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Photos and Text by: James Bow
It was a good turnout for the Toronto Transportation Society's Labour Day Weekend PCC charter. Railfans turned out at Dundas and Victoria for the pickup at 10 a.m.
There is nothing like riding on a PCC, and its no surprise that its charters are always so well attended. For one person, however, it was his first trip on a Toronto PCC in forty years. I was privileged enough to meet with Geoffrey Skelsey, a professor visiting from Cambridge, England. I had helped him in writing a rail-related article, and when he came over to Toronto on business, he gave me a call. I advised him that this charter was going on and he met me there.
This was Geoffrey's first streetcar charter. For others, it was their third or fourth for the year. Everybody had a good time. There is something about streetcar charters that bring people together. One never seems to have enough.
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Here, we see PCC 4549 in Charlotte Loop. The highlight of this charter was operation over the new track on Queen's Quay between Spadina and Bathurst. After a quick run to Exhibition and Fleet loops, the car returned to King Street for this shot and then continued on its tour through the rest of the system. |
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PCC 4549 braved the crowds and buses entering the Canadian National Exhibition to make a photo shoot at Dufferin Loop. The CNE gates can be seen in the background. |
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Midway through the charter, we paid a visit to Roncesvalles carhouse where we had a short lunch break. |
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After Roncesvalles, we made a run to Humber, stopping briefly on the Queensway private right-of-way to snap this shot. Notice the reflection in the shelter on the left. |
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After Humber, PCC 4549 ran along Queen Street through Parkdale and south on Shaw, where a brief photo shoot took place beside the old Massey Ferguson factory site. |
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From Shaw Street, we ran along King and up Bathurst for a quick photo stop at Wolseley Loop. |
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After a brief stop at McCaul Street and a jaunt up Bay Street, we made a stop at the venerable Maple Leaf Gardens. |
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From Maple Leaf Gardens, PCC 4549 turned off of College onto Church Street. We ran along Church Street to King. |
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Moving from King onto Parliament, we made a stop just south of Queen. One of the highlights of this charter was the travel time spent on non-revenue streetcar trackage such as this and Church Street. |
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After another photo stop at Broadview Station, PCC 4549 returned to Victoria and Dundas for its final stop. Everybody detrained, having enjoyed themselves thoroughly. This is a last shot of PCC 4549 returning home southbound along Victoria Street. |
Many thanks to the organizers of this charter for an enjoyable run. Good times were had by all.
