September 12, 2007 marked the fifth anniversary of the ToRyHeritage Yahoo group and, no, it’s not about the current leader of the provincial Conservative party.
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The Toronto Railway Heritage group was created in 2002 to provide a forum for the discussion of the history of Canadian railways, with a focus on southern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. The group was created and is moderated by TRHA Historian Derek Boles, who posts a daily email describing important historical events in Toronto’s transportation history that occurred on that day in the past.
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Those who are not specifically railway enthusiasts but curious about Toronto’s history will also find the group of interest. Here are a couple of entries from September 10, for example:
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September 10, 1860:
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His Royal Highness, Edward, the Prince of Wales rides a special Northern Railway of Canada train from Toronto to Collingwood and back. The train departed from the amphitheater at the foot of John St., built for the prince’s arrival in Toronto three days earlier. The amphitheater and an elaborately decorated arch were designed by William Storm, architect of the Great Western station at the foot of Yonge St. Storm was an architectural partner of Frederick Cumberland, managing director of the NRC, who assumed responsibility for most of the prince’s activities while he was in Toronto. The NRC shops built a special open observation car for the Royal Train, which attained the then unheard of speed of 55 mph on its return trip between King and Davenport.
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September 10, 1978:
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The Discovery Train arrives in Toronto for a week long visit as part of a cross-Canada tour promoting federal unity. The train was displayed at a siding behind the Shopper’s World plaza at Victoria Park and Danforth Avenues. 55,000 visitors passed through the 14 exhibit cars showcasing Canada’s history and development over the years. Several of the cars featured moving sidewalks to speed visitors through the train, a feature not appreciated by some. The exhibit cars had been purchased from the U.S., where they had made up the Freedom Train that toured the United States during the 1976 Bicentennial. The cost of the train was shared by the federal and provincial governments, except for Quebec, which was run by Rene Levesque’s Parti Quebecois at the time. CP and CN moved the train around the country at no charge to the promoters.
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For people concerned about excessive email traffic, ToRyHeritage is a quiet list, with usually only one email a day. In order to reduce spamming, new members are required to indicate why they want to join the group before being approved by the moderator. Note that ToRyHeritage is separate from the TRHA Yahoo group, which is specifically for the discussion of the TRHA organization and the establishment of the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre at the John Street Roundhouse.
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Please consider joining ToRyHeritage at:
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ToRyHeritage/
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By Derek Boles, TRHA Historian