C-1 - TTC Crane Car (1911-date)

TTC Crane Car C1 poses outside of one of the carhouses at the Halton County Railway museum. The HCRR has preserved and made good use of this vehicle, originally built in 1911 by the Toronto Railway Company for use (usually at night) on trackwork jobs and occassionally delivering and placing salt and sand boxes. This crane bosts a 5-ton hoist, and the car was one of two built by the TRC. C1's brother, C2, can now be found at the Ohio Railway Museum.

W-5 - TTC Snowplow Car (?-?)

Curt Frey donated this picture by P. Lambert of Snowplow car W-5 sitting at Wychwood Carhouse in 1958. A virtual twin of Snowplow car W-3, this double-trucked wooden vehicle plowed snow off the streetcar tracks during the middle part of this century. Note the flatbed component in the back. Sweeper S-24 can be seen just in behind.

W-16 - TTC Dump Car (192?-?)

Curt Frey donated this picture by P. Lambert of Dump Car W16 (with flat car W-9(?) in the background) at Hillcrest Shops (date is unknown). Dump cars, as the name implies, carried load of gravel and sand that could be dumped where needed. They were generally used for ballast work, and removal of construction waste, but they also ferried heating coal delivered to Hillcrest Yard to the various carhouses, as well as taking the resulting ashes to dump tracks off of Keele, Jane and Avon Loops. Dump cars fell into disuse when trucks were bought that could handle the load as easily and more flexibly. One dump car remains, though, on the subway. RT-3, converted from dump car W-18, features components dating back from 1922.

W-26 - The TTC Sand Car (1950-1967)

Colin Barrett was kind enough to donate this picture of W-26, the TTC's Sand Car, saying that he knew nothing about this vehicle. Well, according to Larry Partridge's Mind the Doors, Please, this vehicle was built in 1950 out of the remains of dump car W-12, meaning that parts of this car dated back all the way to 1921. This car's job was to travel to each of the carhouses and refill the sandboxes. The sand from the sandboxes were used by streetcar drivers to improve traction on slippery days. When the job became easier to handle by truck, this car's usefulness ceased, and it was scrapped in 1967. Curt Frey donated this other shot of Sand Car W-26 at Wychwood Carhouse in 1958.

Another view of Sandcar W26 (photo courtesy Curt Frey, from the collection of P. Lambert)

W-28 - TTC Rail Grinder (1915-date)

Restored Toronto Civic Railway car #55 poses at the Halton County Radial Railway's East Carhouse beside its sister, Toronto Civic Railway car #57. Built in 1915, #57 was converted first to a snow scraper in 1931, then to a surface rail grinding car in 1955. When PCCs 4631 and 4668 were converted into rail grinders W-30 and W-31 in April 1976, W-28 became surplus and was sold to the HCRR, where it today awaits restoration. At the time of its departure, W-28 was the last Toronto Civic Railway car to operate on the streets of Toronto. Photo by James Bow.

S-30 - TTC Snow Sweeper (1947-196?)

This picture of sweeper S-30 at Danforth Carhouse in 1966 was donated by Curt Frey. The TTC employed a wide variety of snow removal equipment to keep its tracks clear in the winter, and these monsters were part of a set purchased in 1947 from New York City's Third Avenue Railway System. Note the wire brushes up front to drive the snow off the tracks; a plow at the side helped to clear the street adjacent to the tracks. Note the air-electric PCC stored behind sweeper S-30 in this picture, indicating the age of this shot. By 1970, the TTC had given up on its snow-removal equipment, leaving the surface trackage to be cleaned by the City of Toronto.

S-33 - TTC Snow Sweeper (1947-196?)

S-33 was another of the set purchased in 1947 from New York City, sharing most of the same features as sweeper S-30. This picture was donated by Curt Frey (taken by P. Lambert) and shows sweeper S-33 at Danforth Carhouse in 1966.

S-36 - TTC Snow Sweeper (?-date)

S-36 was built in 1920 by the Russell Car Company for the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway as their #607. In 1935 it and a few others of similar type were sold to the Third Avenue railway in New York City and became #89. In 1948 as the Third Avenue railway was substituting buses for streetcars in New York City it and others were sold to Toronto Transportation Commission and ran there until 1973. It was then sold to the Shoreline Trolley Museum in 1973. In 1977 the car was semi-restored and repainted. Photo by Jerry Appleman

S36 - TTC Snow Sweeper at Seashore Trolley Museum (photo by Steve Loitsch)

S36 - TTC Snow Sweeper blowing snow (photo by Steve Loitsch)

S-37 - TTC Snow Sweeper (?-date)

The brother of S-36, S-37 was also built in 1920 by the Russell Car Company for the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway. In 1935 it was sold to the Third Avenue railway in New York City. It was sold to the Toronto Transportation Commission in 1948 when the Third Avenue railway substituted buses for streetcars. It ran in Toronto until 1973 after which it was picked up by the Halton County Railway Museum. In this photograph, you see it entering the east carhouse ladder track, with nary a snowflake in sight.