Text and photos by James Bow.
Jack Doyle's annual Christmas charter was held in the first Sunday of December. Over twenty railfans turned out for the opportunity to take pictures of PCC 4549 for the last time in the year 2000. The Christmas charter of the past offered a variety of photo locations and lighting conditions, ranging throughout the system, from clear noon skies to early winter twilight.
This charter was no exception. Railfans were greeted with sunny skies and a spectacular sunset to cap things off. These photographs tell the story:
Jack Doyle's Christmas 2000 Charter Image Archive
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After a pickup at Dundas and Victoria, PCC 4549 ran along Dundas and up McCaul for a stop at the Silverstien's Bakery, where Jack Doyle bought attendees two loafs of fresh rye bread. So far, nobody has yet remembered to bring butter on these trips. PCC 4549 is seen here facing northbound on McCaul Street just north of Baldwin Street.
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From McCaul, we proceeded to College and west to Spadina, making a run through Spadina station and stopping here southbound at Sussex Avenue. A service CLRV passed us during this photo shoot.
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We then headed down Spadina, getting ahead of the service vehicle and then stopping for this photo shoot at the northern end of the Spadina Avenue bridge over the railway tracks. Here are some of the attendees of the fan trip.
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Continuing down Spadina, we turned east onto Queens Quay and followed the Harbourfront line into Union Station.
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PCC 4549 poses at Spadina Loop near the Harbourfront Antique Market. The building that used to be within the loop has been demolished to make way for a condominium development.
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Realizing how rare it was for streetcars to operate from Queens' Quay to Bathurst north of Lakeshore, we proceeded straight north through the Bathurst/Lakeshore intersection and made a stop at Wolesley Loop.
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From Wolesley Loop, we ran back to Fleet Loop and caught the PCC looping-the-loop around the lighthouse.
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After a quick stop at Exhibition Loop, we ran along Fleet, Bathurst and King, heading out to Long Branch loop. We arrived in between two service cars and took a bit of a break.
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At the private right-of-way stop on the Queensway (directly below the South Kingsway) we stopped for a brief photo shoot on our way to a lunch break at Roncesvalles carhouse.
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With the afternoon wearing on, we proceeded up Roncesvalles. After some negotiating of the switches around the Howard Park/Roncesvalles and Lansdowne/College intersections, we paid a visit to High Park.
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As the sun set, we headed south east on Howard Park and Dundas and south on Spadina, turning into Charlotte Loop.
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Here you see the flurry of activity associated with a photo shoot as twilight sets in on the charter.
PCC 4549 is at Bingham Loop, as a 12 Kingston Road bus begins to pull out.
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On the outside of PCC 4549, looking in. PCC 4549 pauses for a photo shoot at Woodbine Loop.
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Finally, the charter drew to a close at Russell carhouse. PCC 4549 pulls into the sunset on Eastern Avenue. What a wonderful way to end a good charter.
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Thanks must go to Jack Doyle, Patrick Lavallee and all of the others who helped make this Christmas tradition possible. Here's to more charters in the year 2001!