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Toronto’s first trolley bus was #20, operating on the ‘Mount Pleasant’ route from 1922-1925. Only four such vehicles existed (20-23) and of these, only one (#23) exists today. It was found on a farm almost 50 years later, and is currently at the Halton County Railroad Museum, awaiting restoration. This photograph is from the Halton County web site and is reprinted with permission. |
See Also
(June 19, 1922 - August 31, 1925) and (November 20, 1977 - December 28, 1991)
The history of Mount Pleasant’s trolley buses begins on June 19, 1922, when wires were strung along Merton Street west from Yonge and north on Mount Pleasant to Eglinton Avenue and Toronto’s first trolley buses replaced Toronto’s second bus route. At that time, wires were also strung along Eglinton Avenue between Yonge and Mount Pleasant for non-revenue trips to Eglinton carhouse, where the vehicles were stored. No loops were provided, and buses had to wye at both ends of the line. Given that the line was barely a mile and a quarter long, this must have been a tedious job for the drivers.
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This map, by C.H. Prentice (69) and Ray Corley, illustrates the route and the full history of Toronto’s first trolley bus route. Click on the thumbnail below to see the full map. |
By all accounts, the route was well travelled. Indeed, traffic increased so much that the TTC decided to extend the St. Clair streetcar east on St. Clair and north on Mount Pleasant to Eglinton. The experimental trolley bus line fell on August 31, 1925. It seems only fitting that the 1970’s 74 Mount Pleasant trolley bus ended up replacing that same streetcar extension.
It wasn’t what the TTC intended, though. In 1975, the TTC broke off the portion of the St Clair streetcar east of St Clair station and operated it as a separate streetcar route. It was committed to maintain streetcar service on Mount Pleasant Avenue, but its decision was effectively vetoed by the Metro Roads Department when the time came to replace bridges along Mount Pleasant Avenue. Residents wanting quiet transit service got that in the form of trolley buses.
There were no short turn loops on this route, and no official branches. Streetcars used to be able to turn back at St. Clair and Mount Pleasant (Moore Park Loop) but this loop was abandoned and converted into a parkette. The route itself was converted to diesel bus operation on December 28, 1991 when the Eglinton Garage closed its trolley coach operations, shutting down 74 Mount Pleasant, 61 Nortown West and 103 Nortown East. Service on route 74 was provided by 2 vehicles to maintain 15 minute headways, and this service has dropped in recent years.
The TTC considered amalgamating the 74 Mount Pleasant and the 103 Mount Pleasant North bus services into a single route operating from Davisville Station via Yonge and Merton Street, but decided against the move when residents south of Merton complained about the loss of service. The Merton Street bus would have been an interesting echo of the original trolley bus service.
References
- Corley, Ray F, Trolley Coach CC&F and Flyer Coaches, The Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto (Ontario), January 1987.
- Filey, Mike, The TTC Story: The First Seventy-Five Years, Dundurn Press, Toronto (Ontario) 1996.
