Toronto-gauge railways
Several now-defunct interurban rail systems (called radial railways in southern Ontario)[1]: 7 also once used this gauge.
The Halton County Radial Railway, a transport museum is located on one of the former interurban lines and uses the Toronto gauge.
It also created the broad Toronto gauge to allow horse-drawn wagons and carriages to use the inside of the rail for a smoother ride through muddy, unpaved streets.
The gauge also had the effect of precluding the movement of standard-gauge freight cars along streetcar lines.
[2][8] Also, horsecar tracks could be of very light construction, adequate for horse-drawn trams, but unsuitable for heavier vehicles.
When the Metropolitan Street Railway converted its streetcar line in North Toronto from horse to electric operation, the faster heavier electric trams damaged the horsecar rails, which required the line to be shut down and the track rebuilt to a higher standard.
[1]: 13 In support of the second explanation, the 1861 agreement between the City of Toronto and the Toronto Street Railway stated:[2] That the gauge of the said railways shall be such that the ordinary vehicles now in use may travel on the said tracks, and that it shall and may be lawful to and for all and every person and persons whatsoever to travel upon and use the said tracks with their vehicles loaded or empty, when and so often as they may please, provided they do not impede or interfere with the cars of the party of the second part (Toronto Street Railway), running thereon, and subject at all times to the right of the said party of the second part, his executors, and administrators and assigns to keep the said tracks with his and their cars, when meeting or overtaking any other vehicle thereon.As wagons were normally built at standard gauge, the streetcar rails were selected to be slightly wider, which allowed the wagons to ride on the inside sections of the rail and the streetcars on the outside.
[11][4] However, Ken Heard, Consultant Museologist, Canadian Museums Association, was reported to say: "One of the terms of these agreements was that the track gauge was to accommodate wagons.
As the streets themselves were not paved, this arrangement permitted wagons carrying heavy loads a stable roadbed.
[10] According to Raymond L. Kennedy said: "The street railways were built to the horse car gauge of 4 feet 10 and 3⁄4 inches.
They are: Some early subway proposals involved using streetcars at least partially in tunnels so that using the same gauge would be advantageous, but the idea was ultimately dropped in favour of dedicated rapid transit trains.
A number of ex-streetcar vehicles were used as work trains for the subway, taking advantage of the common gauge.
[14] In 1953, subway cars 5000 and 5001, after being displayed at the Canadian National Exhibition, were mounted on shop bogies and towed at night by a Peter Witt motor to the Davisville Yard via the Yonge streetcar line using the temporary interchange.
Because of the subway car width, buses had to replace night streetcar service during the movements.
[13]: 107, 114 The Sheppard subway has no carhouse, and so for servicing, its trains must transfer to line 1 to reach the Davisville Yard.
The benefit of standard gauge would be greater compatibility with other tram systems and the elimination of the costs to customize the bogies.
The following sections give a highly abridged summary of each line, focusing mainly on the gauge used.
Initially, it ran along Yonge Street from the Canadian Pacific Railway mid-town line to Eglinton Avenue.
At that time the Metropolitan line had extended from Glen Echo Road in Toronto to Sutton.
After re-gauging, box motors serving the Lake Simcoe line carried less-than-carload freight to downtown Toronto.
[17]: 11, 14 [1]: 134–138 Some city streetcars were modified for radial use to handle crowds to Bond Lake, an amusement park adjacent to the line.
[17]: 12 In Aurora, the TTC constructed a 3.2 km (2 mi) section of four-rail, dual-gauge track in order to deliver freight cars from a steam railway interchange to a local factory.
[1]: 153 However, three months later the section from Glen Echo to Richmond Hill reopened as the North Yonge Railways.
Before its conversion to standard gauge, the Toronto Suburban shared a track of this wye to connect its routes east and north of the intersection.
After the conversion to standard gauge, the wye was rebuilt with a curved, mixed-gauge crossing for Toronto Suburban cars.
