the subway system and the other was for the streetcar system.
In 1970, the TTC converted two class A-7 PCCs (4446 and 4410) into a subway rail grinder train (renumbering the cars as RT-14 and RT-15). The cars were modified for the third-rail based subway system. The two cars were operated coupled back-to-back, and operators could access either car from within the train. The front two doors were modified so that one door opened at platform level while the other opened closer to the ground. A centre platform-level door was added on the left side of each car. The original centre doors and many of the windows of the former streetcars were blocked off. This train was retired in 1989.[24]
About 1974,[25] the TTC converted two class A-11 PCCs (4631 and 4668) into a streetcar system rail grinder train (renumbering the cars as W-30 and W-31). W-31 had its brake shoes replaced by rail grinding blocks. W-30 pulled the train and provided braking power. The train's last rail grinding job was in 1999; in 2002, the two cars were donated to the Halton County Radial Railway.[26]
As 50 Class PC-2/A-2 PCC's were being delivered, PCCs went into base service on the King route (today's 504 King).[32]
1 May 1941
Base PCC service begins on the Queen route (now the 501 Queen).[32]
3 February 1942
As 60 Class PC-3/A-3 PCC's were being delivered, PCCs went into base service on the Bathurst route (today's 511 Bathurst).[33]
13 January 1944
Fifteen class A-4 PCCs started to arrive. Due to war-time rationing, this was the smallest PCC order.[34]
19 March 1945
The final class A-5 PCCs arrive. Due to war-time rationing, the class had only 25 cars.[35]
1 February 1948
As 100 all-electric Class A-6 PCC's were being delivered, they began service on the Bloor streetcar line displacing air-electric PCCs and class P Peter Witt cars.[36]
24 April 1949
As 100 Class A-7 PCC's were being delivered, they went into service on the Bloor streetcar line ultimately displacing all A-6-class PCCs. Although the A-7-class PCCs had couplers, they were initially operated singlely.[37]
13 March 1950
The first two-car trains went into service on the Bloor route during peak periods using A-7-class PCCs.[38]
15 October 1950
The first of Former Cincinnati cars, class A-10 air-electric 4597, entered service with its first trip being a rail-fan charter.[28]
23 October 1950
The first three class A-9 (former Cincinnati) PCCs (4550, 4551 and 4556) went into service.[28]
31 January 1951
The class A-8 PCCs start to arrive at the Hillcrest Complex. In 1950, the TTC wanted to purchase 100 more cars from CC&F, but balked at the increased price and cut the order to 50 cars. The A-8 deliveries would allow the TTC to retire the last wooden streetcars it had inherited from the Toronto Railway Company in 1921.[18]
28 November 1952
The class A-12 (former Louisville) PCCs purchased from Cleveland went into service led by PCC 4693.[28] These cars in fact never ran in Louisville and 511 to 525 were delivered direct to Cleveland[29]
15 February 1953
PCC 4657, class A-11 former Cleveland, became the first PCC built by Pullman-Standard to go into service in Toronto. At this time, the TTC installed couplers on only two of these: 4627 and 4656 because of a shortage of parts.[28]
28 April 1953
The class A-13 former Birmingham PCCs went into service led by PCC 4729.[28]
29 April 1954
Former Cleveland A-11 and A-12 PCCs retrofitted with couplers for multiple-unit operation were moved from the Hillcrest Complex to Danforth Carhouse.[28]
6 June 1958
The final A-14 former Kansas City streetcar goes into service. On this date, the TTC PCC fleet size was at its maximum size of 744 cars.[28]
28 February 1963
The University subway (part of today's Line 1 Yonge–University) opens, resulting in the closure of the Dupont streetcar route along Bay Street which in turn allowed the retirement of the remaining Peter Witt streetcars. At this point, the TTC streetcar fleet was 100% PCC.[39]
26 February 1966
The Bloor–Danforth subway line (today Line 2 Bloor–Danforth) replaced the busy Bloor streetcar line as well as 4 other streetcar routes. All-electric PCCs that formerly served the Bloor route displaced air-electric streetcars on surviving routes. The TTC retired 225 of its 310 air-electric PCCs.[40]
17 July 1968
The final batch of retired air-electric PCCs were transferred to Toronto harbour for shipment to Alexandria, Egypt. The Alexandria Region General Transport Administration paid $1,500 for each of the 140 cars it received since 1966.[41]
9 June 1969
Class A-1 PCC 4000 (the first Toronto PCC built but the eleventh delivered) was shipped to the Halton County Radial Railway for preservation. This occurred in the midst of a mass PCC scrapping program.[42]
20 February 1972
A-6-class PCC 4362, the first of 173 rebuilt PCCs, made its first run on a railfan trip after being outshopped. The rebuild program, to extend car-life by 5–10 years, would cost $3.1 million and involve 79 A-6, 45 A-7 and 49 A-8-class PCCs.[43]
25 October 1976
The last A-14 (former Kansas City) car in service, PCC 4779, made its last run. Class A-14 was the first group of second-hand PCCs to be fully retired, as these PCCs had been poorly maintained in Kansas City and were a maintenance problem in Toronto.[28]
The PCC fleet consisted of 172 rebuilt and 24 unrebuilt cars for a total of 196 cars.[28]
30 April 1982
The TTC retired A-13-class, former Birmingham PCC 4703. It was the last unrebuilt PCC, and also the last second-hand PCC, in service.[28]
6 March 1986
A-8-class PCC 4512 was sent to the UTDC's facilities in Kingston for conversion into the first A-15-class PCC (4600).[6]
27 February 1989
The TTC decided to repaint all their A-15-class PCCs in their original colours, a project completed on 22 June 1992.[6]
22 May 1990
Nine A-15-class PCCs inaugurate service on the 604 Harbourfront route (later 510 Spadina)[6]
31 May 1991
Class A-7 PCCs 4460 and 4494, the last PCCs outside of the A-15 class, made their last run.[43]
7 December 1995
PCCs made their last run in regular service. The TTC continue to retain PCCs 4500 and 4549 for special occasions. All other A-15-class PCCs were sold off to outside parties for preservation.[6]
Disposals
After their retirement, several of the TTC's PCCs were sold for different purposes.
Continued operation
The following PCC cars were sold to other cities for continued operations:[3][27]
Operator
TTC Class
Car numbers
Note: Car numbers struck through (4XXX) never re-entered service.
Purchased 1968. Originally numbered 901 to 1027, in random order. 24 of the 140 cars never entered service. 28 cars converted to two-car trains in 1975–1975 and renumbered 600–627. 57 cars converted to double-ended three-car trains in 1972–1978 and renumbered 301–357. All withdrawn by 1984. Only confirmed renumbering is TTC 4114 becoming Alexandria 901.[44] A report from 2010, still available via wayback machine, stated all the PCC cars had been scrapped.[45]
Transportes Eléctricos de Tampico, Tampico, Mexico
A-3
4226 4228 4247 4253
A-10
4578 4586 4589 4593 4597 4599
Purchased 1971–1972. System abandoned on 13 December 1974.[46]
Purchased 1978. 4630 never entered service.[50] Retained TTC numbers and couplers. Backup controls added. Retired after arrival of Breda LRVs in 1981.[51]
A pair of enamel murals by Gerald Zeldin entitled Summertime Streetcar are displayed at platform level at Eglinton West station. They depict a stylized PCC car, albeit in Kansas City colours.
Schneider, Fred W. III; Carlson, Stephen P. (1981). PCC The Streetcar That Fought Back. Glendale, California: Interurbans Press. ISBN0-916374-57-2.
Schneider, Fred W. III; Carlson, Stephen P. (1983). PCC from Coast to Coast. Glendale, California: Interurbans Press. p. 235. ISBN0-916374-57-2.
Bromley, John F.; May, Jack (1978) [1973]. Fifty Years of Progressive Transit: A History of the Toronto Transit Commission (2 ed.). New York: Electric Railroaders' Association. LCCN73-84892.
Partridge, Larry (1983). Mind the Doors, Please! The Story of Toronto and Its Streetcars. Erin, Ontario: The Boston Mills Press. ISBN0-919822-62-2.
^"Archived copy"(PDF). tramways.files.wordpress.com. Archived from the original(PDF) on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^Morrison, Allen (2003). "The Tramways of Tampico". Electric Transport in Latin America: Past & Present. Allen Morrison. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
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