TTC Exhibit at the Ex – 1967 – Halton County Railway Museum

To celebrate Canada’s centennial in 1967, the TTC exhibited part of it’s historic fleet at Exhibition Place during the CNE. This included 2 horse-drawn buses (omnibuses), a horse-drawn streetcar (horsecar), the TTC’s replica of old streetcar #327, and their first bus, double-decker #1, from 1921. At the time the TTC had 2 Toronto Street Railway (TSR) omnibuses in its heritage fleet: one red and one green. The red TSR omnibus was a replica and gave rides around the inside of the building where the exhibit was held.

Click the photos below for a closer look!

Children loading into the back of the TSR omnibus.

Note the TTC’s “HORSECAR RIDE” sign despite the operating vehicle being an omnibus.

Colour slide of the TSR omnibus operating at the CNE. This image is from the collection of Museum Volunteer Trevor Parkins-Sciberras.

Richmond Hill omnibus, built in 1880 and heavily restored by the TTC circa 1930.

Toronto Street Railway (TSR) horsecar #16, built in 1874 and converted to a trailer in the 1890s. It was restored back to a horsecar by the TTC during the early 1920s.

Ted Wickson’s photo of TSR horsecar #16.

The TTC’s first bus, double-decker #1, was built in 1921 by the 5th Avenue Coach Company in New York.

Ted Wickson’s photo of TTC bus #1.

Rear view of TTC bus #1.

There was a staircase that led to the open upper deck of the bus. This feature was not popular in the winter and the bus was retired from service after only a couple of years.

The TTC’s replica of Toronto Railway Company streetcar #327. The original was built in 1893, scrapped in 1921 and rebuilt in 1934 for Toronto’s centennial.

Ted Wickson photo of streetcar #327.

The year after this exhibit at the CNE, the TTC donated 9 of its historic vehicles to the Canada Science and Technology Museum. This included the red and green TSR omnibuses, the Richmond Hill omnibus, TSR horsecar, TTC bus #1 and more. The TTC’s replica of streetcar #327 was also given away in 1968 but to our museum instead, where it continues to be operational to this day. In 2019, 51 years after the TTC relics arrived in Ottawa, the Science & Tech Museum donated the green TSR omnibus to our museum and it is now preserved in Barn #4.