Halton County Radial Railway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Halton County Radial Railway

A former TTC streetcar (PCC A-15 #4618) at the museum, now serving as an ice-cream shop.
Established	December 1953 (December 1953)
Location	13629 Guelph Line, Milton, Ontario
Type	Railway museum / Heritage railway

The Halton County Radial Railway is a fun, working museum. It shows off old electric streetcars, buses, and other cool railway vehicles. A group called the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association (OERHA) runs the museum.

The museum mostly focuses on the history of public transport in Toronto, Ontario. This includes the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). You can see many types of old streetcars there. These include PCC, Peter Witt, and CLRV cars. They also have older cars from the Toronto streetcar system. Plus, you can see G-series and M-series Toronto subway cars.

The museum is open to everyone. You can even ride many of the old vehicles! It is located in Milton, Ontario, Canada. This spot is between the villages of Rockwood and Campbellville. The museum uses part of the old Toronto Suburban Railway tracks. These tracks are a special width. They are 60 mm (2+3⁄8 in) wider than standard tracks. This means vehicles from other cities sometimes need changes to fit. An Ontario Historical Plaque is at the museum. It celebrates the important role of electric railways in Ontario's history. Some of the museum's Peter Witt streetcars were even in the 2005 movie Cinderella Man. They helped make Toronto look like New York City in the 1930s.

History of the Museum

The Halton County Radial Railway and the OERHA started in 1953. A group of people wanted to save Toronto Transit Commission streetcar 1326. It was going to be scrapped, but they saved it! After getting this streetcar, their dream grew.

They bought land that used to be part of the Toronto Suburban Railway. This land was in Nassagaweya Township. Over time, they rescued many other street and radial cars. The museum officially opened its doors in 1972.

Since the beginning, the museum's goal has been clear. They want to teach and inspire people about the history of electric railways. They focus on Ontario and Canada. Today, the museum shows and operates many historic streetcars. They also have work cars. The museum keeps a large collection of photos, souvenirs, and old documents. The oldest rail car in their collection is from the late 1800s.

Cool Vehicles to See

The museum has a great collection of vehicles. Many of them are from the TTC. Here are some of the types you can see:

• TTC CLRV Streetcars: These include cars 4003, 4010, 4039, 4040, 4053, and 4178. They were brought to the museum between 2019 and 2020.
• TTC ALRV Streetcar: Car 4204 was acquired in 2019. It was one of the last two ALRV cars still running in 2019.
• TTC G1 Subway Cars: You can see subway cars 5098 and 5099.
• TTC MLW M1 Subway Cars: The museum also has subway cars 5300 and 5301.
• TTC Peter Witt Streetcars: These include cars 2894, 2424, 2786, and 2984.
• TTC PCC Streetcars: The museum has many PCC streetcars. Some examples are 4000, 4386, 4426, 4600, 4611, and 4618. Car 4684 is a special one. It used to run in Louisville and Cleveland before coming to Toronto.

Gallery

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  Entrance sign located on Guelph Line in Milton, Ontario

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  Montreal & Southern Counties 107 (built by Ottawa Car Company)

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  St. Louis Car Company-built 1-50 series train of the Chicago "L", originally considered for the Toronto subway

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  Flyer Industries E800A trolleybus used by Hamilton Street Railway

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  Toronto Civic Railways 55 is one of the few surviving Preston Car Company-built cars

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  This Canadian Car & Foundry Peter Witt streetcar 2894 restored into the TTC’s original 1921 livery

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  Car 327 is a 1930s replica (built by Toronto Transportation Commission) of the original 1890s Toronto Railway Company vehicle

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  1975 GM New Look bus T6H 5307N #8058 from the TTC

See also