Compiled by Peter Coulman and Alan Gryfe
Originally appeared on Alan Gryfe’s Route History Site

QUEEN (1928)

September 28, 1928

Service ends on the MIMICO route of the Toronto & York Radial Railway. Service is suspended so that the line can be double tracked and Lake Shore Road widened and rebuilt.

October 8, 1928

Because of the suspension of service and construction on Lake Shore Road, a temporary bus service is established operating from Humber Loop (an earlier version of the loop located at Jane Street — now today’s South Kingsway) via Lake Shore, Queen Street (today’s Queensway) and Church Street (now Royal York Road) to Van Emery Street. Route is operated by the Toronto Transportation Commission under contract to the Township of Etobicoke and the Village of Mimico.

December 8, 1928

The newly double-tracked streetcar line on Lake Shore Road opens, with grand opening ceremonies including a parade and free rides between Humber Loop and Long Branch Loop (just west of Brown’s Line). Streetcars operate on a new LAKE SHORE route.

The next day, the QUEEN bus is renamed MIMICO.

MIMICO (1928-1963)

December 9, 1928

Service begins on the newly renamed MIMICO route. Service extended south on Church Street (now Royal York Road) from Van Emery to a wye at Albani, one block north of Lake Shore Road.

June 26, 1929

Eastern terminus changed to Queen Street West (now the Queensway) and Lake Shore during normal hours instead of at Humber Loop east of the Humber River at Jane Street (now the South Kingsway). Rush hour route from Humber Loop unchanged.

May 4, 1931

Due to construction of a new Humber River bridge, rush hour service from Humber Loop discontinued. All buses now turn at Queen and Lake Shore.

May 23, 1931

Rush hour service to and from Humber Loop at Jane and Lakeshore resumed, using the radial railway bridge.

July 29, 1931

New Humber Loop opened, on west side of the Humber River at Middle Road (present location of the Queen Elizabeth Way).

July 19, 1940

Due to construction of the Queen Elizabeth Way, service temporarily extended east on Lake Shore to Windemere Loop.

August 17, 1940

With the opening of the Q.E.W. west from the Humber, service resumes to (the third) Humber Loop, although it had been opened to streetcar traffic since July 10th.

July 1, 1954

Toronto Transit Commission operation commences, with the route based at Parkdale garage.

January 4, 1956

Due to the Queensway being closed to vehicular traffic between Park Lawn Road and Grand Avenue for replacement of the Mimico Creek bridge, a split-service operation is put into effect. West section runs from Church and Albani via north on Church and east on the Queensway, looping couterclockwise via north on Woodford Park Road, west on Daniels Street and south on Burma Drive. The east section runs west from Humber Loop along the Queensway and north on Park Lawn, looping counterclockwise via east on Ringley Avenue, north on Francis Avenue and west on Waniska Avenue, operating only between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

January 11, 1956

East section of split service now runs west on the Queensway, north on Park Lawn and west on Lorne Avenue to wye at Bonnyview Drive. This change causes less inconvenience to passengers in connecting to the west section of the route by reducing the distance of the walking connection.

November 2, 1956

Normal through routing resumes.

November 8-16, 1956

Service diverted both ways around the intersection of Church and the Queensway via the Queensway, Dayton Avenue & Sinclair Street, due to street repaving.

November 19, 1956

Service diverted both ways via the north roadway of the Queen Street Extension to Windemere Loop due to construction work on the Queen Street Extension and the fourth Humber Loop.

January 2, 1957

At the southwest end, terminus shifted from the wye at Church and Albani south across Lake Shore Road to a wye at Church and Sussex Drive. Says the operators’ manual: “Vehicles will conduct the wye in one movement from the far-side southbound stop to the nearside northbound stop by turning east onto Sussex and backing south on Church and will lay in at the nearside northbound stop for time.”

March 31, 1957

Assigned route number 55.

April 15, 1957

Service extended east on the Queen Street Extension and south on Ellis Avenue to the new Ellis Loop on the northeast corner of Lake Shore and Ellis, due to the Windemere Loop property being required for Gardiner Expressway construction (per TTC notice No. 996-U).

July 21, 1957

In connection with the continuing construction of the Queen Street Extension and opening of the fourth Humber Loop, Ellis Loop is abandoned. Use of the new Humber Loop (just northwest of the old Loop and the Canadian National Railway tracks) begins on this day (per TTC notice No. 1067-U).

October 14, 1957

55 MIMICO buses cease to wye at Sussex, instead looping counterclockwise via northeast on Lake Shore and west on Lake Crescent (per TTC notice No. 1128-U).

January 1, 1961

Church Street (Mimico), Royal York Road South and Royal York Road North all renamed Royal York Road, from Lake Ontario north to Dixon Road.

September 1, 1963

Service on Royal York Road replaced by new 73 ROYAL YORK bus operating north past the Queensway and by a revised 80 QUEENSWAY bus operating west past Royal York. Route name and number discontinued.

55 Mimico Image Archive

	In 1928, a bus serving the short lived QUEEN route stops for gas. Photo courtesy Pete Coulman and the Toronto Archives.
	In the distance a MIMICO bus approaches old Humber Loop while another (TTC bus 588) pauses in the loop and a Long Branch streetcar (Witt 2328) departs. This June 8, 1942 shot is submitted courtesy Pete Coulman and the TTC Archives.
	TTC Bus Route 711 poses for the camera on May 21, 1946, bearing a MIMICO linen. Photo submitted courtesy Pete Coulman and the TTC Archives.