A Century of Moving Toronto: TTC 1921-2021 was published to commemorate the centenary of the founding of the TTC as the Toronto Transportation Commission. This was a thin book of 121 pages which were full of photos that covered its oversize 28½ cm square dimensions. I could only capture the entire cover (above) if I knitted it together from five separately scanned pieces. The text was not sparse as this was by no means mainly a picture book, and I required two days to read it.
Before the TTC story begins the reader must read five congratulatory messages, including words from the mayor, TTC chair and TTC CEO. In my experience these open letters are usually boring, long-winded and are an unfortunate downer to start any book. However in this case I was pleasantly surprised to find all five messages–some indeed quite long–to be informative and interesting reading. I do not recommend passing over them to get to the start of the TTC story.
This book is divided into chapters by decade and was written by a collaboration of authors. We learned about the integration of bus and streetcar lines that had been operated by numerous transit companies before falling under the rubric of the TTC. I enjoyed reading about the construction of the country’s first subway, the Eglinton to Union Yonge line which opened in 1954. I was drawn to the chapters from which my first TTC memories began, namely the early 1970’s. During that time some older TTC vehicles were still in common use, such as the red or white Gloucester subway cars and PCC streetcars. I would ride on those vehicles until they were retired. I can recall riding the subway as a child and looking up at the route map and seeing the new extension north of Eglinton. The four new stops from Lawrence to Finch were bracketed as “under construction”. The first part of this extension, Lawrence and York Mills, opened in March 1973. Since I remember seeing all four new stations bracketed as “under construction”, my memory must be prior to that date, so I would have been six years old. Once these two new stations were opened, the subway route map changed to show just the final two, Sheppard and Finch, as “under construction”.
The authors identified the specific locations where photographs were taken, so it was easy to identify which direction I was looking at. I could picture how Toronto looked before the subway was built and compare the locations to how they look today. Photos also showed past, present and possibly future route maps and the vehicles that operate and used to operate on them.
Throughout the years the TTC has strived to make its workforce more representative of the people it serves. For decades women were not allowed to be drivers and people of colour were excluded from employment opportunities. The TTC has also made its stations and vehicles accessible to all people. Speaking of myself, I appreciate knowing that every bus has a bike rack, and that the buses have low floors at boarding to enable the easy lifting of suitcases inside.
When automated chimes were introduced in the early nineties to replace the sound of the guards’ whistles to signal subway doors closing, little did I know how much I would cherish my tape recording of a quiet nighttime walk to Bay station. This was my experience in creating musique concrète. I can hear myself entering the station on the west side of Bay, walking down the steps and onto the platform. The subway arrives and I board it going westbound. Then that familiar whistle blows. The door closes and I am on my way to Islington.