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Text and pictures by James Bow.
On Friday, July 21, 2000, dignitaries, railfans, members of the community, and the curious alike gathered for the ceremonies marking the opening of the Queen's Quay 'missing link' between Spadina and Bathurst. While not as elaborate a celebration as the opening of the 510 Spadina streetcar line, the opening still gave the TTC a chance to blow its own horn (literally) and to announce the third new streetcar line to be built in just over ten years.
People began gathering at the Toronto Music Garden on Queens Quay just west of Spadina a little before the scheduled start of 11 a.m. The Toronto news media was out in force, interviewing dignitaries and members of the public, as well as filming the four streetcars which had been selected for the parade. Those streetcars were, in order from back to front, CLRVs 4072 and 4151 and ALRV 4205, led by freshly refurbished and repainted PCC 4549. And, of course, the TTC moose was in attendance.
The ceremony started a few minutes late, but the speeches were short and the ribbon was quickly cut. Then the public were treated to free rides along the line for the next three hours. Even more people turned up for the first day of operation the following Sunday, as the line got off to a very good start.
Below is a selection of photographs from that Friday, and associated commentary.
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Leaving the Spadina streetcar at the foot of Spadina, I found evidence of the ceremony very close by. CLRV 4072 took up the rear of the awaiting streetcar parade. I snapped a shot of it here with the Canada Malting Company silos (a strong symbol of the old industrial harbourfront) in the background. |
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Further up Queen's Quay, 4205 waited to run, all decked out with ribbons. |
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At the head of the parade-to-be was PCC 4549, refurbished and repainted. |
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To entertain visitors, the TTC hired a brass quartet to do a number of jazz numbers until the dignitaries were ready to speak. This band is playing inside the bandstand within the Toronto Music Garden. Proved a perfect venue for the ceremonies. |
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The TTC Honour Guard were out to show the flag. |
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Finally, the requisite speeches began. Norm Gardner and Chairman Rick Ducharme were among those stepping up to the podium. |
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Then, everyone proceeded down to the front of PCC 4549 for the ceremonial ribbon cutting, and then the streetcars were off... |
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PCC 4549 led the charge in the ceremonial first run. Railfans scattered along the route to catch the cars in action. Here, the PCC passes the Portland stop while a railfan snaps a picture. |
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ALRV 4205 was the next to pass the Portland stop. |
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Standing at the loading platform on Queen's Quay, east of Bathurst, I was able to catch PCC 4549 on its first return journey, turning from Bathurst onto Queen's Quay. |
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ALRV 4205 came through the intersection easily, a few minutes later. |
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After taking our sets of first ride pictures, it was time to take our first rides ourselves. So we boarded whatever streetcars we could and rode the line. Most railfans favoured riding on 4549, which did the whole circuit from Union to the Exhibition. We see PCC 4549 at Exhibition loop in this shot, and we also see that some finishing touches are still being put on the line. |
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There were so many railfans on this run that, when the driver stopped to take a break, enough railfans jumped out for a photo shoot to populate a profitable charter. |
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Inside PCC 4549, you can see how the streetcars were decked out in balloons and ribbons to celebrate the opening. It was a great party atmosphere. |
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Finally, around 2 p.m., the party came to a close. PCC 4549 dropped off its passengers at the foot of Spadina and headed into Spadina Loop on its way back to the carhouse. |
Thanks to the organizers of this event for the food and the fun and for a perfectly festive mood with which to celebrate yet another streetcar opening. Here's hoping that more openings will follow.
