W30-W31 - The TTC's Streetcar Railgrinders - Transit Toronto

Text and pictures by James Bow.

The TTC's Diminishing Streetcar Work Fleet

The TTC used to count amongst its street-railroad vehicles a large fleet of work cars designed to keep the system moving. These included snowsweepers that cleared the tracks and farebox cars that delivered fareboxes to various carhouses and returned the cash to the TTC's central headquarters at Yonge and Front. There were cranes, flatbed cars, and even electric shunter locomotives designed to ferry unpowered Witt trailers along yard tracks.

Over time, the TTC found that these work vehicles did not need to run on the streetcar rails in order to effectively assist the system. Snowsweepers were phased out as the city of Toronto's snow-clearing methods improved; farebox cars were replaced by money trucks, the yard shunters disappeared as the trailers fell into disuse. As the TTC found that various pieces of flanged-wheel equipment could be replaced by rubber tired equivalents, the TTC's work fleet diminished, until it now stands at two. The only piece of work equipment that still must operate on the streetcar tracks, it seems, is the rail grinder. Rail grinders drag bricks or some other heavy, abrasive material overtop the rails to smooth out nicks and bumps in order to ensure a smoother ride for streetcar patrons; a rubber tired vehicle couldn't perform this duty very effectively, could it? Thus, the rail-grinder is the only piece of special equipment that Torontonians see operating on the city's streetcar tracks these days.

W30-W31: The Current Generation

Work cars W30 and W31 provide all of the rail grinding services for the TTC streetcar network. They entered work service in April 1976, replacing car W28, a converted Toronto Civic Railway double-truck Preston, originally purchased in 1915. You can see W28 (I believe it's been restored to its TCR livery) today, at the Halton County Railway Museum. Cars W30 and W31 were converted from PCCs 4631 and 4668 respectively, belonging to a class of PCCs purchased from Cleveland in the mid 1950s. These cars featured couplers for multiple-unit operation (which took place on the Bloor and Queen routes), and are thus the last two multiple-unit capable PCCs on the TTC system.

Among the modifications made to change these cars from passenger equipment to work equipment, the seats were removed, as was the rollsign (replaced with a single sign saying 'Rail Grinding Car'). The small standee windows located near the roof of the car were covered over, but this was a later modification, as a photograph in Larry Partidge's book, Mind the Doors, Please, shows these work cars with their standee windows visible. One of the two cars (I believe it's W31, the rear one) has a set of bricks placed between the wheels on each truck, weighed down in such a way that they scrape against the track; I believe that these bricks can be lifted up when the car isn't grinding. W30, the front car, does the bulk of the pulling, and some photographs show these two cars in operation with the rear car's trolley pole down, suggesting that W31 operates as a dummy that W30 drags along the rails. W31 still has a pole, however, and so may still be a powered vehicle.

These cars are invariably called upon to break in new track after it's been laid down, before other vehicles are brought in along it. It was seen soon after trackwork was relaid on McCaul Street and it was seen prior to the opening of the Harbourfront LRT and the Spadina Streetcar line.

The End

The last rail grinding project took place on March 1999. At the time, the cars were called out to perform work on Queen's Quay and the Bay Street tunnel after renovations had shut down this portion of the Spadina line for six months. Due to engine problems in W-31, rail grinder W-30 was separated from its longtime companion and sent out alone. Ironically, W-31 was the car that contained the grinding bricks -- W-30's duty is to provide braking power. So the trip was of little use -- the long line of CLRVs that followed W-30 did most of the work in smoothing the track.

After that, the cars were stored on the southern tracks in Hillcrest. The opening of the TTC's new track on Queen's Quay between Spadina and Bathurst occurred without a visit from these rail grinders. It was said that the grinding bricks on W-31 now provide only a light scraping, and the cars have to get up to some speed before the grinding becomes effective -- hard to do in today's traffic. In the meantime, there appears to be little need for this equipment. Lighter machinery have been used where streetcar tracks have required grinding, and there hasn't been a call for the heavy equipment to come out and grind a major portion of the system.

In September 2002, the TTC removed the rail grinders from their property, donating them to the Halton County railway museum where they now reside.

	Here's a shot of the cars in operation, breaking in new track on McCaul Street after reconstruction in the summer of 1990. For more on that project, click here.
	I stumbled upon W30 and W31 by accident while visiting Connaught Carhouse on June 28, 1998. The two cars were stored on an active track with a CLRV behind them. The TTC full schedule of track replacement this year may keep these two cars busy.
	This is a shot of the rear of W31, showing the side of both cars. Notice that the standee windows have been covered over; this modification occurred after the cars were pressed into service as rail-grinders, and I'm at a loss as to why the TTC made it.
	George Davidson got inside W-31 for this shot. As you can see, the seats have been torn out, and equipment lies strewn about. If you look closely, you can see the standee windows that have been covered over. Other common PCC features remain in place, including the distinctive lamps.
	The control panel and front end of W-31. Note the sign warning that this car can not be operated on the street alone. Photo by George Davidson.
	Here's a shot of what may be the only set of streetcar couplers on the TTC. Note the gaping holes in the CLRVs at the top of the shot; these cars had their couplers removed in the late 1980s.
	Another shot of the two cars, highlighting the distinctive paint scheme. Apparently, though, people still try to board this car when it's in operation...
	George Davidson caught this shot of W-30 and W-31 in dead storage at Hillcrest, where they are likely to meet their final fate.
	The front of W-31 at Hillcrest, unobscured by usual front-runner W-30. Photo by George Davidson.
	Another shot of W-31 and the pen that it's in. The two cars are located at the extreme southern end of the TTC's Hillcrest property. Photo by George Davidson.
	A shot of W-30 in what may be its final resting place at Hillcrest. Photo by George Davidson.