The great Ed Levy, a brilliant thinker and writer about public transportation and a person I was privileged to know as a friend, has died. My condolences to @beth66.bsky.social and to all of his family and loved ones. May his memory be a blessing. benjaminsparkmemorialchapel.ca/ServiceDetai...

Aug 4, 1971: CN Train No. 51, the Montreal-Toronto "Lakeshore," is held up at Dorval, QC by a group of robbers armed with machine guns. The train was boarded at Lachine when one of the bandits lay across the tracks, causing it to slow down. 1/3

Aug 3, 1926: the Illinois Central Railroad opens a Canadian Agency in Toronto's Dominion Bank Building at King and Yonge Streets. Centred in Chicago, Illinois, the closest the Illinois Central's tracks got to Toronto was Indianapolis, Indiana. 1/2

Aug 2, 1962: protesters gather at New York City's Pennsylvania Station, demanding it be saved from demolition. The station had opened in November 1910 and, with Grand Central Terminal, was one of the city's two great railway terminuses. 1/3

Aug 1, 1996: the Canadian National Railway re-enters the passenger business, operating a leased GO train from Toronto Union Station to Casino Rama, near Orillia, ON. The casino had originally negotiated with VIA Rail to provide this service but decided to deal directly with CN instead. 1/3

Jul 31, 1966: CN Train No. 5, the Montreal-Vancouver Panorama, is the last train to depart from Ottawa's old Union Station at 12:40 AM. Ottawa's grand downtown Beaux-Arts railway station had originally opened as the Grand Trunk Central Station on June 1, 1912. 1/3

Jul 30, 1981: VIA Rail displays a new LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) train set of three cars and two locomotives at Toronto Union Station. This was the first of a uniquely Canadian fleet built by Bombardier. By 1984 it included 31 locomotives, 75 coaches and 25 club cars. 1/3

Jul 29, 1999: Former Lake Erie & Northern interurban combine car No. 797 arrives at the Halton County Radial Railway (@streetcarmuseum.bsky.social). Built by the Preston Car Company in 1915, this is the only surviving passenger car from the LE&N or the Grand River Railway. 1/2

Jul 28, 1904: the first train runs over the Lindsay, Bobcaygeon & Pontypool Railway, which by this time was leased to Canadian Pacific. A month later CP began passenger service into Bobcaygeon over a branch from its main line at Burketon. 1/3

Jul 26, 1883: the Ontario & Quebec Railway leases the Toronto, Grey & Bruce Railway for 999 years. This became possible after the financially overextended Grand Trunk Railway was forced to relinquish control of the TG&B. 1/2

Jul 25, 1856: the Great Western Railway advertises for tenders for construction of a passenger shelter at Mimico, as well as buildings at several other locations. The Mimico station would be located on the north side of the tracks, immediately east of Church Street (now Royal York Road). 1/3

Jul 24, 1976: the TTC's Mount Pleasant streetcar line runs for the last time. First opened in 1925 as an extension of the St. Clair car line, the segment east of Yonge Street was spun off as a separate line in 1975. 1/3

Jul 23, 1896: The Toronto Globe reports that the Grand Trunk Railway will move its Toronto locomotive and car workshops to Stratford. The move, costing about 300 local jobs, was one of many cost saving initiatives by newly appointed GTR general manager Charles M. Hays. 1/3

Jul 22, 1906: the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada changes from left-hand to right-hand running on its double-track mainlines. Left-hand running was a holdover from the Grand Trunk's long history of emulating British railway operating practices. 1/2

Jul 21, 1836: the Champlain and Saint Lawrence Rail Road opens. It is Canada's first steam-powered public railway, running 14.5 miles (23.3 km) from La Prairie, QC, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, to St. John on the Richelieu River. 1/3

Jul 17, 1946: a Canadian Pacific Railway "safety theatre on wheels" visits Toronto as part of a cross-Canada tour. The converted wartime hospital car featured a sound system, movie projector and seating for 60 people. 1/2

Jul 16, 1889: the newly established Toronto Belt Line Railway Company holds its inaugural meeting. Among the principal officials was promoter John T. Moore, who had one of the line's grandest stations named after him: Moore Park. 1/2

Jul 15, 1932: Ontario Premier George S. Henry drives in the last spike of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway's Cochrane-Moosonee line, not far from the western shore of James Bay. Henry was accompanied by former Premier E.C. Drury and Chief Justice F.R. Latchford. 1/3

Jul 14, 2006: GO Transit suspends train service after a Canadian National freight train derails near the Mimico GO station. The derailment, a little after 2:00 PM, caused freight cars to jackknife and roll over all four tracks used by CN, GO and VIA Rail. 1/3

Jul 13, 1906: the Toronto Terminals Railway is incorporated to "acquire the requisite lands for the erection of a Union Passenger Station and to provide the necessary buildings, tracks, sidings and other terminals facilities [for] all passenger, express and mail traffic." 1/3

Jul 12, 1996: the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Hunter Street Station in Hamilton celebrates its official re-opening. The ceremony marked the completion of a $25.5 million restoration by GO Transit—although the station had actually opened that April. 1/3

Jul 11, 1906: Moses the camel, one of the most popular exhibits at the Riverdale Zoo, escapes from his enclosure. Unfortunately, the Bactrian camel's escape was cut short when he was struck and killed by a CPR train heading southbound on the Don Branch. 1/2

Jul 10, 1923: the Toronto Transportation Commission ends the practice of carrying baby carriages on the outside of streetcars. The TTC's predecessor, the Toronto Railway Company, had provided hooks on the rear of its streetcars specifically for this purpose. 1/2

Jul 9, 1881: the Northern Railway of Canada re-gauges its track between Toronto and Gravenhurst from 5’6” (1676 mm) between the rails, which it had used since the railway began operating in 1853, to the standard gauge of 4'8.5" (1435 mm). 1/3

Jul 8, 2013: Torrential rains flood the GTA, with a record 126 mm of rainfall measured at Toronto Pearson International Airport. By comparison, the previous one-day record for rainfall was during Hurricane Hazel on October 15, 1954, with 121 mm. 1/3

This painting was posted on a #NewWest Facebook page. Downtown New Westminster, 1940, by Max Jacquiard (1934-2022).

Jul 7, 2021: the Toronto Coach Terminal closes. The last bus to use the terminal was an Ontario Northland coach four days earlier. In 2026 the terminal's covered bus bays were demolished to make way for a new residential tower redevelopment. The main building has been preserved.

Jul 6, 2006: the Greater Toronto Airport Authority opens the 1.47 km LINK Train cable-operated people mover at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The people mover uses two 6-car train sets and connects Pearson Terminals 1 and 3 with the Viscount long-term parking lot.

Jul 5, 1944: Toronto Terminals Railway Superintendent John R.W. Ambrose retires after a railroading career spanning 47 years. He first came to local prominence supervising construction of the Grand Trunk Railway's Parkdale Grade Separation between 1910 and 1912. 1/3

Jul 4, 1886: the first scheduled Canadian Pacific Railway transcontinental passenger train arrives at Port Moody, British Columbia. The Pacific Express had departed from Montreal on June 28 and took 139 hours to cover the 2,893 mile (4655 km) distance across four time zones. 1/2