Today marks 10 years since the grand opening of the Toronto Railway Historical Association’s greatest accomplishment. Initially called the Toronto Railway Heritage Center, the Toronto Railway Museum was a culmination of efforts from the TRHA and its volunteers since it was formed in 2001. Since then, the TRHA and TRM have made an innumerable amount of progress. In addition to the vast amount of restoration work and construction of displays, we’ve built up our presence on the internet as well. Starting with the first website in 2007, followed by the creation of our various social media accounts over the next several years. The museum itself in addition to our various auxiliary structures, artifacts, and displays in Roundhouse Park have become a popular destination among Toronto’s locals and tourists alike. While the current circumstances have unfortunately put a damper on the celebrations we would have had for this occasion, we can at least engage with the public through our various online channels. Be sure to check out our social media for events and activities you can participate in from the comfort of home during this difficult time. You can find links to our accounts across multiple platforms at the bottom of this page.

The TRHA and its members were not the first to come up with the idea for a railway museum at the John Street Roundhouse. There were many early attempts at converting the roundhouse into a museum, even prior to its abandonment by VIA Rail. By far the most ambitious recommendation was that of architect Barton Myers to the City of Toronto’s Railway Heritage Committee in 1984. At an estimated $21.5 million (equivalent to $48 million today), the development would include a $7.5 million glass and steel enclosure over the turntable. Unfortunately, a source of funding was never identified and nothing came of it.

By the 1990’s the roundhouse had been abandoned by VIA, the rails torn up and a massive dirt patch left where the rail yards used to be. Even as the roundhouse deteriorated, new plans were drawn up to develop the surrounding area into a tourism hub. As the Metro Toronto Convention Center was expanded underneath, stalls 1-11 of the roundhouse had to be dismantled and rebuilt. After the formation of the TRHA, it was determined that a museum would only be possible if most of the roundhouse were leased to commercial tenants. This would limit the museum to just three stalls, something that still causes problems, but it would provide the $10 million necessary to readapt the roundhouse. The museum project would include the restoration of the original 120-foot turntable to operating condition; rebuilding most of the 32 standard gauge radial tracks surrounding the turntable, as well as other tracks throughout the park; moving the 1942 Canadian National No. 6213 (4-8-4) steam locomotive from the Exhibition grounds to Roundhouse Park; and the building of a new concrete “mini-depot” for the servicing and maintenance of the miniature railway. The project also included the creation of a historic railway village at the east end of the park by moving the 1896 Don Station from Todmorden Mills and the complete restoration of this building along with three other wooden railway structures, including the 1896 Grand Trunk interlocking tower Cabin D previously located west of Bathurst Street. While all this was going on, TRHA volunteers would build a ½-kilometre long narrow gauge right-of-way for an operating miniature railway and construct several passenger cars and a 7.5-inch gauge steam locomotive so museum visitors could ride through the park and vicariously appreciate a long-lost experience of Toronto’s railway heritage. The museum also acquired a working standard gauge 1950 industrial switching locomotive necessary to move other locomotives and rail cars around the park.

The restoration of many of the museum’s structures was finished just in time for the opening of the museum in 2010. Opening day would be May 29th to coincide with Doors Open Toronto. The opening ceremony was attended by former Toronto mayor David Miller, who along with the other speakers cut the ribbon to mark the opening of the museum. The late Orin Krivel, former TRHA president and Chief Historian Derek Boles each spoke at the podium as well. Krivel presented his views on the museum and reinforced many of the points made by the mayor in recognizing those who made this day a reality. Boles followed with an overview of the history of the Toronto Rail Lands and described many of the major artifacts on exhibit. Mayor Miller then took the controls of the mini train for its first operation.

A great deal of success has been achieved by the museum over the last 10 years. Few railway museums can boast of a location like ours; in the heart of the downtown entertainment district in Canada’s largest city. In addition to the numerous other restoration projects completed since opening, the museum has seen a significant increase in visitors over the years. In 2012, the Toronto Railway Museum hired a full-time manager and other staff has been employed on restoration projects requiring talents beyond those of our volunteer base. Many of our various social media accounts were created in the following years, and in 2019 our website was redeveloped using WordPress. Last fall the John Street Roundhouse celebrated its 90th anniversary with great success. If the last ten years is any indication, one can only imagine what we’ll accomplish in the next ten! Even while the museum is closed, work continues in all areas possible and some interesting announcements will likely be made regarding upcoming projects, so stay tuned!

Posting by Adam Peltenburg.