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TTC: The Yonge Subway Line turns 60 years old

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http://www.blogto.com/city/2014/03/the_yonge_subway_line_turns_60_years_old/

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St. Clair has a small one at the south end as well I believe. (not too sure, I rarely use the station I just remember noticing it on one station a month or so ago and I believe it was St. Clair)
 
Union Station had a curved platform. When did it became straightened?

I'm surprised to know there was a time where it didn't look like a bomb shelter...

Seriously though, I kind of wish that they decided to have the open trench right down to college. I know we are a winter city and all, but we focus too much on keeping rapid transit underground and out of sight.
 
Parts of the Yonge line between St. Clair and Bloor was covered over. See link.

Before:
subway-5701-02.jpg



After:
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When the Yonge subway opened in 1954, a significant length of it was exposed to the light of day. Indeed, between the Ellis Portal (just north of Bloor station) and Berwick Avenue (just south of Eglinton station), only short stretches of tracks (a 2000-foot section between Lawton Avenue and Pleasant Boulevard around St. Clair station, and an even shorter stretch beneath the CP railway tracks near the North Toronto railway station) were tunnelled. The portion of the line between Lawton and Berwick Avenues ran alongside Davisville Yards, a large complex which would have been expensive to put underground. The rest of the line operated along an open cut, possibly to save money on tunnelling. In fact, as construction began on the Yonge subway, plans called for the open-cut section to continue south of Bloor Street, to a point just north of Wellesley station, after which the line would dive underground in order to run beneath Yonge Street. However, in order to avoid the expropriation of several properties south of Bloor Street, the portion between Wellesley station and the Ellis Portal was put underground.

The open-cut section between Bloor and St. Clair stations gave passengers a pleasant, open-air travel experience after the featureless tunnels underground. However, as the line aged, the TTC covered over sections of the open cut between St. Clair and Summerhill stations. There were a variety of reasons this was done: to allow development to occur over the line, to reduce noise complaints from neighbouring property owners, to reduce the threat of people ending up on the subway tracks, or items being dropped in front of moving trains, and so on.
 
compared to the dirty brown tiles from the 1970's that replaced it? I would honestly love it if they rebuilt them with those original colours. Or at least like Union is getting redone with white tiles, just get rid of the crap that is in the stations right now..
 
compared to the dirty brown tiles from the 1970's that replaced it? I would honestly love it if they rebuilt them with those original colours. Or at least like Union is getting redone with white tiles, just get rid of the crap that is in the stations right now..

Dundas is the most in need of a make-over IMO. That puke yellow is way passed its best before date.
 
One major problem with the current, future, and other subway, metro, underground, etc. in the world. Age.

The first subway in North America, Boston, was new in 1897.
Park_Street_Station_1898.jpg


The New York Subway was new in 1904.
[video=youtube;tjixNmKxLPM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjixNmKxLPM&feature=share&list=PLC33268419 B96D610[/video]

Even your home is great and clean when it was new. As it ages, repairs have to be done. I spent $2,000 to remove and replace the concrete floor of my garage. Looks nice now, but give it another 20-25 years, it'll be a wreak again.

Same with our subway.

The Spadina Subway extension will look great when it opens in 2016. However, give it another 60 years...
 
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