[...]
The order for ten Swiss CLRV models was cut down to just six in the late 1970s in order to provide the parts needed to build an experimental articulated version of the design. It is because of this that the CLRV fleet number jumps from 4005 to 4010 in sequence. There has never been any CLRVs numbered 4006, 4007, 4008 or 4009. Only one articulated prototype would be built (
ALRV 4900). In the meantime, the new SIG cars started to arrive in 1977 and 1978, with the UTDC cars starting in 1979.
Revenue service began on September 30, 1979 on the
LONG BRANCH route. As deliveries continued, this was followed by
BATHURST (February 29, 1980),
ST. CLAIR (including
EARLSCOURT, which ended up merged into the former route name, April 16, 1980),
KINGSTON ROAD (June 9, 1980),
DOWNTOWNER (August 7, 1980),
QUEEN (January 4, 1981),
KING (July 20, 1981), and finally
DUNDAS and
CARLTON (October 23, 1981).
Teething Problems
The CLRVs' European styling was quite different from the Art Deco subtleties of the PCCs, which came as a bit of a shock to Torontonians. However, they didn't arrive without their teething problems. Passengers complained about the inability to open windows (a design feature to enhance possible future air conditioning, although air conditioning was not installed in the cars ordered) and the seating arrangements (angled front seating in the first six cars was modified to the standard seating style of the remaining cars in 1981). Some Torontonians also didn't like it when the streetcar route names like QUEEN and KING were removed from the front rollsigns, in favour of route numbers like 501 and 504, and some blamed the CLRV's single rollsign design for this change.
As the cars started operating on Toronto's streets, there were further complaints about wheel noise. These vehicles, which had been designed for heavy-duty use on the Scarborough RT (before its conversion to linear induction technology), were undeniably louder, and homeowners near the 501 QUEEN streetcar complained that passing streetcar would shake their homes. This issue was solved by changing the CLRV's Bochum wheels (which contained rubber in compression) to SAB wheels (which contained rubber in shear, as was the case with the PCCs). The Commission also had to tackle the issue of salty slush. During the CLRVs' first winter, the corrosive slush got under the streetcars and into the equipment shorting out components that weren't adequately protected against the elements. Further fears about the couplers snagging pedestrians unlucky enough to be hit by these cars were trumpeted by councillor Edna Shiner, resulting in "safety skirts" nicknamed "Shiner shields" being installed in 1984. The couplers proved to be problematic in any event, and were removed by 1988.
It wasn't long, however, before the mechanical issues were resolved and the cars properly shielded against Toronto's weather. By 1985, the public had gotten used to the new vehicles. They quickly became the face of the TTC's streetcar fleet as PCC retirements began in earnest in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
[...]
CLRV Trivia
- As the CLRV was being designed, some thought was given to fitting the vehicle with a pantograph. CLRV #4000 had a pantograph installed when it was under test by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaftbefore. The pantograph was replaced by a trolley pole before the car was delivered to Toronto. It would be another thirty-five years before pantograph operation was seriously considered, in time for the arrival of the next generation of streetcars, the Flexity LRVs.
- The CLRV continued the TTC's tradition of mounting green bull's eye lights to the top-front of the vehicle, as seen on the Peter Witt and PCC models. Indeed, they mounted two, above the top corners of the destination sign.
- The CLRVs, along with the ALRVs, were equipped with typical streetcar gongs to warn away competing vehicles. These proved inadequate in 1997 when the 510 SPADINA streetcar route opened to a rash of streetcar-motor vehicle accidents. To make the warnings more audible, the gongs were supplemented with horns salvated from M-1 and H-1 class subway cars that were being retired and scrapped. These horns were replaced in 2011 by new electric horns during a rebuild.
- Car 4063 was the first CLRV to be officially retired. Around 2005, the car was stripped down ahead of a possible major overhaul, which would have introduced propulsion and control systems. However, the cost of such an overhaul was not deemed to be a sufficient enough savings compared to buying a new generation of streetcars (which would have been fully accessible). With the car stripped to its frame and no overhaul to be done, the shell was sold for scrap in March 2009 and taken away by Future Enterprises of Hamilton, Ontario.
- On December 27, 2014, TTC bus #7807 ran a red light on Main Street, crossing Danforth Avenue and rammed CLRV 4062 head-on, de-railing the car and causing injuries. Car 4062 was hauled to Hillcrest but, after a few weeks at the facility, was deemed too costly to repair. It was removed from TTC property on a flatbed truck on March 16, 2015, the second CLRVs to be scrapped.[...]
