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APTA-2048

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Behind the Scenes at the TTC

I'd like to share some photos of parts of the TTC not ordinarily seen by the public. Thanks to the TTC Tours (a great PR move in my opinion) anyone can view them.

The first set of photos are of the McCowan complex. It was built in 1983 and houses all the equipment for the SRT and some offices.



The carhouse itself where trains are maintained. The TTC made a short presentation here which included explanations of the operation and parts of the SRT.


The storage yard east of the facilty and where the line ends. Just a few metres away from live rails, we had to be very cautious and the TTC staff made sure we stayed clear.


Interior of a car undergoing maintainance.



I'll upload more as time permits.
 
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Great photos. I've always wondered what this complex looks like. It's a unique part of the city's infrastructure which may disappear in the not-so-distant future.
 
Great photos. I've always wondered what this complex looks like. It's a unique part of the city's infrastructure which may disappear in the not-so-distant future.

Thanks. Employees expressed their fondness for the SRT and the facility. One lamented Ford's idea of replacing it with a subway.

The following photos were taken at the TTC's Operations Training Centre in the J. G. Inglis building in the Hillcrest complex during their first tour in 2009.


This room is the main area for misc. training on parts of the vehicles such as destination signs and bike racks. In the corner pictured, is the streetcar training simulator. To the right is a full mock-up of a collector booth complete with turnstyles.


A close-up of the streetcar simulator. Originally there was a screen infront of the operator that played a streetscape to add realism. High-tech at the time, it used Betamax.


Controls just like you'd find on a CLRV.


This area is used to train streetcar operators on the overhead and rails and switches.


This is the cab of the bus simulator located in a seperate room. It is based on the Orion 7 transit bus. A full wrap-around view is provided by three screens with one at the rear showing the interior of the bus. The person running the simulator can control things such as weather conditions and time of day and even start a fight and/or fire on the bus as we were shown. I managed to get the bus to St. Clair West station but scraped the open side against the wall on entry.
 
APTA 2048-Neat TTC "Open House" pics here-I am interested in rail transit and I try to attend these when I can either when they are open to the public or part of a rail enthusiast visit like with the NRHS group I belong to here on LI...LI MIKE
 
APTA 2048-Neat TTC "Open House" pics here-I am interested in rail transit and I try to attend these when I can either when they are open to the public or part of a rail enthusiast visit like with the NRHS group I belong to here on LI...LI MIKE

Thanks, a full list of tour dates is available here. Most of the locations should be quite interestung for you such as Greenwood, McCowan, Russell and Harvey.

Here are two more photos from the McCowan tour:


A shot under an SRT car showing the maintainance pits and the car's characteristic linear induction motor.


This is the area where the trains are cleaned. This train was put on this track to display the interior features of the car like the cab.
 
Greenwood Shop Tour earlier this year:


View of the yard from the north.


This is where they move the cars around with the flat blue and yellow machine inside the shop.


Maintenance area inside the shop.


Garrette chopper controls used on the H5s.


A Hawker car from the 1960s retired from revenue service and used as an asbestos abatement crew car.
 
great pics.... i always love see things with the "behind the scenes pics" ..... pictures or TV shows showing how things are done are cool to see... well done.
 
I have some Photos I took of the construction of the Kennedy Subway/SRT Station.These were scanned from my 35mm slides.
Info about the first photo:
Before the SRT.Looking north from the Eglinton overpass.This was the CNR line now owned by GO for the Stouffville service.
The Powerlines on wooden poles beside the rails were removed and buried behind the houses to the left of the towers to make way for the SRT right of way. To the right of the tracks in the forground,was the former Scarborough Board of Education yard and head office. To the left is the construction materials yard for the Kennedy Stn.
1CNR before SRT.jpg
2SRT Steel Framing.jpg
3SRT Platform Trackway.jpg
4Busway and Platform.jpg
5KissnRide.jpg
 

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  • 2SRT Steel Framing.jpg
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  • 4Busway and Platform.jpg
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  • 5KissnRide.jpg
    5KissnRide.jpg
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I have some Photos I took of the construction of the Kennedy Subway/SRT Station.These were scanned from my 35mm slides.
Info about the first photo:
Before the SRT.Looking north from the Eglinton overpass.This was the CNR line now owned by GO for the Stouffville service.
The Powerlines on wooden poles beside the rails were removed and buried behind the houses to the left of the towers to make way for the SRT right of way. To the right of the tracks in the forground,was the former Scarborough Board of Education yard and head office. To the left is the construction materials yard for the Kennedy Stn.

Great pics. Thanks for sharing!
 

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