Towered
Senior Member
This is exactly the problem. This should be a government supported museum in a transit friendly location.
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- Thread starter drum118
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This is exactly the problem. This should be a government supported museum in a transit friendly location.
tmlittle
Active Member
Thanks for the info, Dan. I'll have to pay them a visit sometime.
I think the people running the museum would be smart if they advertised "shuttle days" or something similar where they pick people up in a van from Acton, Guelph (timed around GO trains now that they are actually running at human hours that far west) or maybe Rockwood and charge a few bucks extra on the tickets. I'd personally find that more attractive than trying to walk an hour each way with no sidewalk, cycling (it seems like an easy ride but transferring from train to bus would be a bit annoying) or withstanding the irony of taking an Uber to a transit museum. I'd consider just cycling from Guelph but taking the bus to Rockwood and cycling on a presumably little used country road seems a better prospect than southeastern Guelph.
There's definitely railway museums out there like the one in Toronto, but I feel like there has always been a strong double standard with interurbans and street railways. Lots of people were very eager to erase any trace that they existed once they had successfully murdered them, so there aren't a ton of museum pieces out there, and a lot of interurban stations are gone as well. The Brant Railway Heritage Society is working to restore the old Mt Pleasant station (not to be confused with Mount Pleasant GO, which is in a different Mount Pleasant) and convert it into a local/regional railway museum focused mainly on the Lake Erie and Northern, which ran passengers and freight from Galt to Port Dover via Brantford. Halton has a bunch of LE&N rolling stock as well.
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Steve X
Senior Member
People would be more unhappy that their tax dollars are going towards maintaining some "dumb" old streetcars than actually helping society.
Of course most of us here wouldn't call them dumb useless crap but we don't share the same views as the remaining 90% of the population. Some will support a museum till they learn their tax dollars are funding it. Others? There is Ford Nation crowd...
AlbertHWagstaff
Senior Member
The museum land was purchased by the founding members pooling some of their own money, they were looking for a site to store the two cars they were fortunate to be preserving. The TSR right of way land was available for back taxes, which was pretty much all they could afford at the time. It wasn't like they had the money to buy land in Toronto somewhere but chose a remote rural location over that. As far as I've heard, there were no TSR buildings on the site and the former right of way had to be cleared of growth that had started filling it in since the line closed.
The attendance at the museum on the last Saturday of October during the day was almost 1,200, which was by far the highest attendance day of the whole year and likely in many years, so they aren't having difficulty in getting people out. Definitely a transit-friendly location would be better, but the best one can do is take the GO bus to Rockwood and an Uber/taxi to the museum. If the museum were in an "economically challenged" area (particularly in Quebec), federal government support might be available, but the GTA is far from economically challenged so there's no funding coming anytime soon.
The Ford Nation types wouldn't support funding at all. Denzil Minnan-Wong famously said "not one dollar" would be made available for a Toronto transit museum.
The attendance at the museum on the last Saturday of October during the day was almost 1,200, which was by far the highest attendance day of the whole year and likely in many years, so they aren't having difficulty in getting people out. Definitely a transit-friendly location would be better, but the best one can do is take the GO bus to Rockwood and an Uber/taxi to the museum. If the museum were in an "economically challenged" area (particularly in Quebec), federal government support might be available, but the GTA is far from economically challenged so there's no funding coming anytime soon.
The Ford Nation types wouldn't support funding at all. Denzil Minnan-Wong famously said "not one dollar" would be made available for a Toronto transit museum.
crs1026
Superstar
^I believe there have been various government grants and assistance over the years. Far better that a museum operate as a standalone, than end up on the public dole with the political football games that come with that.
I strongly disagree with the statement that this museum is advertising poorly. I am constantly asked about it by non-enthusiasts. Just about everyone of my age group has taken their grandkids there for a ride. It is found in the important tourist references. Sure, it's not on a transit line, but the location (and the lack of neighbours) has allowed them to grow without constraints. Ask South Simcoe or York Durham what it's like to be surrounded by suburbs.
I have, in a fantasy moment, thought that the Leslie Spit would be a wonderful place for a "satellite" museum right in the city, but that's a lot of money and the Spit isn't for everyone. Too much bird poop!
- Paul
I strongly disagree with the statement that this museum is advertising poorly. I am constantly asked about it by non-enthusiasts. Just about everyone of my age group has taken their grandkids there for a ride. It is found in the important tourist references. Sure, it's not on a transit line, but the location (and the lack of neighbours) has allowed them to grow without constraints. Ask South Simcoe or York Durham what it's like to be surrounded by suburbs.
I have, in a fantasy moment, thought that the Leslie Spit would be a wonderful place for a "satellite" museum right in the city, but that's a lot of money and the Spit isn't for everyone. Too much bird poop!
- Paul
Jonny5
Senior Member
There was to be a museum at a proposed new TTC head office at Yonge and York Mills, but that plan was cancelled because some empty-headers wanted to save $1 today and lacked the basic finance knowledge to know it will cost $20 tomorrow.
WislaHD
Superstar
We could probably support a Museum of Lost Toronto Transit Plans at this point.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Streety McCarface
Senior Member
Video of 4003 being offloaded.
APTA-2048
Senior Member
A bit late, but this light isn’t for passengers. It’s for crew. For example, if a door looks closed, but isn’t properly closed.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
You must have perfect vision and perfect hearing to use public transit, according to you.
Jonny5
Senior Member
The number of 503 buses farting around out of service on York all day is ridiculous.
Amare
Senior Member
There's TTC line management at its best for you. A Grade 5 student could space out serivce more adequately than half of those line management clowns.
Streety McCarface
Senior Member
Halton has now received 4039, which rumour has it will likely be used for spare parts and as a static display.
Richard White
Senior Member
When the 509 was under construction it was not uncommon to have buses layover on Wellington and Adelaide because of the lengthy run times given for construction.