On Saturday, February 28, 2015, transit fan Larry Batzakis held a special farewell charter for Nova Bus RTS #7200, one of the last high-floor buses in the TTC fleet. Late in the afternoon, attendees gathered at Ellesmere RT station, and boarded the bus, which stopped at a number of locations throughout the east end of Toronto. As much of the charter took place at night, plenty of night routes were commemorated.
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Passengers boarded TTC Nova RTS #7200 outside Ellesmere RT station, with the bus bearing a 43S KENNEDY short turn sign.
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The first stop on the charter was at Midland RT station, as the sun set and the sky got darker.
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Another shot of TTC Nova RTS #7200 as the evening closed in.
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After Midland, the next stop was Warden station, where RTS #7200 posed as a 70 O'CONNOR bus.
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A rear-view of TTC Nova RTS #7200.
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After Warden station, TTC Nova RTS #7200 headed south to the intersection of Danforth Avenue and Danforth Road, where it posed as a 300 BLOOR-DANFORTH NIGHT bus.
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The next visit was Bingham Loop, where TTC Nova RTS bus #7200 posed with a number of local route signs. Here it shows off its 22 COXWELL display.
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The charter then continued to Main Street station's terminal, where TTC Nova RTS bus #7200 impersonated a 306 CARLTON NIGHT shuttle bus.
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After Main Station, the charter headed to the stop at Eastdale and Goodwood to pose as an 87A COSBURN run.
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The next stop was Lumsden and Coleridge, where TTC Nova Bus RTS #7200 posed with a 62 MORTIMER display.
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From Lumsden, the charter took a quick trip to Woodbine and Sammon to pose NovaBus RTS #7200 as a 91 WOODBINE run.
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After its northern Woodbine Avenue stop, NovaBus RTS #7200 headed south to Woodbine Beach Loop on Lake Shore Boulevard, where it met in-service Orion VII bus #7837. Both posed for transit fans with their 92 WOODBINE SOUTH displays.
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After Woodbine Beach Loop, the charter headed north a short distance to Woodbine Loop, and posed NovaBus RTS #7200 as a 301 QUEEN NIGHT shuttle.
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The charter then proceeded to the entrance to the Greenwood subway yards, where charter organizer Larry Batzakis took this shot, catching a 31B GREENWOOD exposure and the TTC's iconic shield-and-wings sign.
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From the entrance of Greenwood Yards, the charter headed west to Gerrard and Pape for a midnight snack and a photo shoot with another 306 CARLTON NIGHT display.
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From Gerrard and Pape, the charter headed south, through the Port Lands and a stop at Cherry and Unwin where Larry Batzakis caught this fantastic shot of Novabus RTS #7200 in front of the Toronto skyline.
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Heading north from the Portlands, the charter paused at Parliament and Carlton for another photo shoot, this time as a 65 PARLIAMENT bus.
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Crossing Bloor-Danforth, the NovaBus charter group stopped at the intersection of Broadview and Pretoria to pose #7200 as an 8 BROADVIEW bus.
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From Broadview, the charter headed east to Pape and Gowan, to pose NovaBus RTS #7200 as a 25 DON MILLS run.
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Heading further north, now, NovaBus RTS #7200 pauses at Thorncliffe Park, bearing an 81 THORNCLIFFE PARK display.
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From Thorncliffe Park, the NovaBus charter group headed into Flemingdon Park, pausing at Grenoble and Deauville for this photo. From there, the charter came to an end. Passengers were dropped back off at Ellesmere RT station for a last photoshoot and a final goodbye. Thanks to Larry Batzakis for these excellent photographs.
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