Halton County Radial Railway
13629 Guelph Line L9T 5A2 Milton, ON, Canada

One of our artifacts, double-ended streetcar #55, was built in 1915 by Preston Car & Coach for the Toronto Civic Railway and had a green paint scheme. When the TCR was absorbed by the new TTC in 1921, TCR #55 was painted red and renumbered to #2210. This streetcar was eventually used as a scraper car until it was retired in 1954 and acquired by our museum's founding fathers, who had it trucked to their property in Halton County and restored to it's 1915 look. TCR #55 is now preserved in one of our display barns, so come out and see it for yourself when we re-open some time in 2021. Stay tuned for more updates!

Here's another great shot from the "Transit Toronto" collection, this time from our museum in 1976 showing 3 our cars out front of the then brand new Barn #2. The "Red Rocket" PCC streetcar is #4000, the last of the first class of Toronto's PCCs from 1938, and is now preserved in Barn #3. The Montreal & Southern Counties interurban and Oshawa Railway line car seen beside #4000 are both on display in Barn #4. Come out and see our collection when we re-open some time in 2021.

On this day in 1995 the TTC retired the last of its PCC streetcars from regular service. We will be sharing a few PCC photos today in remembrance of these retro "Red Rockets," some of which still survive today in various railway museums, cities, and farmer's fields. This shot on the Queen's Quay was taken by Brad O'Brien in 1992 and shows TTC PCC #4611, which is now preserved at our museum.

These are the first 2 streetcars that our museum's founders, the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association (OERHA,) acquired back in 1954. Ex-TRCo #1326 was built in 1910 and originally had a dark brown paint scheme. When the TTC took over Toronto's transit in 1921 the streetcar was painted in a maroon and yellow livery. In 1951 #1326 was the last wooden streetcar to be retired by the TTC. Streetcar #55 was built in 1915 by Preston Car & Coach. When the TTC took over To...ronto's transit in 1921, TCR #55 became #2210. It later became a scraper car and was retired in 1954. It was the 2nd streetcar acquired by our museum and was restored back to its original Toronto Civic Railway design. Both of these historic streetcars are currently preserved in Barn #4 at our museum. We are temporarily closed due to the pandemic and will reopen some time in 2021. Stay tuned for further updates. Photo was taken on Sept. 22nd 1988 by the TTC's retired archivist Ted Tickson.

On this day 25 years ago, the last of the TTC's PCC streetcars were retired from revenue service. To mark the occasion, here's a nice shot taken by Jeff Bentley of PCC #4600 at our museum in 2001. This old "Red Rocket" streetcar is still operational, and usually comes out for our Halloween and Christmas events. We are temporarily closed due to the pandemic, and will re-open some time in 2021. Stay tuned for more updates!

Here's a nice shot taken by the late, great Bill Hood on June 24th 1979 showing some of the artifacts in our collection. The overhead wire truck was built in 1940 for the Hamilton Street Railway and was used to service the streetcar's overhead lines. The truck continued service when the HSR switched over to trolley buses in 1951 until the truck was retired in 1976. It was acquired by our museum that same year, and is now preserved in our Barn #4. London & Port Stanley Rail...way interurban #8 was built in 1915 and continues to be operational 105 years later! Come out and see our collection for yourself when our museum reopens. Stay tuned for more updates!

London & Port Stanley Railway interurban #8 was seen next to Rockwood Station on our museum's property in this photo taken in 1974 by Richard Glaze. The old Rockwood Station was closed in 1971 and the following year it was moved about 6km from Rockwood, Ontario to our museum on Guelph Line. L&PS #8 still had its as-retired paint scheme in 1974, but has since been restored by museum volunteers back to its 1915 look. Come out and see Rockwood Station and ride in L&PS #8 when our museum reopens some time in 2021. Stay tuned for more updates!

Please consider buying a gift card from our website! They can be used for admission and giftshop purchases when our museum re-opens sometime next year. By buying a gift card now, you are helping to support the museum during this difficult time. Click the link below to learn more! ... https://hcry.ackroo.net/en/gifts/new

On Wednesday, the train crew lifted Locomotive 6167 to the flatbed that will transport the engine and tender to a new location in John Galt Park on Saturday, No...vember 14. We’ll be live streaming the move throughout the day, starting around 10 a.m. For more information about the project: https://guelph.ca/li/construction-projects/locomotive-6167/

We are storing our artsy CLRV #4178 inside for the coming winter. This streetcar was painted by a group of artists including Jacquie Comrie (aka the Queen of Colour,) Chris Perez, Nicole Beno, Ryan Van Der Hout and Suanne McGregor. It was retired at the end of 2019 and was donated to our museum earlier this year. This colorful streetcar will be on display when we reopen in 2021.... Stay tuned for more updates! See more

Just over 1 year ago we added an Articulated Light Rail Vehicle to our collection! TTC #4204 was both the first and last ALRV in regular service. It was built in 1987 and retired on Sept. 2nd 2019. This "bendy" streetcar is now the youngest artifact in our collection. ... Come out and see it when we reopen next year! See more

London (Ontario) Street Railway streetcar #23 passing through our museum's east loop back in 2003. LSR #23 was built in 1901 and retired in 1935. It then spent 48 years as the men's change room in London's Wonderland Park until it was acquired by our museum in 1983 and restored to its 1934 look. It is now on display in Barn #4. Our museum is currently closed due to the pandemic, and will re-open in 2021. We are using this time to focus on maintenance and upgrading our museum. Stay tuned for more updates!

On May 8th 1955, London & Port Stanley Railway #4 was out for a trip down the line. L&PS #4 was built in 1915 and retired from regular passenger service in 1957. It was originally planned to be part of a transportation exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre (like L&PS #8), but instead it ended up as a part of the Ossawippi Express restaurant operation in the city of Orillia. Skyline bought the Orillia property for redevelopment and donated L&PS #4 to our museum in 2012. These photos are from slides that only have the date marked on them, but no info about the photographer or what the occasion was. It seems that #4 was chartered by a group of rail fans that day. If anyone knows who might have taken these shots, please let us know!

Hamilton Street Railway streetcar #517 on King Street just west of Hughson Street, April 5th 1951. The last of Hamilton's streetcars were retired the following day on April 6th, 1951 and replaced by trolley buses. The last HSR streetcar, #521, is currently preserved at our museum. The Halton County Radial Railway was created to preserve the electric railway history of Ontario, and not just Toronto. While most of our museum's collection is from the TTC, we still try to promote other Ontario cities' electric railway history as well. This photo was taken by Bill Bailey, and is now in Exporail's archives.

Our museum may be temporarily closed but the behind-the-scenes maintenance hasn't stopped. Long-time museum volunteers have been working safely and using the closure as an opportunity to catch up on maintenance and to upgrade the museum's property. Stay tuned to the HCRR on Facebook and "streetcarmuseum" on Instagram for more updates, or check out our website for more info.

Our museum's Peter Witt streetcar #2424 heading westbound on Wellington St. and about to turn onto York St. during a charter in May of 1977. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze. TTC Witt #2424 was built in 1921, retired in 1961, and acquired by our museum in 1962. In 1971 the TTC started its "tour tram" service featuring retired Witts, and our museum leased #2424 back to the TTC for 20 years. Peter Witt streetcar #2424 continues to be fully operational till this day, even ...at the ripe old age of 99! We are currently closed due to the pandemic, and will re-open in 2021. Stay tuned for more updates!

Here's an unusual sight: a CLRV deep in the woods! Our museum is currently closed due to the pandemic, and will re-open in 2021. Stay tuned for more updates!

October 9, 1948 was the last full day of operation on the North Yonge Railway between Toronto and Richmond Hill. First opened by the Metropolitan Street Railway... in 1896, the line's original Toronto terminus was near CP's North Toronto Station. By 1909, the line extended north all the way to Sutton near Lake Simcoe, operated by what was by then the Toronto & York Radial Railway. In 1922 the TTC absorbed the line inside city limits, later extending its Yonge car line north to transfer with the T&YRR at Glen Echo. The TTC took over the T&YRR in 1927 but abandoned it north of Glen Echo in March 1930. It reopened to Richmond Hill a few months later. Toronto's last radial line finally gave way to buses in 1948. The only surviving North Yonge Railway car, No. 416, is at the Halton County Radial Railway.

We are Ontario's only operating electric railway museum! Our museum is temporarily closed but the behind-the-scenes work never stops. We look forward to re-opening next year so you can see all the new artifacts we've acquired. In the meantime, please enjoy the content on our Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube channels! Stay tuned for more updates.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, we will be cancelling our annual "Christmas on the Rails" event and will be staying closed until 2021. Protecting our elderly volunteers is our #1 priority, and we appreciate your understanding during these difficult times. The good news is that we've been using this year off to focus on upgrading our museum. We are excited to re-open next year so you can see all the newly acquired artifacts and changes to our property.... Stay tuned for more updates!

Our CLRVs are enjoying their retirement away from the busy city! They have been securely stored and properly maintained since we received them almost a year ago. We have preserved them for the enjoyment of future generations, and we look forward to our museum re-opening next year. We are currently closed due to the pandemic, and have been using this time to focus on behind-the-scenes maintenance. ... Stay tuned for further updates!

The Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway was a radial electric railway that operated from 1899 to 1959. The NS&T was based in St. Catharines, with lines to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Dalhousie, Niagara Falls, Thorold, Welland and Port Colborne. Despite having "Toronto" in the name, this railway never serviced Toronto. In 1929 the NS&T started running buses to complement its rail network, but by the mid-1930s, buses started to replace some of the rail service. Summer ca...r #58 (seen below) was scrapped in 1933. During WW2, the rail service experienced heavy use as bus fuel was rationed. After the war, a program of dieselisation started to replace many of the electric trams but the decline of the railway continued. Two of the main lines were replaced by buses in 1951 and 1954 and passenger rail service ended in 1959. The NS&T amalgamated with the CNR in 1960 and ceased operations as a separate entity. Photo from St. Catharines Museum & Welland Canals Centre.

1915 interurban railcar vs. 1979 Canadian Light Rail Vehicle: which do you think would win in a race?

Recently we rented a huge crane to lift our caboose off its trucks and down onto TTC gauge trucks. CN Caboose #78653 was originally built as a boxcar in 1910 for the Grand Trunk Railway. CN rebuilt it into a caboose in 1948 in London, ON. It was retired around 1980, moved to a private property in Newtonville in 1984 and completely restored. It was then relocated to Richmond Hill in 1999, and eventually acquired by our museum in 2019. We are currently closed due to the pandemic and have been focusing on upgrading our museum. Stay tuned for more updates!

Are you ready for winter yet? Here's a London (ON) Street Railway snow sweeper clearing the tracks on York St. near Ridout St. on January 22nd, 1940. This photo was taken right at "the end of the line" for the London Street Railway, as the streetcars were removed for good later that year. The source is the London Free Press Negative Collection in Western University's Archives.... Our museum, the Halton County Radial Railway, was created to preserve and promote Ontario's electric railway history. While most of our collection is from the TTC, we still try our best to give love to other Ontario cities.

Just as a reminder, we are temporarily closed until further notice! We will continue to monitor the situation with Covid-19 and will re-open when we feel it is safe to do so. Feel free to share photos you took at our museum in the comments below. Engagement with our posts on social media helps our page grow! Your support for our museum is much appreciated in these difficult times.

The TTC operated "Peter Witt" streetcars in regular service from 1921 until the mid 1960s. The TTC still has Witt #2766, and there are 8 TTC Witts preserved in museums around North America. We have 4 TTC Witts at our museum: #2894, #2424, #2984, and #2786. The TTC's 1st Witt, #2300, is in storage at Exporail in Quebec. 3 TTC Witts are at museums in the USA: #2898 is at The Shore Line Trolley Museum, #2890 is at the Seashore Trolley Museum, and #2778 is at the Northern Ohio R...ailway Museum. There is another TTC Witt streetcar decaying in the woods near Haliburton, but we don't count that as "preserved." How many of these preserved TTC Witts have you seen in person?

It has been many years since London & Port Stanley Railway interurban #4 has been outside, so she was probably confused by all the "modern" CLRVs on our museum's property! L&PS #4 was built in 1915 and is the sister to L&PS #8, the interurban that we operate seasonally at our museum. #4 is awaiting restoration, but it will be quite some time before we can get to it. We rely on volunteers to restore our old cars, and our current team can only do so much. We are closed until f...urther notice due to the pandemic, and have been focusing on maintenance and upgrading our museum. Stay tuned for more updates!

Last Tuesday we pulled out London & Port Stanley Railway interurban #4 in to the daylight for the first time in years. L&PS #4 was built in 1915 and is the sister to L&PS #8, the interurban that we operate seasonally at our museum. #4 is awaiting restoration, but it will be quite some time before we can get to it. We rely on volunteers to restore our old cars, and our current team can only do so much. We are closed until further notice due to the pandemic, and have been foc...using on maintenance and upgrading our museum. Stay tuned for more updates!

As a follow-up to our previous post, here is Lake Erie and Northern Railway electric locomotive #335 out in the daylight for the first time in years. Locomotive #335 was built in 1915 for the opening of the LE&N Railway. It's was a very powerful piece of machinery and if fully restored could (in theory) tow our entire collection of old streetcars. On Wednesday we had #335 hoisted of it's trucks by a large crane and placed onto TTC-gauge trucks. We are closed until further no...tice due to the pandemic, and have been focusing on maintenance and upgrading our museum. Stay tuned for more updates!

Today we had a big shuffle in Barn #2, and some cars were pulled out that hadn't seen daylight in years. We will be slowly sharing photos of all the action that happened today, but first here is Lake Erie and Northern Railway electric locomotive #335 being pushed past one of our sheds outside. Locomotive #335 was built in 1915 for the opening of the LE&N Railway. It's was a very powerful piece of machinery and if fully restored could (in theory) tow our entire collection of ...old streetcars. We are closed until further notice due to the pandemic, and have been focusing on maintenance and upgrading our museum. Stay tuned for more updates!

This photo is amazing!

The Chatham, Wallaceburg & Lake Erie Railway opened in 1905 for both passenger and freight service. The electric locomotive seen in this photo is most likely E-11, built in 1918 by National Steel Co. in Hamilton. It was acquired by the CW&LE Railway in 1926 and posed for this photograph with a train of 22 cars behind it, to show the power of this single locomotive. In 1930 the Chatham, Wallaceburg & Lake Erie Railway was shut down, and E-11 was sold to the International Nic...kel Co. in Sudbury. E-11 became #108, and would eventually be scrapped in 1999. Our museum, the Halton County Radial Railway, was created to preserve and promote Ontario's electric railway history. While most of our collection is from the TTC, we try to give love to other Ontario cities as much as possible. This photo is from the Chatham-Kent Museum collection.

Old streetcar tickets from the Toronto Railway Company (1891-1921) and Toronto Civic Railway (1911-1921), preserved at the City of Toronto Archives. These 2 companies were merged in 1921 to form the Toronto Transportation Commission.

Thank you so much for your support, Ethan!