Sep 21, 1892: Montreal's first electric streetcars begin operations, just five weeks after electric streetcar service began in Toronto. Montreal abandoned its last streetcar route in 1959, leaving Toronto as the only Canadian city still operating streetcars. 1/2

Sep 20, 1948: provincial Minister of Planning Dana Harris Porter greets 325 newly-arrived Dutch immigrants at Toronto Union Station. This was the last group of a total 3,500 Dutch farmers and their families who emigrated from the Netherlands to work on Ontario farms. 1/2

Sep 19, 1955: the Greater Winnipeg Transit Commission abandons the last remaining streetcar system in Canada west of Toronto. A ceremonial procession of four historic Winnipeg streetcars marked the end of operations in the city. They were replaced with buses.

Sep 18, 1858: the Grand Trunk closes its Don Station freight shed, moving its freight business to Queen's Wharf at the foot of Bathurst. Two years earlier, Don was the west end of the GTR line from Montreal and Queen's Wharf was the east end of line from Berlin (Kitchener). 1/2

Sep 17, 1949: the Great Lakes steamship SS Noronic burns at the dock with the loss of 118 lives. The incident, which took place at Canada Steamship Lines Pier 9 at the foot of Bay Street, remains Toronto's worst transportation-related disaster. 1/3

Sep 16, 1977: Canada Post issues a 12-cent stamp—the cost of mailing a letter in 1977—honouring Sir Sandford Fleming (1827-1915). The stamp depicted a train crossing one of the Fleming-designed bridges on the Intercolonial Railway. 1/2

Sep 15, 1920: railway officials move into offices on the upper floors of the recently completed west wing of Toronto Union Station. The first floor—housing the waiting room, restaurant and dining room—remained dormant until the station opened to trains in 1927. 1/3

What's the right length of time to plan and build a new high-speed rail line in 2025? I don't know. But they didn't do the entire CPR from concept to completion in four years, and I don't think we want a dead temporary foreign worker for every mile of track.

There were planning, scandal, false starts, re-awarding of the contract. And not a lot of attention to, you know, Indigenous people's rights. Or working conditions, which were eventually the subject of Heritage Minute you might recall. www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE3I...

They didn't go from "Shall we build a railway?" to a railway in four years. The CPR was a Confederation promise before 1867. Construction began in 1881. Or, actually, in 1875, when they started a section in Manitoba and northern Ontario. Which hooked up to other rails built on their own earlier.

Sep 14, 1950: Canadian Pacific takes delivery of the first diesel-electric locomotive ordered from General Motors Diesel Ltd. of London, ON. Locomotive No. 4028 was an FP7A model. It was heavily damaged by fire and rebuilt into CP GP35 No. 5019 in 1965.

Sep 13, 1878: after five inches (127 mm) of rainfall in three days, a flood hits Toronto that would only be equaled by Hurricane Hazel in 1954. On the east side of town, all the bridges over the Don River were washed away except for the Grand Trunk Railway span. 1/3

Sep 12, 1860: HRH the Prince of Wales departs Toronto for London at 11:00 AM aboard a train travelling via the Grand Trunk Railway. He left from a temporary platform in the amphitheatre at the foot of John Street, where most of Toronto had welcomed him five days earlier. 1/3

Sep 11, 1905: Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier turns the first sod of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at Fort William, now Thunder Bay, ON. Laurier, a Liberal, was an enthusiastic supporter of the creation of a second Canadian transcontinental railway. 1/2

Sep 10, 1995: Amtrak discontinues the "Niagara Rainbow," a once-a-week overnight train between New York City and Toronto. The train had been an attempt to revive what had once been extensive cross-border sleeping car service between the two cities. 1/2

Did you miss locomotive 4803? Our restoration crew has been painting it inside Stall 15 since November. We're glad to have it back on display in Roundhouse Park. Stop by and have a look.Fo

Sep 9, 1915: Mayor Thomas L. Church lays the cornerstone—with an embedded time capsule—for the new Canadian Pacific North Toronto Station. Coincidentally, the building's contractor, P. Lyall & Sons, also began building the present Toronto Union Station less than two weeks later. 1/3

Sep 8, 1960: the Canadian National Railway formally presents retired 4-8-4 Northern steam locomotive No. 6213 to the City of Toronto. The engine had already moved to a location adjacent to the Stanley Barracks at the "New Fort," then home to the Marine Museum of Upper Canada. 1/3

Sep 7, 1860: Edward, Prince of Wales arrives on the steamer Kingston—the first royal family member to visit Toronto. The eighteen year-old prince disembarked at the foot of John Street, approximately where the plaza between the CN Tower and the SkyDome is now located. 1/3

Sep 6, 1960: the Maine Central Railroad ends its passenger services and becomes freight-only. Railroads in the sparsely populated northern New England states were among the first in the U.S. to give up passenger service. 1/3

We've moved to our fall schedule, with mini train rides available every Saturday and Sunday from 12-5pm during September and October. We may even extend into November if the weather is on our side!

Sep 5, 1995: a fire breaks out in the basement of the Canadian National Railway St. Clair Avenue Station, the second in a year. Despite its designation under the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act in 1994, little had been done to protect the vacant station building. 1/2

Sep 4, 1990: Ontario Northland opens a new intermodal passenger station in its home town of North Bay. The $3.5 million structure was built adjacent to the Northgate Mall and shared facilities with Ontario Northland's extensive bus operations. 1/2

Sep 3, 1960: Canadian National Railway U-2-c class 4-8-4 Northern No. 6153 enters excursion service on a Canadian Railroad Historical Association trip from Montreal to Joliette, QC. The engine was retired two years later and is now on display at Exporail in St-Constant, QC.

Sep 2, 1945: Roland Caldwell Harris dies in Toronto at age 70. Born in Lansing (Township of North York) in 1875, R.C. Harris was made Toronto's City Engineer and Commissioner of Public Works in 1912. 1/3

A huge thank you to our 2025 Toronto Railway Museum summer staff as they return to school after Labour Day. Thank you to Ensor, Al, Cordelia, Lila, Fin, Sascha, Jack, Thomas, Francesca, Michael, Will, Olivia, and Celyn.

Sep 1, 1890: the Metropolitan Street Railway of Toronto runs its first electric streetcar on Yonge, from the city limits north to Eglinton. This was two years before the Toronto Railway Company began operating its own electric streetcars within the City of Toronto proper. 1/2

The museum will be closed September 2nd and 3rd in lieu of Labour Day long weekend. Starting Thursday, September 4th, the museum will resume regular fall schedule: open Wednesday to Sunday 12 - 5 pm. From September 6th - November 2nd the mini train will run only on weekends.

Aug 31, 2000: long-time Canadian Railroad Historical Association board member Walter J. Bedbrook dies at the age of 81. Bedbrook joined the CRHA in 1960. His proudest achievement was acquiring, moving and restoring CN's Barrington station at Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum. 1/3

Aug 30, 1959: Montreal marks the abandonment of streetcar service with a ceremonial parade of historic streetcars down Papineau Street. Last car into the Mt. Royal carbarn was appropriately PCC No. 3517—the newest car to enter service on the Montreal Tramways Co. in 1944. 1/2

The mini train runs daily during Labour Day weekend. Bring your family, friends, or group tour for a ride before summer ends!

Aug 29, 1925: the TTC extends its Rogers Road streetcar service from Dufferin Street to Bicknell loop. The TTC ran this service on behalf of the Township of York Railways. It would replace the Rogers Road streetcar line with trolley coaches in 1974.

Aug 28, 1990: Heavy rains during rush hour knock out the electrical power at Toronto Union Station, stranding thousands of commuters. A back-up generator was finally pressed into service, but it too failed during another storm the following day. 1/2

We're open on Labour Day, Monday, September 1 from 12-5pm. Join us for tours and mini train rides before the kids head back to school! Thank you to Lawrence Bernstein for the great photo.

Aug 27, 1919: HRH Edward, the Prince of Wales' special nine-car CPR train departs for Ottawa from Government House siding in Rosedale. This was the first of five visits made by the prince to Toronto before he became, briefly, King Edward VIII in 1936. 1/3

Aug 26, 1929: Canada's first diesel-electric locomotive, CN No. 9000, makes its first revenue passenger run. It had been built for Canadian National by the Canadian Locomotive Company at its Kingston works in 1928. 1/3

Aug 25, 1860: His Royal Highness Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, officially opens the Victoria Bridge at Montreal by laying the last stone and driving the final rivet. The bridge was built by the Grand Trunk Railway and named after the prince's mother, the reigning monarch. 1/3

Restoration work has begun on our F7 Cab located under the Coaling Tower along Bremner Blvd. A fresh coat of paint, new windows, and working lights will bring new lift to this corner of Roundhouse Park.

102 years ago today, August 24, 1923, the Canadian Pacific Railway showed off its brand-new all-steel passenger train at the Canadian National Exhibition. 📸: City of Toronto Archives. With digital edits by me. #1920s #CNE #railway #exhibition #torontohistory #toronto #canada #jeremyhopkin

Aug 24, 1990: VIA Rail accepts the first car rebuilt under the Head End Power Program (HEP) at CN's Pointe Saint Charles shops. The federal government had killed VIA's plans to replace its stainless steel fleet with new bi-level cars like Amtrak's Superliners. 1/3

Aug 23, 1860: Canada's first private railway car is outshopped by the Brantford Car Works of the Buffalo & Lake Huron Railway. The car was purpose-built for the September 1860 visit of the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria's eighteen-year old son, to Canada West. 1/3

The Grand Reopening of the TRM Shop at Don Station yesterday was a huge success with one of our highest sales days of the year! Thank you to our Operations Manager, Pansy Lai (left) and retail inspirator Regina Sheung (right) for their vision and hard work over the past six months.

Aug 22, 1950: the first nation-wide railway strike in Canadian history begins, paralyzing the nation's rail system for nine days. 124,000 non-operating employees in 17 unions went on strike. Rail-dependent businesses also laid off thousands of additional employees. 1/3

Aug 21, 1885: a special 18-car train carrying Buffalo Bill's Wild West show arrives in Toronto from Belleville via the Grand Trunk Railway. After a parade downtown, the first of three daily shows was presented August 22 at Woodbine Driving Park (later Greenwood Race Track). 1/3

Curious how to drive a locomotive? Our Cab Simulator is included with admission to the Toronto Railway Museum! Photo courtesy of Lawrence Bernstein.

Aug 20, 1930: the Yonge Street subway (underpass) opens to traffic beneath the new waterfront railway viaduct. Before the TTC rapid transit system opened in 1954, underpasses were known as subways in Toronto—and are often still called that elsewhere in Canada. 1/3

Aug 19, 1979: the funeral train of John Diefenbaker departs from Ottawa en route to the former Prime Minister’s final resting place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Diefenbaker had been Prime Minister from 1957 to 1963. Large crowds gathered at many points along the train's route.

Aug 18, 1911: the new passenger steamship "Dalhousie City" arrives in Toronto from Collingwood Shipbuilding. The 1,256-ton ship was built for the Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Navigation Co., then controlled by the Canadian Northern Railway. 1/3

The new TRM Shop at Don Station is ready for its grand reopening on Friday. We have toys, posters, books, and unique Toronto memorabilia for sale. Image courtesy of Lawrence Bernstein

Aug 17, 1940: Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King meets with U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Ogdensburg, New York. The United States was not at war at this time, however Roosevelt was inspecting troop manoeuvres in upstate New York. 1/3