Toronto Railway Museum

Railway museums and other museums of technology tend to focus exclusively on the "hardware" associated with their subjects, placing insufficient emphasis on the human process that surrounds the object. The steam locomotive is an ideal example of an extremely labour-intensive machine whose presence had a profound impact on society. The rise of Toronto to industrial prominence in the late 19th century is directly attributable to the commercial possibilities created by the steam engine. To ignore the human envelope of its career is to lose most of the story that the artifact has to tell.

Toronto Railway Historical Association

Canadian National No. 6213 is the only steam locomotive owned by the City of Toronto. The engine rests at Exhibition Park, some two kilometres west of the John St. roundhouse. No. 6213 was built in August 1942 by the Montreal Locomotive Works. It was part of an order of 35 identical locomotives built for the Canadian National Railways during World War II. It is a U-2 class Northern-type steam locomotive with a 4-8-4 wheel arrangement and was used to haul both passenger and freight trains well over a million miles during its 17-year career based in locations that ranged from Halifax on the east coast to the prairies of Saskatchewan.

No. 6213 was retired from active duty in 1959 and sat on the scrap line for several months, during which she was cannibalized for parts. She was selected for preservation because she was typical of the last steam locomotives used in regular passenger service in the Toronto area. CN workers then replaced the missing parts from other locomotives sitting on the scrap line. In 1960, Canadian National Railways presented No. 6213 to the City of Toronto.

Toronto Railway Historical Association

This diesel-electric road-switching locomotive appears to be mechanically complete and was previously restored to its pre-1960 paint scheme by the railway in 1984. No. 4803 is mounted on specialized, lightweight flexicoil bogies or trucks; the truck frame casting is often one of the heaviest components in a diesel-electric locomotive, and 4803 was specially equipped to travel on lightly constructed western branch lines during the autumn grain rush every year. During most of the year, she ran in regular service throughout the country, but come fall, she would head to the prairies.

In 1984, 4803 was donated to the City by the railway in a public ceremony involving then-Mayor Art Eggleton. A brass plaque commemorating that event is held by CN's public affairs office on Front Street and will be returned to the City for installation on the locomotive when the museum is established. We are pursuing inquiries with the railway as to her final mechanical condition before retirement, in the hope that she can be made operational. Meanwhile, she is in superb cosmetic condition and requires little more than a careful washing to be an excellent display piece.

Toronto Railway Historical Association

The Cape Race was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1929 as the "River Liard." The car was one of a series of 15 "River" cars fabricated at National Steel Car in Hamilton for $66,300 apiece. The opulent interiors were finished at CP's Angus Shops in Montreal and featured individual ladies' and gentlemen's showers, leather-upholstered smoking rooms, ladies' lounge and observation parlour as well as a small buffet to serve snacks and beverages.

Instead of the traditional open observation platform on the rear, the cars featured a high-windowed solarium furnished with eight leather chairs. In an era long before exposure to the sun's ultra-violet rays was considered harmful, CP promoted these solarium-lounge cars with their "health-giving VITA GLASS Sun Parlors."

The River cars were unusual in that they contained no revenue-producing space; they were completely for the comfort of passengers occupying space in other sleeping cars. The cars were built primarily for CP's "Trans-Canada Limited," an all-sleeping car train between Montreal/Toronto and Vancouver that ran in the summers only between 1919 and 1930. In the winter, the cars operated on the Toronto-Vancouver "Dominion" as well as other CP trains. In 1931, due to the deepening Depression, CP cancelled the Trans-Canada Limited and mothballed most of the River cars since they were too expensive to operate.

Toronto Railway Historical Association

The Roundhouse Park Miniature Railway (RPMR) is a 7.25" gauge passenger-carrying miniature live steam railway that allows visitors direct experience of genuine steam technology. The miniature railway provides a revenue source to the Museum as well as a vibrant interactive experience.

Toronto Railway Historical Association