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rfmcdonaldI can't explain why I had never visited the Toronto Railway Museum and the Roundhouse Park before Sunday, not in all of my years of living in Toronto. Located just literally on the other side of Bremner Boulevard from the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre, a park devoted to rail is something that should have caught my attention before now.
(This is why I like Doors Open so much. Finding out new things about the city I love is always welcome.)
The Toronto Railway Museum, occupying a unit of the John Street Roundhouse that gives the park its name, has a nice collection of ephemera from Canada's railway history. It has preserved this chalk blackboard showing CPR's schedule in the summer of 1971.
This Pullman car, the "Nova Scotia", is a substantially bigger artifact.
Toy trains and rail models happened to feature heavily in this space. A long-time Lego fan, my attention was caught by this Lego model of a city in miniature.
My eye was caught by this East Coast diorama, part of a model train set.
Outside the Museum, the John Street Roundhouse is an impressive building, one that I apparently did not photograph from the top of the CN Tower. Wikipedia's explains its import.
Outside, in the park proper, various locomotives and cars are parked amid the grass.
(This is why I like Doors Open so much. Finding out new things about the city I love is always welcome.)
The Toronto Railway Museum, occupying a unit of the John Street Roundhouse that gives the park its name, has a nice collection of ephemera from Canada's railway history. It has preserved this chalk blackboard showing CPR's schedule in the summer of 1971.
This Pullman car, the "Nova Scotia", is a substantially bigger artifact.
Toy trains and rail models happened to feature heavily in this space. A long-time Lego fan, my attention was caught by this Lego model of a city in miniature.
My eye was caught by this East Coast diorama, part of a model train set.
Outside the Museum, the John Street Roundhouse is an impressive building, one that I apparently did not photograph from the top of the CN Tower. Wikipedia's explains its import.
The John Street Roundhouse was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1929-31 by Anglin-Norcross to replace the earlier John Street roundhouse built in 1897. Trains were so properly maintained at this location that railroaders recognized them by their "John Street polish." When diesel run trains began being used, business was slowed at the Roundhouse and the building was last used for its original purpose in 1986. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company donated the roundhouse to the City of Toronto. It is the only remaining roundhouse in downtown Toronto (the CNR Spadina Roundhouse was demolished to make way for construction of the SkyDome). One third of the original structure was dismantled, to allow construction of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre below, then reconstructed (1995) by Hotson Bakker Architects and is now home to Steam Whistle Brewing. Renovations to the brewery interior portion were done by William Hurst Architects. The remaining two thirds was rehabilitated by IBI Group Architects and now house the Toronto Railway Museum and soon Cineplex's Rec Room entertainment complex. The turntable and courtyard, Roundhouse Park with the restored wooden railway buildings was also completed by IBI and has received a number of design awards. The SkyWalk retains a direct connection from the Roundhouse Park, to Union Station.
John Street Roundhouse could maintain 32 locomotives at a time. 32 bay doors make up the inner rounded facade of the building and face the 120 foot turntable. This turntable was the largest used by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company and was constructed by the Canadian Bridge Company.
Outside, in the park proper, various locomotives and cars are parked amid the grass.
