Toronto Suburban Railway
[5] The Township of Etobicoke also granted the TSR a franchise to cover the full length of Dundas Street within its limits, west of the Humber River.
In 1911, that was sold to William Mackenzie and Donald Mann, who incorporated it into the quickly-expanding Canadian Northern Railway system.
At that time, Sir Adam Beck of Ontario Hydro and Henry Thornton of Canadian National Railways had also expressed an interest in the TSR.
[9] Under the Municipal Electric Railway Act, 1922,[10] local municipalities were authorized to operate radial lines, or enter into agreements with Ontario Hydro to do so, as part of a larger plan to create a radial network spanning the Greater Golden Horseshoe region,[11] but that did not take place with respect to the TSR lines as that measure was rejected by Toronto voters in a plebiscite held on 1 January 1923,[12] and the issue was not pressed by the Province as the government was subsequently defeated in the 1923 general election.
These lines were managed under contract by the Toronto Transportation Commission but with the TofYR paying all capital costs and any operating deficits.
[15] The Canadian National Electric Railways let the TSR bond interest go unpaid on 15 July 1931,[16] causing the Guelph line to go into receivership and be shut down on 15 August 1931.
[17][18] Eventually, in 1934, CNER paid off the bondholders at 25 cents on the dollar, following which the receivership was ended on 13 September 1935, and the line was promptly dismantled and equipment disposed.
[22][23] A small part of the Guelph line's right-of-way is used by the Halton County Radial Railway museum.
The areas where tracks were once located include the walking trails along the south bank of the Eramosa River, the Smith Property loop in Puslinch and the Halton County Radial Railway site on Guelph Line, Milton.
[25] In Halton Hills, the railbed can be readily seen running parallel to the Canadian National track between Acton and Limehouse.
About 1894, the line was extended east of Keele and Dundas Streets to Humberside Avenue to meet the streetcars of the Toronto Railway Company.
However, in 1899, the TSR sold this extension to the TRC, which extended its operations to a wye-shaped junction at Keele and Dundas Streets.
The Crescent route was closed on 28 November 1923 due to poor ridership, and track along Fairview Avenue was removed.
In 1925 the route was extended to a new station at Keele Street and St. Clair, situated between the TTC's streetcar loop and the CNR tracks.
[28] One period photo shows a 12-coach train pulled by electric locomotive number 300 bound for Eldorado Park.
[19] By 1931, the Guelph line was only carrying 300 daily passengers, compared to 1,662 cars and nine buses per day travelling along the essentially parallel Highway 7.
By January, 1917, the TSR had converted all lines to standard gauge because it wanted to interchange freight cars with steam railways.
Car 101, for example, was equipped with 68 seats affair with cherry wood finish throughout, an overhead luggage rack and a button to signal when a passenger wished to disembark at the next stop.
The Main Room included green, plush, upholstered, high-backed seats with headrests, footrests and polished bronze handles on the aisle sides.
After the TSR was absorbed by the CNR in 1923, the car was renumbered as CN 15702 and used at Neebing Yard in Fort William, Ontario.
