Route 507 - The Long Branch Streetcar (Resurrected) - Transit Toronto

Hillside Wye in Mimico is an odd remnant of Long Branch’s early history. It remained connected to the system for years even though the only visitors appeared to be bold railfans. The switches to the loop were finally removed in 2002. Photo donated from the Curt Frey collection.

Text by James Bow.

Interurbans to Long Branch (and Beyond)

In the 1890s, Toronto’s urban development spilled west over the Humber River. An October 1890 issue of the Toronto Globe ran a full-page article on the plans for the developing village of New Toronto and reported that factories, warehouses and foundries would soon be built there. The article stated, with typical Victorian enthusiasm, that “on the borders of the city there is an embryo town growing up which promises in time to equal, if not surpass, old Toronto as a commercial centre.” To help in the growth of New Toronto, Mimico and Long Branch, an electric interurban was proposed to connect residents of these villages to the city of Toronto. On November 14, the Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company was incorporated to build such a railway, as well as selling electric power for additional revenue. York County approved construction on December 23 and granted the company a 21 year franchise. Etobicoke Township and the provincial legislature passed similar enabling bylaws and acts soon afterward.

The Toronto and Mimico was to build to a gauge of 4 feet and 10-7/8 inches — the same as was used by the Toronto Railway Company of the time. The provincial legislation granted the company the right to expropriate land for stations and right-of-way and also allowed for an extension east to Dufferin Street (likely along the waterfront). Construction began in August 1891 from the corner of Queen and Roncesvalles and headed slowly west. On July 16, 1892, almost a year later, the line made it to the Humber River. This stub proved popular with visitors to the beaches along Humber Bay, but with the line of no use to Mimico and New Toronto residents, revenues dried up in the fall and winter months. The railroad needed help.

Toronto’s railroad mogul William MacKenzie bailed out the Toronto and Mimico railway, purchasing the line on July 1, 1893. The line was extended to Mimico Creek on July 10, 1893, and then opened for service as far west as Kipling Avenue on September 29, 1893. Ridership increased as the line pushed further west into Long Branch, with service to Etobicoke Creek beginning July 1, 1895. Although primarily a single-track line along the north side of Lake Shore Road offering 20 minute frequencies during the day, the line began turning modest profits, while the villages along the route benefitted from the increased pace of development the line allowed. The first five years were something of a honeymoon.

In 1903, the Toronto and Mimico railroad received permission to extend its operation further west, to Hamilton, and to connect with other railways. This required the line to regauge itself from the TTC gauge to the standard railway gauge of 4 feet 8-1/2 inches. The railroad entered into an agreement with the Hamilton Radial Electric Railway to bridge the gap between Toronto and Hamilton, with the former building west, the latter building east, and the two meeting in Oakville.

This optimistic extension would prove to hurt the line. Although the Hamilton Radial Electric Railway would make it to Oakville, the Toronto and Mimico would have difficulty making it to Port Credit. A landowner on the west side of Etobicoke Creek refused to allow the line to cross his land, and only backed down after considerable negotiations. The railroad reached Hurontario Street on December 24, 1905, and would reach the Credit River on November 19, 1906 before money ran out. The gap between Port Credit and Oakville, although surveyed, would never see interurban operation.

Two Decades as a Political Football

The years from 1905 onward would prove difficult for the MIMICO route, and not just for its failure to get west of Port Credit. Attempts were also made to extend the Toronto and Mimico operations downtown, where the offer of direct service could have generated more riders, but the City of Toronto threw up so many political obstacles to such proposals that no radial would ever do so in the history of the city. The radials, which by now were all owned by William MacKenzie, had become pawns in a political battle between the city and MacKenzie himself. The fact that MacKenzie’s railroad debts throughout Canada were starting to catch up with him, didn’t help matters for the interurban either.

Finally, after almost two decades of political wrangling, this line was bought by the City of Toronto on December 1, 1920. For the next few years, the Mimico line was turned over to the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Commission for management. The head of the operation was Adam Beck, who had visions of a vast interurban network bringing public transit and electricity to thousands of people throughout southern Ontario. A key to his plan, however, was a high-speed connection into downtown Toronto. Adam Beck and the City of Toronto had been allies in their drive to get William MacKenzie out of the street railway business, but Toronto balked at Beck’s high-speed corridor proposal.

Adam Beck wanted an exclusive six-track right-of-way along Toronto’s waterfront; Toronto was only willing to offer Beck a four-track connection that he could share with the TTC. Other property owners adjacent to the proposed right-of-way, including the Canadian National Exhibition and the Toronto Harbour Commission, objected to the corridor in principle. Eventually, the political will swung against Beck, and no waterfront corridor was built. The plans for an Ontario interurban network collapsed, and the ailing Mimico radial line was handed back to the City of Toronto on January 12, 1927. The track gauge was changed back from standard to the TTC’s unique 4’ 10-7/8” on November 5, 1927, and the TTC set about making further improvements to bring this former interurban line up to ‘city’ standards.

Conversion to ‘City’ Operation

On September 27, 1928, service ended on the Mimico radial line. The well-worn interurban track was taken up and new, double track laid down all the way to Browns Line, where Long Branch loop stands today. Lakeshore Boulevard was also widened, with three additional traffic lanes placed to the north of the new tracks. The project included the construction of a short-turn loop on the west side of what became Kipling Avenue, north of Lake Shore, in the village of New Toronto. Kipling Loop was often referred to as “NEW TORONTO” on streetcar rollsigns until the arrival of CLRV streetcars in the late 1970s. There was also a single-track wye built off of Lake Shore Road extending northwest along Hillside Avenue in the village of Mimico. It is doubtful that this wye was ever used except under the rarest of circumstances (or during railfan charters), but it remained connected to the system until 2002, the only wye in the streetcar system that wasn’t in or near a present or former carhouse.

Work was completed by early December and, on December 8, 1928, service began on the new LAKE SHORE streetcar running from Long Branch loop via Lake Shore Road and Queen Street to Church. Residents of Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch were charged an additional fare to enter the City of Toronto, but the new direct service to downtown Toronto brought out the riders.

A PORT CREDIT car prepares to leave Long Branch loop on February 6, 1935, days before radial service would end and bus take over. This shot is taken from the entrance to Long Branch loop, looking west and is courtesy the Toronto Archives.

While the residents of southern Etobicoke Township benefitted from this improved service, the residents of Port Credit and southern Toronto Township in today’s Mississauga weren’t so lucky. The remains of the MIMICO suburban carline continued to operate between Long Branch Loop and Port Credit as the PORT CREDIT line. Ridership was deemed insufficient to warrant double-tracking. Service was at half-hourly intervals. Ridership fell further as residents increasingly travelled into the city by automobile, or took up the new motor-coach services operating along Highway 2. PORT CREDIT would lumber along until it was converted to bus operation by the TTC on February 9, 1935. This PORT CREDIT bus service would operate until 1974, at which time the service was transferred to Mississauga Transit.

Until the LAKE SHORE streetcar opened, service on Queen Street from the downtown to Roncesvalles and/or Humber Loop was provided by the BEACH streetcar. When LAKE SHORE opened, BEACH operations were cut back to a loop via York, Richmond and Victoria. LAKE SHORE streetcars continued along Lake Shore Boulevard to Roncesvalles (at that time, a five way streetcar intersection!) and then onto Queen Street, where it performed the same loop, clockwise. Sharing the same looping facilities with the BEACH route made for heavy congestion and, in response, the TTC constructed two off-street loops to handle the routes; BEACH and QUEEN cars ran to McCaul Loop, while LAKE SHORE cars continued east of Yonge, turning back at Mutual Loop. Mutual Loop was closed on December 21, 1944 (after a serious accident); McCaul Loop still stands to this day.

LONG BRANCH was born as a route name on October 28, 1935 when the LAKE SHORE line was split in two. The LONG BRANCH section operated between Long Branch Loop and Roncesvalles Carhouse while the remaining LAKE SHORE route ran between Parkside Loop and Mutual (with rush-hour service extended to Humber Loop). A permanent loop at Queen and Roncesvalles opened for LONG BRANCH streetcars on March 14, 1936. LAKE SHORE continued operating until August 2, 1937 when it and the BEACH car were merged and renamed QUEEN, and the former QUEEN service was renamed KINGSTON ROAD.

War and Post War Changes

On October 26, 1942, TTC city streetcars, including PCCs, started making their only foray into what is now Mississauga, when tracks were extended west from Long Branch loop and across Etobicoke Creek to the ‘Small Arms Loop’, serving workers at a World War II munitions factory. Small Arms loop, and the tracks west of Etobicoke Creek were only a war measure, and with the cessation of hostilities, the loop and tracks were abandoned on October 14, 1945.

In 1958, as part of the Gardiner Expressway project and the redesign of Lake Shore Boulevard around Sunnyside, new private right-of-way was opened down the middle of the newly extended Queensway. QUEEN streetcars were routed along this segment, tracks on Lakeshore Boulevard east of the Humber were taken up. LONG BRANCH streetcars pulled back from Roncesvalles Loop and connected with the QUEEN route at the newly opened Humber Loop Interchange. Some direct downtown service continued for the Long Branch route, particularly during rush hours, with cars running east on Queen Street to loop via Church, Richmond and Victoria.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, the LONG BRANCH streetcar managed to avoid being chosen as the next candidate for the TTC’s streetcar abandonment program. When the CLRVs and the ALRVs were introduced, LONG BRANCH (assigned route number 507 at this time) tended to be the route where these cars were first tested.

A 507 LONG BRANCH transfer from March 24, 1992.

The Last Days, and Why They Came

507 LONG BRANCH’s continued existence could have been a legacy of the days when the TTC had a two fare system. Humber Loop was one such location where suburban passengers had to pay an additional fare to continue their trip into the city. If so (and, we hasten to point out, LONG BRANCH did operate direct downtown streetcars into the late 1960s), LONG BRANCH outlasted this legacy by some twenty years.

Over time, the TTC again came to believe that the residents of southern Etobicoke would be more willing to take transit if they didn’t have to change vehicles at Humber Loop. In 1992, direct downtown service along Lakeshore Boulevard, the Queensway and King Street was put into place, and succeeded beyond the TTC’s expectations (see the 508 LAKE SHORE streetcar). In the 1995 Service Plan, the TTC Planning Department recommended that the TTC extend the Long Branch streetcar into downtown Toronto, looping once again via Church, Richmond and Victoria. The arrangement they proposed was to have the 501 QUEEN Streetcar continue to provide base service between Humber Loop and Neville Park, while the 502, 503 and 507 would supplement service on the eastern and western halves respectively. For reasons known only to them, the TTC picked a different proposal.

On March 26, 1995, the TTC merged the 507 LONG BRANCH Streetcar into 501 QUEEN, with split service west of Humber Loop, producing an extremely long streetcar route running from the Mississauga border to Toronto’s border with Scarborough. This wasn’t a new idea (the 301 QUEEN NIGHT car operated over both routes for years), but some still mourned the loss of this distinctive community streetcar line running through the old towns and villages of southern Etobicoke.

Restoration (Sort Of, and then Officially)

The merger in March 1995 might have been the end of the story, but the marriage of 501 QUEEN with 507 LONG BRANCH wasn’t a comfortable one. The 501 QUEEN streetcar had long been plagued with service reliability issues, with residents of the east-end Beach neighbourhood fiercely complaining about the number of times cars short turned before getting near Woodbine Avenue. With the new route now even longer, service disruptions were magnified.

For the residents of southern Etobicoke, the merger meant that streetcars travelling on Lake Shore Boulevard continued straight downtown, but half of all service only operated from Humber Loop eastward. So where most of the 501 QUEEN route had scheduled headways of 5 minutes, residents of southern Etobicoke received 10 minute service. In the late evenings, that schedule stretched to every twenty minutes. Compare this with the early 1970s, when off-peak service was never longer than every twelve minutes. This assumed the service was reliable, which it wasn’t. Ridership dropped and rider complaints increased.

Some proposals to try and remedy the situation included taking the tracks on the extra-wide Lakeshore Boulevard and rebuilding them on their own private right-of-way, as had been done with the 510 SPADINA and 512 ST. CLAIR streetcars. This would be paired up with an extension of the 509 HARBOURFRONT streetcar to Sunnyside, and southern Etobicoke riders would be able to travel towards Union Station on a dedicated Waterfront West LRT. Unfortunately, this proposal faded due to lack of funds. Local residents themselves organized to ask the TTC to restore the 507 LONG BRANCH streetcar, possibly expanded to operate between Long Branch loop via Lakeshore Boulevard, the Queensway and Roncesvalles to Dundas West station, providing an overlap with the 501 QUEEN streetcar along the Queensway so that, even if their car was short turned at Roncesvalles, they could still make a transfer with a ready 501 QUEEN streetcar. By breaking the long 501 QUEEN up, service disruptions downtown would not radiate to the ends of the line, destroying service.

In 2007, TTC Commissioners attended public meetings organized by the Rocket Riders advocacy group and local residents demanding better and more reliable service all along the 501 QUEEN line. The restoration of the 507 LONG BRANCH streetcar was proposed, but the TTC ultimately did not implement the proposal. Instead, for a six week period starting October 19, 2009, the 501 QUEEN car was split downtown, with lines overlapping between Dufferin and Parliament. This was not what the residents of southern Etobicoke asked for, and after the TTC dropped the test after six weeks claiming it to be a failure, critics alleged the TTC never gave it a chance to succeed. However, the TTC did assign more supervisors to the route, and some riders reported that reliability improved. Southern Etobicoke riders were also given additional assistance through the premium-fare 145 HUMBER BAY-DOWNTOWN EXPRESS bus service.

In 2015, the TTC and the City of Toronto invested $90 million in new service improvements throughout the city. One of these initiatives was the launch of a network of bus and streetcar routes operating at intervals of ten minutes or better throughout the week, between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The 501 QUEEN line through southern Etobicoke was earmarked for such an improvement.

In theory, this meant that the practise of turning back half the service from Neville Park at Humber needed to end, during the midday, evenings and weekends. However, at the time of the announcement, the TTC was dealing with a shortage of ALRVs, and maintaining ALRV service over the whole length of the 501 QUEEN route wasn’t feasible, and wasn’t necessary given the ridership west of Humber loop. So, effective January 3, 2016, the TTC decided to unofficially restore the original LONG BRANCH service, breaking the 501 QUEEN route at Humber loop. ALRVs would ply the route from Humber to Neville, while CLRVs would operate from Humber to Long Branch. Though the Long Branch-to-Humber section would still operate with 501 QUEEN rollsigns, this was effectively the resurrection of the 507 LONG BRANCH route.

Southern Etobicoke residents would have to change streetcars at Humber to continue their trips downtown, but they could be assured that their streetcars would show up at their stops more frequently, and not be delayed by congestion downtown. In spite of scheduling CLRVs to provide this service, railfans reported that six ALRVs were operated instead on the morning of Sunday, January 3, 2016. In addition, the TTC scheduled three early-morning “trippers” operating from Long Branch to Neville, and some through-service was maintained during the late evenings. Service on the 301 QUEEN NIGHT car continued to operate from Long Branch to Neville.

This operation continued until 2021, when track reconstruction work along the Queensway and the King-Queen-Roncesvalles intersection forced the replacement of streetcars with buses along Lake Shore Boulevard. As the work dragged on into 2023, the TTC made the decision to formalize the route split at Humber with the restoration of the 507 Long Branch route. Streetcar service returned along the Queensway to Humber loop on Sunday, October 29, 2023, with full restoration of streetcar service happening on Sunday, November 19, 2023.

This route change isn’t as ambitious as what some residents have called for, such as operation of the 507 LONG BRANCH route to Dundas West station, but with this change, streetcar service in Southern Etobicoke has come full circle. Passengers may have to change cars at Humber Loop to continue downtown (or take the 508 LAKE SHORE streetcar during rush hours), but by containing the route between Long Branch and Humber Loops, 507 LAKE SHORE now acts as a community service, hopefully ensuring reliable operation for all points within its southern Etobicoke route, whatever happens downtown. This should serve, one hopes, while Toronto planners continue to quietly pursue the Waterfront West LRT, which could provide a much more reiable connection between southern Etobicoke and downtown Toronto.

507 Long Branch Image Archive

	A Toronto & York Radial Railway open car operates on an excursion on the MIMICO line past the Sacred Heart Orphanage on Lake Shore Road between Parkside Drive and Sunnyside Avenue in this 1900 shot courtesy the Toronto Archives.
	A postcard shows a TTC radial car operating in PORT CREDIT service on Lakeshore Road (Main Street West) in Port Credit circa 1910.
	The Toronto & York Radial Railway MIMICO track is seen here looking east from 9th Street in the Village of New Toronto. This photo was taken for the Toronto Archives on December 5, 1927.
	Another postcard showing a TTC radial car operating through Port Credit circa 1930.
	On May 31, 1953, TTC A13-class ex-Birmingham all-electric PCC #4703 pauses southbound on Roncesvalles, about to turn onto Lake Shore Road in LONG BRANCH service. Richard Glaze photograph.
	TTC A13-class all-electric ex-Birmingham PCC #4747 heads into Roncesvalles Loop, crossing Queen Street from Lake Shore Road in LONG BRANCH service. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze on May 31, 1953.
	An air-electric PCC heads on the Lake Shore Road bridge over the CN Railway tracks towards the Queen/King/Roncesvalles intersection in LONG BRANCH service. Richard Glaze took this photograph on May 31, 1953.
	An air-electric PCC heads westbound beneath the supports of the Queen Elizabeth Way in LONG BRANCH service. Richard Glaze took this photograph circa July 4, 1954.
	TTC ex-Birmingham PCC #4736 heads westbound on Lake Shore Boulevard, approaching 30th Street, as seen through the front of another PCC. Richard Glaze took this photograph on July 5, 1954.
	An all-electric PCC streetcar heads northbound across the bridge connecting Lake Shore boulevard and Queen Street west of Roncesvalles, in 1955, two years before the construction of the Queensway extension. Photo courtesy the Toronto Archives.
	TTC A-13 class ex-Birmingham PCC #4704 heads westbound on Queen Street, approaching Bathurst, in service on the downtown extension of the LONG BRANCH streetcar on August 30, 1962. The photographer is unknown; the photo is from the Dave Shaw collection.
	TTC A13-class ex-Birmingham all-electric PCC #4728 pulls eastbound through Humber Loop in LONG BRANCH service. Note the "DOWNTOWN" sign on its front, advertising its extended run to Church Street. This shot was taken on July 28, 1965 by John F. Bromley.
	TTC air-electric PCC #4226 and TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4472 pose together at Long Branch loop, showing off the eastern destination signs of the route on July 7, 1968. The photographer is unknown.
	R. Hill captured this shot of a Long Branch PCC pulling past a Queen car in their respective loops. A train of CN heavyweights passes overhead. Photo donated from the Rob Hutchinson collection.
	TTC ex-Birmingham all-electric A-13 PCC #4704 heads east on Queen towards Church, as part of LONG BRANCH's direct-downtown service on June 2, 1970. The photographer is unknown.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4415 emerges from the tunnel beneath the Gardiner Expressway and the Oakville subdivision into Humber Loop in LONG BRANCH service in this September 1970 shot. The photographer is unknown and the image is courtesy the Charlie Houser collection.
	TTC CLRV #4015 drops off passengers at Humber Loop, displaying its distinctive bright livery. This photo was taken by W.N.Carr in October, 1979.
	In this July 10, 1980 scene, TTC A7-class all-electric PCC 4423 crosses 37th street, heading eastbound for Humber Loop. This photo is by Joseph Testagrose.
	On July 10, 1980, TTC A8-class all-electric PCC #4522 can be seen crossing Queens Avenue in Mimico. At this point, route 507 was the only streetcar route to operate almost completely outside of the boundaries of the old City of Toronto. It owed its existence to the established streetcar-suburbs of Mimico, New Toronto and Long Branch. This photo is by Joseph Testagrose.
	W.N.Carr caught this shot of TTC CLRV #4075, entering Long Branch Loop with a few passengers inside. October 1980.
	TTC CLRV #4065 prepares to start its first trip to Long Branch. The sign on the right warns pedestrians not to walk behind standing streetcar. Photo by W.N.Carr. January, 1981.
	TTC CLRV #4003, one out of five built in Switzerland, exits Long Branch Loop. Trillium Symbol can be seen beside the entrance door as a reminder of the Province of Ontario that was involved in the production of transit vehicles for Toronto. This photograph was snapped by W.N.Carr in October 1981.
	TTC CLRV #4153 caught by W.N.Carr in February, 1983, making its service run to Humber Loops with passengers on board. The Stelco factory is visible in the background - this facility was closed in 1989.
	TTC CLRV #4118 is coming off of 507 LONG BRANCH service, heading to Roncesvalles carhouse via the Queensway. It's seen here crossing Windermere along private right-of-way. The photograph, taken in the early-to-mid 1980s, was taken by John Calnan.
	TTC A7-class all-electric PCC #4451 turns into New Toronto Loop (today known as Kipling Loop) off Kipling Avenue, just north of Lake Shore Boulevard. This early 1980s picture (looking northeast across the loop) was taken by Rob Hutchinson.
	At the westernmost part of the line, Long Branch Loop provides a transfer point between City of Toronto streetcars heading east, and GO Trains and Mississauga buses heading west. This has been the same since city cars reached Long Branch, and interchanged with an interurban to Port Credit. This December 1999 photograph was taken by James Bow.
	TTC CLRV 4174 operates westbound on Lake Shore Boulevard, approaching Kipling on February 7, 2016, two months into a trial split service which restored the 507 LONG BRANCH streetcar as a branch of the 501 QUEEN line. Photo by Edward Brain.
	TTC Flexity LRV #4503 picks up passengers at Humber Loop while LRV #4570 pulls through the loop to head eastbound in 501 QUEEN service. This shot was taken by Roman Thompson on November 11, 2023.
	TTC Flexity LRV #4432 crosses Brown's Line approaching Long Branch Loop in newly restored 507 LONG BRANCH service. This photo was taken by Roman Thompson on November 25, 2023.
	TTC Flexity LRV #4540 pulls through the turnaround at Long Branch Loop in 507 LONG BRANCH service. This shot was taken by Roman Thompson on November 11, 2023.
	TTC Flexity LRV #4579 pulls into Long Branch loop, facing west, in newly-restored 507 LONG BRANCH service. This shot was taken by Roman Thompson on November 25, 2023.

References

Bromley, John F., TTC ‘28, The Upper Canada Railway Society, Toronto (Ontario), 1979.
Bromley, John F., and Jack May Fifty Years of Progressive Transit, Electric Railroaders’ Association, New York (New York), 1978.
Stamp, Robert M., Riding the Radials: Toronto’s Suburban Electric Streetcar Lines, The Boston Mills Press, Erin (Ontario), 1989.

Special thanks to John Bromley and Ray Corley for their corrections to this web page

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Route 507 - The Long Branch Streetcar (Resurrected)

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