Suvarna Garge (Editor)

Halton County Radial Railway

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Phone
  
+1 519-856-9802

Province
  
Ontario

Halton County Radial Railway

Established
  
December 1953 (December 1953)

Location
  
13629 Guelph Line, Milton, Ontario

Type
  
Railway museum / Heritage railway

Address
  
13629 Guelph Line, Rockwood, ON N0B 2K0, Canada

Similar
  
Kelso Conservation Area, Hilton Falls Conservation Area, Crawford Lake Conserva, Rattlesnake Point, Mountsberg Conservation Area

hd the halton county radial railway


The Halton County Radial Railway is a working museum of electric streetcars, other railway vehicles, trolleybusses and buses. It is operated by the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association (OERHA). It is focused primarily on the history of the Toronto Transit Commission and its predecessor, the Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC), with a collection including PCC, and Peter Witt cars, earlier streetcars and Gloucester series and Montreal-built subway cars.

Contents

The museum is open to the public, with rides on many of its vehicles. It is located between the villages of Rockwood and Campbellville in Milton, Ontario, Canada, along part of the Toronto Suburban Railway’s former right-of-way. The tracks conform to TTC’s gauge of 4 ft 10 78 in (1,495 mm), 60 mm (2.36 in) wider than 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) . Vehicles from other systems must be altered to accommodate the tracks, and cars intended for third-rail power must be reconfigured for use with overhead wire. In 1889, electric railway service on routes radiating from Toronto, Ontario began. An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected at the Halton County Radial Railway Museum by the province to commemorate the Radial Railways' role in Ontario's heritage. Museum Peter Witt streetcars can be seen in the 2005 film Cinderella Man on the streets of Toronto to give it a 1930s New York City appearance.

Halton county radial railway museum promotional film


History

The Halton County Radial Railway and the OERHA was formed in 1953 by a group of men who wanted to save Toronto Transit Commission streetcar 1326 from being sent to the scrap yard. After the donation of this streetcar, the dream grew. Land that used to be a part of the Toronto Suburban Railway in Nassagaweya Township was acquired, and subsequently, a number of other street and radial cars were eventually rescued. The museum's grand opening took place in 1972.

Since the beginning, the vision of the HCRR was to inform, educate and inspire the public about the electric railway history of Ontario and Canada. Today, the museum displays and operates a variety of historic streetcars, radial cars and work cars, and maintains a collection of photographs, memorabilia and archival materials. The oldest rail car in the collection dates from the late 1800s.

References

Halton County Radial Railway Wikipedia