Text by Brad O'Brien
This charter was held by Pat Scrimgeour and Scott Haskill to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the TTC's oldest Flyer bus in service, #8257, on a beautiful October day. Special arrangements were made to have the electronic sign programmed to display historic routes and visit to Hillcrest, Queensway and Eglinton Garages. Here are the photographs:
New Flyer 8257 Charter Image Archive
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The charter began just outside the Kipling Subway Station. The bus came in signed up 'TTC D800B 8257' to the surprise of many. Special arrangements were made to have historic routes and other special messages displayed on the electronic sign, which added a very nice touch to this charter. |
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This stop was at the old Kipling loop near Kipling and Lakeshore. This is where the 44 Kipling South buses used to loop until the service was extended further south to serve a new development. Old Kipling loop still sees the occasional short-turned 501 streetcar. |
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This photograph shows 8257 signed up 50E Kingsway, a route that no longer exists. |
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8257 displays 'SWANSEA BUS', a route that ran in the old Village of Swansea quite a while ago. |
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This stop was at the old Wychwood Carhouse. It wasn't possible to enter the yard because the carhouse was now property of the City of the Toronto and the entrances had been blocked off. Wychwood was known for being a PCC and Trolley Bus graveyard, however it also stored many defunct buses, including some retired Orion/Ikarus Articulateds. Since the City took over the carhouse, everything was removed and the yard remains empty. |
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The charter also visited the Hillcrest Complex, where the group took photographs of the various retired buses plus the recently delivered ex-Montreal STCUM buses. |
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The last stop on the charter took place at the Eglinton Division. Here the group rode 1001 around the garage and got a look at the latest delivery, New Flyer 7300. This photograph shows TTC's the oldest Flyer model (D-800B) and it's newest (D-40LF). |
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The charter concluded at the Kipling Subway Station. Final photographs were taken of the bus with it's various historic displays. Here's 8257 signed up 1 Humberside, the TTC's very first bus route. The group was very surprised to find out that not only did Pat Scrimgeour and Scott Haskil program historic routes, but the names of all those who attended the charter! Each person who attended got a photograph of themselves in front of the bus with the sign displaying their name. Thanks guys! |
Special thanks again to Pat Scrimgeour and Scott Haskill for planning an excellent charter and taking the extra time to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Stay tuned to our bus charter page to learn about more events like these being held in the future.
