Roundhouse Park
Roundhouse Park | |
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Location | 255 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, ON, Canada |
Coordinates | 43°38′28″N 79°23′07″W / 43.64111°N 79.38528°W |
Operated by | Toronto Parks |
Website | Roundhouse Park |
Roundhouse Park is a 17
History
The John Street Roundhouse was built in 1929-31. Following the renovations of the roundhouse in the 1990s, the area to the east of the building became a city-owned park named Roundhouse Park in 1997. The Toronto Railway Museum occupies Roundhouse Park and officially opened in 2010. The Museum occupies three stalls of the John St. Roundhouse and features an indoor display, an indoor restoration facility, a full-size diesel cab simulator, an outdoor miniature railway, numerous railway engines and rolling stock as well as a fully restored railway village which includes Don Station, Signal Cabin D (with toolshed), a watchman's shanty, a water tower and a coaling tower.
John Street Roundhouse
John Street Roundhouse | |
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Location | Canada |
Built | 1931 |
Built for | Canadian Pacific Railway |
Original use | Roundhouse |
Current use | Toronto Railway Museum Steam Whistle Brewery The Rec Room |
Governing body | City of Toronto |
Designated | 1990 |
Official name | Union Station Heritage Conservation District |
Designated | October 3, 2008 |
The John Street Roundhouse was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1929–1931 by Anglin-Norcross to replace the earlier John Street roundhouse built in 1897. Trains were so properly maintained at this location that railroaders recognized them by their "John Street polish".[1] When diesel-run trains began being used, business slowed at the roundhouse, and the building was last used for its original purpose in 1986. The CPR donated the roundhouse to the City of Toronto.
It is the only remaining roundhouse in downtown Toronto (the
John Street Roundhouse could maintain 32 locomotives at a time. 32 bay doors make up the inner rounded façade of the building and face the 120-foot (37 m) turntable. This turntable was the largest used by the CPR and was constructed by the Canadian Bridge Company.[2] The exterior and interior of the building are mostly composed of brick and glazing. Each of the bay doors is of wood construction and can be left open to reveal a floor-to-ceiling glass wall with a regular-sized man door inset. Natural light floods the interior space from the curved loft space and all exterior façades. Refurbished wooden columns also stand within the interior of the structure.[3] The coaling tower and water tank are auxiliary structures still located in the park from the working days of the John Street Roundhouse.[4]
The John Street Roundhouse was designated a
The roundhouse and associated structures were first protected under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, passed by Toronto City Council on August 12, 1996. It was then designated under Part V of the act with by-aw 634-2006 passed on July 27, 2006, as part of the Union Station Heritage Conservation District (encompassing the Park, Union Station and the Royal York Hotel).[7]
Toronto Railway Museum
St. Andrew station and Union Station | |
Website | Official Site |
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The Toronto Railway Historical Association (TRHA) was established in 2001 and is now incorporated as a federally registered charity. Its primary focus is the development of the Toronto Railway Museum (TRM).
The museum opened on May 28, 2010. The TRM operates year-round. Cabin D has also been moved to Roundhouse Park from the City's collection of historic buildings and was repainted and repaired but remains in its original structural state.
Don Station
The Don Station was built in 1896 by Canadian Pacific Railway and was originally located at the
Miniature Railway
The Toronto Railway Museum's Miniature Railway opened in 2010 within Roundhouse Park provides rides to visitors to the museum in season.[8] The ride has 4 cars carrying 4 passengers each, a caboose and is either towed by a replica steam locomotive/tender or replica CLC diesel-electric Whitcomb center-cab switcher.
Collection of trains
Roundhouse Park contains four full-sized locomotives, three freight cars, two passenger cars and one diesel multiple unit.[8]
- Canadian National Railway No. 6213 U-2-G 4-8-4 MLW 1942 – formerly located at Exhibition Place
- Canadian Pacific 7020 Class DS10-B, Alco S-21944
- Canadian National Railway No. 4803 GMD GP7 1953
- Canadian Locomotive Company 50 Ton Whitcomb Centre Cab Switcher 1950
- Canadian Pacific "Jackman" sleeper 1931
- Canadian Pacific "Cape Race" Buffet-compartment-solarium-observation-sleeper, 1929
- Dominion Atlantic Railway "Sans Pareil" (now "Nova Scotia") Pullman dining car built in 1896
- Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo RailwayCaboose #70 steel sheathed, 1921
- Canadian Pacific Railway 188625 – "Fowler" steel frame boxcar, built 1917
- Toronto Terminal Railway (TTR) – Pyke Self-Propelled Crane
- GO Transit Hawker Siddeley RTC-85SP/D diesel multiple unit, built 1967 [11][12]
Gallery
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Inside the unfinished portion of the Roundhouse in May 2008
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The Don Station
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Cabin D
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Panoramic View of Roundhouse Park
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Red locomotive
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John Street Roundhouse (left) in 1973. The roundhouse on the right was CNR Spadina Roundhouse, which was demolished. Rogers Centre stands in its place.
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Condos next to the park
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79144 Canadian National Railway
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Green locomotive of Canadian National Railway
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Canadian National Railway locomotive 6213 at the Toronto Railway Museum
Other Toronto roundhouses
- CNR Spadina Roundhouse demolished 1986 to make way for Rogers Centre
- CPR Lambton Roundhouse at St. Clair Avenue West and Runnymede Road, 1912–1913 (demolished 1960)
- CPR West Toronto Roundhouse, 1884, 1891 (demolished 2001)
- CPR Parkdale Roundhouse, King and Queen at Dufferin Street, 1891 by Credit Valley Railway; machinery and turntable moved to John Street Roundhouse in 1897; last used 1907
- CNR Mimico 34-stall Roundhouse, Mimico Yard (current site of the Via Toronto Maintenance Centre), built in 1913 by the Grand Trunk Railway, demolished in 1969 after a 1965 fire[13]
- CNR Danforth 31-stall Roundhouse, south and across the tracks from current Danforth GO station, 1884 by the Grand Trunk Railway, torn down 1940's
References
- ^ Toronto Railway Historical Association. Trha.ca. Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
- ^ Old Time Trains. Trainweb.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Toronto Railway Historical Association. Trha.ca. Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
- ^ John Street Roundhouse (Canadian Pacific), Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada
- ^ John Street Roundhouse (Canadian Pacific), National Register of Historic Places
- ^ "Heritage Property Detail-255 BREMNER BLVD". City of Toronto. 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
SEE 222 Bremner Blvd - CP Roundhouse, Water Tower, Coaling Tower; Sanding Tower; 1929; 1929. Adopted by City Council on Sept 4 & 7, 1984. Part IV Designation By-Law Passed by City Council on August 12, 1996. Part V Designation by-law 634-2006 passed July 27, 2006. Located within the Union Station Heritage Conservation District; Heritage Easement Agreement AT1915385 registered on Oct. 3, 2008. Partially repealed by by-law No. 1143-2008 passed on Oct 30, 2008.
- ^ a b "John Street Roundhouse Park now home to Railway Heritage Museum". Spacing Toronto. May 28, 2010. Archived from the original on November 20, 2012. Retrieved Jul 26, 2013.
- ^ Vinegar car
- ^ Reinhart
- ^ GO Transit [@GOtransit] (May 14, 2017). "It's finally here! Please welcome the latest addition to the @TORailwayMuseum: a restored original GO cab car from…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Toronto Railway Museum [@TORailwayMuseum] (May 13, 2017). "The Toronto Railway Museum was pleased to welcome a very special part of our rail heritage to Roundhouse Park today…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Roundhouses in the Toronto Area". Toronto Railway Historical association. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.