Parliament transfer before 1948, before the extension of the line to King Street.

Text by James Bow.

The Route at the Time of its Abandonment

Running from the off-street Viaduct Loop next to the Necropolis, Parliament streetcars trundled south, through Cabbagetown and old Corktown, to loop at Parliament loop just south of King Street. Parliament had no tripper services to speak of, although cars would run in from Danforth Carhouse via the Danforth Avenue and the Prince Edward Viaduct. Earlier in its history, other routes made use of Parliament's tracks (and some still do) for special rush-hour services. These include a King operation, and the Carlton Tripper, both of which stopped running before Parliament was abandoned.

Abandoned before the arrival of Canadian Light Rail Vehicles, Parliament was never given an official route number for its rollsigns. However, from May 3, 1965 through February 1966, the three PCCs serving the Parliament line were equipped with automatic transfer dispensers on a trial basis. The transfers were similar to cash register receipts, indicating the date, time, direction of travel, transfer number and route number. Parliament's route was listed as '00'.

A History of Streetcars on Parliament

Parliament is a very old street, with connections to the old Town of York. The industrial section south of Front Street once boasted Upper Canada's capital buildings and that is how the street got its name. As the area developed into a major working-class residential neighbourhood, demand for streetcar service soon followed. In November 1874, the SHERBOURNE route lay north on Sherbourne and east on Carlton to Parliament Street, while the WINCHESTER service followed this route and went further, operating north on Parliament to Winchester.

The first PARLIAMENT streetcar materialized in November 1881, with service operating from Front and York via east on Front, north on Church, east on King, north on Sherbourne and east on Queen to Parliament and then north on Parliament to Gerrard. In August 1886, CARLTON cars closed the gap, running on Parliament between Carlton and Gerrard before heading east on Gerrard to Sumach. CARLTON service was electrified on November 6, 1893, and PARLIAMENT followed on November 11, 1893.

By 1910, three routes were running along the street. WINCHESTER Cars operated from Downtown Toronto via Yonge, Carlton, Parliament and Winchester to a wye at Sumach Street. PARLIAMENT cars were looping downtown via Yonge, Front and Bay and running via Queen, Parliament and Gerrard Streets to a wye at Greenwood Avenue. CARLTON cars bridged the gap between Gerrard and Carlton, as part of its service from Broadview and Gerrard to the Downtown via Gerrard, Parliament, Carlton and Yonge.

In 1918, PARLIAMENT cars were renamed 'QUEEN' and extended west of the downtown core to Roncesvalles. WINCHESTER moved from Carlton south to Dundas in 1911 and shared service with QUEEN between Dundas and Carlton. This was the routing arrangement when the Toronto Transportation Commission took over streetcar operations. Two years later, all service on Parliament and Winchester Streets was handled by a single route named WINCHESTER, but the days of service on Winchester Street were numbered.

Tracks on Parliament had not been extended north from Winchester because Parliament Street itself did not have much further to go. The Rosedale Ravine cut off the street at Howard, while a winding roadway continued northeast to Castle Frank. It wasn't until the construction of the Prince Edward Viaduct across the Rosedale and Don Valleys that Bloor Street was extended east to Broadview, and Parliament could be extended north to meet it. By then, the Toronto Railway Company was nearing the end of its mandate and was reluctant to extend streetcar service that it would not profit from enough before its franchise expired.

On July 1, 1923, as part of a general restructuring of routes, the TTC resurrected the PARLIAMENT service from the old QUEEN route, replacing WINCHESTER service. On August 3, 1924, the TTC opened tracks on Parliament between Winchester and Bloor. The PARLIAMENT service was rerouted to Bloor Street where cars turned at a newly constructed Viaduct Loop. PARLIAMENT cars looped downtown via Queen, Church and Victoria streets before returning to Parliament along Queen. Winchester tracks languished unused for four years before being torn up.

Service was provided using single-ended cars, until the mid 1920s. By 1928, a crossover had been constructed on the Parliament tracks near Queen, and on Sundays, Birney cars were cut back here until May 1940. This was the routing arrangement through the Great Depression and the Second World War. Following the War, on January 5, 1947, service was extended south on Parliament to a new loop just south of King, and downtown service by Parliament cars ceased. This track was put in place primarily to route every third King car off of the Don River Bridge, relieving some of the congestion that was being experienced. Rerouted King cars travelled up Parliament and along Dundas to rejoin the route at Broadview. Parliament cars now operated between two off-street loops. PCCs were introduced to the line on June 8, 1948.

The Last Days and Why they Came.

The Parliament Streetcar was killed on February 26, 1966, by the Bloor-Danforth Subway, and replaced with the 65 PARLIAMENT bus route. Despite the fact that the off-street transfer facility for Castle Frank station was just a stone's throw away from Viaduct Loop, the TTC did not attempt to make a connection. Tracks were soon abandoned on Parliament north of Carlton and paved over (although they are now starting to show again). This was in character with the TTC's policy until 1972 of gradually abandoning its streetcar system with every subway opening; had the subway opened after that, a Parliament car line might still be acting as a feeder route into Castle Frank station. Service on Parliament south of Carlton lingered after abandonment, however. Although reduced congestion on the Don Bridge reduced the need for routing every third King car over Parliament and Dundas, occasional King, Queen and Dundas cars were short turned using these tracks. Today, morning 508 Lake Shore occasionally return to Roncesvalles carhouse via King, Parliament and Carlton.

It is unlikely that Parliament will ever regain regular streetcar service, however. Plans to reinstate Parliament Loop in 1996 were shelved due to budget cuts, and although 65 PARLIAMENT was identified as the fourth most feasible route to convert to streetcar operation in the Conversion to Streetcars report, the route itself does not have the passenger traffic to justify it. Also, although the Parliament bus operation used to be as stable as its streetcar predecessor, travel patterns are changing on Parliament south of King Street which will make streetcar reinstatement even more difficult. When the 509 Harbourfront streetcar was opened in July 2000, and the 121 Front-Esplanade bus ceased operation, the TTC extended the Parliament bus along the Esplanade and Front to Union Station.

The TTC may have lost a golden opportunity in not converting Parliament into a feeder streetcar for the Bloor-Danforth subway, but the tracks in place on Parliament maintain the spirit of the streetcars that used to operate there...

Parliament Streetcar Image Archive

	A Birney-built double-ended TTC streetcar pauses southbound on Church, about to turn west on Richmond on August 31, 1923. The Birney car is likely serving the PARLIAMENT streetcar which, from Monday to Saturday, looped through the downtown via Church, Richmond and Victoria. This was possibly the only time short double-ended ex-Civic Railway cars operated in service through Toronto's downtown core. Photo courtesy the Toronto Archives.
	TTC air-electric PCC #4196 waits at Viaduct Loop just south of Bloor to enter service for another southbound Parliament run. This spot is just a stone's throw from the site of the current Castle Frank bus platforms, but the TTC made no attempt to connect the Parliament Streetcar to the new Bloor Subway and instead converted the streetcar route to buses on opening day. This property, next to the Necropolis, is now a parkette. For a while, tracks were visible in the grass. This photograph is by Julian Bernard and was donated by Curt Frey.
	An Air-Electric PCC crosses King Street on its way to Parliament Loop. Until 1947, Parliament tracks ended at Queen, and Parliament cars looped downtown. This photograph was donated by Curt Frey.
	TTC air-electric PCC #4180 heads southbound on Parliament, crossing Dundas Street East in PARLIAMENT service on May 31, 1953. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	Robert McCann took this picture of PCC 4377, circa 1963, running south on Parliament, past the Necropolis, south of Viaduct Loop near Bloor Street. The photo came to Transit Toronto from the collection of John Knight.
	TTC air-electric PCC #4293 departs Viaduct Loop at the north end of the PARLIAMENT streetcar for its southbound run. The photograph was taken by Robert McMann on May 28, 1964, and the image is courtesy the John Knight collection.
	TTC A6-class all-electric PCC #4377 prepares to enter Parliament loop south of King Street on April 12, 1965. This photo is courtesy the Howard Wayt collection.
	A view of Viaduct Loop and the Parliament-Bloor intersection (June 21, 1965), just as an MU train of Bloor trains departs eastbound. Photo by R. Hill; donated by Rob Hutch.
	PCC 4370 leaves Viaduct Loop on June 21, 1965 and prepares to head south on Parliament. Photo by R. Hill, donated by Rob Hutch.
	PCC 4377 heads southbound on Parliament while a Carlton PCC prepares to turn north from Gerrard in this 1965 shot. Photo by R. Hill; donated by Rob Hutch.
	Parliament, looking south towards Queen Street on June 22, 1965. Photo by R. Hill; donated by Rob Hutch.
	R. Hill captured this shot of a Parliament PCC leaving Parliament loop and heading north towards Bloor Street. Photo donated by Rob Hutch.
	TTC A6-class PCC #4375 picks up passengers at Viaduct loop at the north end of the PARLIAMENT streetcar on September 8, 1965. This photograph was taken by Roger Puta.
	TTC A1-class air-electric PCC 4020 lays over in PARLIAMENT service by the shelter at Parliament loop south of King Street in this November 1965 shot. The photographer is unknown and the image is courtesy the John Knight collection.
	TTC air-electric PCC 4113 prepares to leave Viaduct loop for another run on the PARLIAMENT streetcar. This photo was taken on February 20, 1966, days before the route's abandonment, by John F. Bromley.
	TTC air-electric PCC #4213 enters PARLIAMENT service, turning from westbound Bloor onto southbound Parliament. Photo taken on February 25, 1966, the last day of service. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	Today, PCC 4549 recreates a Parliament scene during a railfan charter in the year 2000. Photo by James Bow.

References

• Bromley, John F., and Jack May Fifty Years of Progressive Transit, Electric Railroaders' Association, New York (New York), 1978.
• Filey, Mike, Not a One-Horse Town: 125 Years of Toronto and its Streetcars, Gagne Printing, Louiseville (Quebec), 1986.
• Westland, Stu, 'The Winchester Carline' Rail and Transit, September-October 1979, p23-24, The Upper Canada Railway Society, Toronto (Ontario), 1979.

Special thanks to Mark Brader, John Bromley and Ray Corley for their corrections to this web page.