Pre-T&YRR era (1885-1904) :
Events prior to the merger creating the T&YRR in 1904 On August 18, 1892 the Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company was incorporated to provide electric streetcar service along
Kingston Road, and to produce and sell electricity to customers in the vicinity.
Henry Pellatt (of
Casa Loma fame) was the chairman of the board of directors. On July 1, 1893, the Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company started electric, radial operations with a route on the north side of Kingston Road from Queen Street to Blantyre Avenue. In early July 1893, the railway created a branch for summer service on the west side of Blantyre Avenue south to Victoria Park, a lakeside recreation area roughly at the location of today's
R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. In 1894, the railway opened a branch running from Kingston Road and Walter Street north via Lyall Avenue and Kimberley Street to
Gerrard and
Main Streets in the then Village of East York. On March 6, 1895, the
Toronto Railway Company acquired controlling interest in the Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company. The Scarboro line's carhouse at Walter Avenue was closed, and operations were moved to the TRC's King Carhouse at King Street East and St. Lawrence Street. During the winters of 1895 and 1896, the Blantyre branch did not operate and all radial cars proceeded to East York at Gerrard and Main streets. In 1897, the railway ripped up its track on Blantyre Avenue and relaid them along Kingston Road to
Toronto Hunt Club near
Warden Avenue. Winter service was provided to Warden Avenue. Normally, two cars operated every 30 minutes, one to East York and the other to Warden Avenue. On July 12, 1901, service was expanded along Kingston Road from Warden Avenue to Half Way House at Midland Avenue. The expansion was triggered by threats by township to cancel the railway's franchise. The railway was reluctant to expand as Scarborough then was very rural with only a small population. Sunday service started on September 22, 1901.
Mackenzie & Mann era (1904-1921) :
Events when the T&YRR was under the control of William Mackenzie and Donald Mann On August 1, 1904, the Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company was merged into the Toronto and York Radial Railway becoming its Scarboro Division. The Walter Avenue carhouse was reopened, and operation of the Scarboro line became completely separate from the TRC system. On January 23, 1905, service reached Mason's near
Bellamy Road. On December 24, 1905, service reached Scarborough Post Office at
Markham Road. On August 31, 1906, service reached
West Hill (near today's Fairwood Crescent) where a station was built. In 1912, the railway opened Scarborough Heights Park (also called Scarborough Park), a 60-acre tract extending from Kingston Road to the lake between
Midland Avenue and Bellamy Road. In 1913, the branch from Kingston Road to
Gerrard and
Main Streets closed due to competition from the new Gerrard line of the
Toronto Civic Railways, which opened on December 18, 1912. Riders found that the Gerrard route was a more direct route to get downtown.
Hydro Electric era (1922-1927) :
Events when the T&YRR was managed by Hydro-Electric Railways On August 16, 1922, the City of Toronto formally acquired the T&YRR lines. The plan was that the city portions of the T&YRR radial lines would be incorporated into the TTC, and the portions outside the city would be managed by
Ontario Hydro as the
Hydro-Electric Railways: Toronto and York Division. Thus, the
Toronto streetcar system replaced the radial line between Queen Street and
Victoria Park Avenue, making the latter street the western terminal of the radial line. On November 1, 1922,
Hydro-Electric Railways took over operation of the T&YRR lines outside of the city limits. Hydro transferred new cars from its
Guelph Radial Railway operation, and constructed a new terminus at
Kingston Road and Victoria Park Avenue. On December 2, 1922, the TTC opened the
Bingham Loop. City streetcars now replaced the radial cars along Kingston Road from Queen Street to Victoria Park Avenue. By 1927, there were five standard-gauge cars stored in the Scarboro line's Warden Carhouse that the Hydro-Electric Railways had transferred from the Guelph Radial Railway. These
Preston-built "Prairie" type cars were in storage pending a conversion of the line to standard gauge, a conversion that did not happen.
TTC era (1927-1936) :
Events when the TTC operated the T&YRR lines On January 12, 1927, the
Toronto Transportation Commission started operating the T&YRR lines under contract including the Scarboro line. On January 25, the TTC connected Scarboro radial tracks to the city system at the
Bingham Loop. On that date, it also closed the Warden Carhouse (just east of Warden Avenue), and transferred operations to the
Russell Carhouse under the TTC's Radial Department. On July 4, 1927, the five standard-gauge cars that had been stored at the Warden Carhouse were put into service on the Scarboro line after regauging and conversion to one-man operation. On November 18, 1928, the TTC extended the Kingston Road streetcar line with double-track east to a new
Birchmount Loop, where radial passengers could now transfer to the city streetcars. At the loop, there was a station-like structure containing a waiting room. After the 1929 season, Scarborough Heights Park permanently closed. On July 13, 1930, radial service east of Scarborough Post Office (just beyond Eglinton Avenue) was replaced by
Gray Coach bus service. On June 25, 1936, Scarboro radial service ended being replaced by buses on the next day.
Postscript On July 1, 1954, the TTC terminated streetcar service to the
Birchmount Loop replacing streetcar service east of
Victoria Park Avenue by buses. The introduction of a new fare zone system and a reorganization of the suburban bus network led to the termination of streetcar service east of Victoria Park Avenue. ==Stations==