Text by James Bow
In September 2001, to celebrate the TTC's 80th anniversary, the commission called Halton County Radial Railway and requested the use of the museum's popular open car, #327.
The car was once the property of the TTC, of course, built in the 1890s by the Toronto Railway Company and used by the company until around 1905, when the use of open cars was banned by the city of Toronto. Car 327 was retired and scrapped, and rebuilt by the Toronto Transportation Commission in 1934 in order to celebrate Toronto's centennial. The car remained in the TTC's possession until the late 1960s, stored in Hillcrest, and used for training purposes. Finally, the TTC donated car 327 to the railway museum.
For the celebration, car 327 was put on a truck and driven to Hillcrest shops. At 2 a.m. on September 6, 2001, the car was transferred by the TTC and museum staff from Hillcrest to Russell carhouse. Museum member Pat Lavallee made sure he had a camera along for the ride.
Car 327 Comes Home Image Archive
Special thanks to Pat Lavallee for kindly donating these photographs.