1984 was a year of celebration for the City of Toronto as it turned 150 years old! To contribute to the special anniversary, the TTC’s held an exhibit indoors at the Exhibition grounds during the Canadian National Exhibition. This included 2 TTC artifacts from the Canada Science and Technology Museum, the Ford Transit bus from our museum, a Thomas-Mighty Might Wheeltrans bus, a new Scarborough RT car, and the Info bus!
CLICK THE PHOTOS BELOW FOR A CLOSER LOOK:
TTC double-deck bus #1 being unloaded into the display building at the CNE grounds. This was the TTC’s first bus when it was purchased from the 5th Avenue Coach Co. in 1921. The bus was retired only a couple years later and kept by the TTC as a historic vehicle until it was donated to the Science & Tech Museum in 1968.
Ex-Kitchener Ford Transit bus #792 from our museum’s collection was sent to Toronto for the temporary exhibit. This bus was built in 1945, retired in 1968 and donated to our museum that same year. The bus was painted blue for Kitchener Transit but eventually got a TTC-tribute paint job for a movie shoot, and the bus has stayed that way ever since.
![](https://hcry.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/TedWickson_aug9-1984-600x406.jpg)
Bus #792 on Prince Edward Island Crescent on the Exhibition grounds. This photo was taken by Ted Wickson on August 9th, 1984.
Also borrowed from the Science and Tech Museum was Toronto Railway Company (TRCo) streetcar #306, which was built in 1892 and retired in 1921. It was kept as a part of the TTC’s historic fleet until it was sent to Ottawa in 1968.
TRCo streetcar #306 has a “people-catcher” on the front, also known as a pedestrian-guard or safety fender. 2 of the old streetcars (#327 and #23) in our museum’s collection have people-catchers just like this!
The Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT) line opened for service on March 24th, 1984 between Kennedy and McCowan. One of the new ICTS cars from the SRT line was displayed at the CNE outside of the display building.
![](https://hcry.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/TedWickson_aug31_1984-600x404.jpg)
Outside of the TTC’s CNE exhibit where the SRT car and Info-Bus were displayed. This photo was taken by Ted Wickson on August 31st, 1984.
![](https://hcry.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/CNE_C.S.Bridges_sept6_1984-600x405.jpg)
C.S. Bridges photo of TRCo #306 being removed by crane from the display building on September 6th, 1984.
![](https://hcry.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Bridges_CNE_sept6_1984-600x403.jpg)
Another C.S. Bridges photo of TRCo #306 being removed by crane from the display building on September 6th, 1984.
![](https://hcry.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/HCRR_richardglaze_oct1984_6-600x388.jpg)
Our Ford bus back on museum property in October of 1984. Behind the bus was a variety of artifacts from our collection.
This bus is now preserved in Barn #3 and you can see it when we re-open!
CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR ENTIRE COLLECTION
Stay tuned for more history articles on this website. Also, please follow us at @streetcarmuseum on Instagram and Twitter.
CLICK THE IMAGES BELOW TO SEE THE OTHER TTC CNE EXHIBITS!
Leave A Comment