Mystery Toronto Subway Lines?

[Jonny5]

All of this talk about nothing is causing me to miss Sharon Yetman and her subway safety plan.

I heard she's just made several "presentations" to "TTC staff" who are "very interested" in what she had to say. They were amazed how she could triple subway capacity with just a few changes to routing and the laws of thermodynamics.

 

[bhognestad]

I know this is an old thread so I'm not sure anyone will see this, but I've always been curious about an extra subway tunnel I've seen heading southbound on the Yonge Line, going straight West. If memory serves it appears at some point south of Sheppard Yonge, sticking out perpendicularly from the subway line. It could be between North York Centre and Sheppard Yonge however, I don't completely remember. I've attached a GIF and a couple stills I took from the video. I looked through this thread and I didn't seem to find any reference to it. Anybody have any info on this? I find this tantalizing!

 

[junctionist]

I know this is an old thread so I'm not sure anyone will see this, but I've always been curious about an extra subway tunnel I've seen heading southbound on the Yonge Line, going straight West. If memory serves it appears at some point south of Sheppard Yonge, sticking out perpendicularly from the subway line. It could be between North York Centre and Sheppard Yonge however, I don't completely remember. I've attached a GIF and a couple stills I took from the video. I looked through this thread and I didn't seem to find any reference to it. Anybody have any info on this? I find this tantalizing!View attachment 240871View attachment 240872View attachment 240873View attachment 240874

It might be an emergency exit. The tunnel is long and deep south of Sheppard-Yonge, so there's an obvious need for one.

 

[Jonny5]

It might be an emergency exit. The tunnel is long and deep south of Sheppard-Yonge, so there's an obvious need for one.

Perhaps an artifact form the original construction repurposed as an emergency exit too.

 

[junctionist]

It could be a ventilation shaft, too, but there would be no need for lighting. It's a very cool appendage.

 

[lenaitch]

I know this is an old thread so I'm not sure anyone will see this, but I've always been curious about an extra subway tunnel I've seen heading southbound on the Yonge Line, going straight West. If memory serves it appears at some point south of Sheppard Yonge, sticking out perpendicularly from the subway line. It could be between North York Centre and Sheppard Yonge however, I don't completely remember. I've attached a GIF and a couple stills I took from the video. I looked through this thread and I didn't seem to find any reference to it. Anybody have any info on this? I find this tantalizing!View attachment 240871View attachment 240872View attachment 240873View attachment 240874

I believe the others are correct; it is either an emergency exit (or combo maintenance access/emergency exit) or a construction access that was repurposed. When we were younger (but probably old enough to know better) and the extension was being built, we stumbled across it one night. Old memory but I recall it had a construction lay-down yard at the exit which we promptly ignored and entered the tunnel. I believe it is at the centre of this image but can no longer be completely certain.

 

[Richard White]

That is the Macdonald-Cartier emergency exit. It lets you out into the middle of the field adjacent to the highway.

Nowadays they dont use emergency exits for maintenance access and prefer to access the tunnels via stations for safety and security reasons.

The only other tunnel shooting straight west is the one leading to the Welbeck Emergency Exit at Sheppard-Yonge Station as seen in the below image.

 

[junctionist]

It would make for an interesting Doors Open experience to open up one of these mid-tunnel emergency exits to the public. It's probably a good idea to remind people that they exist in case of an emergency.

The most well-known example might be the one that was used in the Russell Hill subway accident. The most surreal emergency exit though, is the emergency exit to St. Clair West station. It looks like a regular subway entrance with glass doors, except it opens up to a ravine. It used to be a regular entrance but was closed due to lack of use and security issues.

 

[Richard White]

It would make for an interesting Doors Open experience to open one of these mid-tunnel emergency exits to the public. It's probably a good idea to remind people that they exist in case of an emergency.

A good thought but they are emergency exits and need to be kept clear should something happen.

You can't have them cluttered with people if there is another russell hill incident.

 

[junctionist]

A good thought but they are emergency exits and need to be kept clear should something happen.

You can't have them cluttered with people if there is another russell hill incident.

That's a good point. Perhaps it could still be safe, though, depending on how it was organized (e.g. limiting the number of people and not putting in any cluttering objects like signs).

 

[Richard White]

That's a good point. Perhaps it could still be safe, though, depending on how it was organized (e.g. limiting the number of people and not putting in any cluttering objects like signs).

The problem is that Doors Open mandates certain signage and staffing levels.

Really the only entrance you could showcase is Lytton, Mill St or Teddington Park but even then I doubt the City of Toronto or the TTC would permit it.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

This area was mentioned long ago in infiltration, http://infiltration.org/transit-subway.html . I remember a more in depth exploration of the area but can't seem to remember which site had it.

 

[Transportfan]

Here's a train running in a pocket track:

 

[bhognestad]

I'm blown away by all the amazing responses, thanks folks!! Maybe someday I'll get up there and find the other end of the tunnel just to see it.

 

[JSF-1]

That is the Macdonald-Cartier emergency exit. It lets you out into the middle of the field adjacent to the highway.

Nowadays they dont use emergency exits for maintenance access and prefer to access the tunnels via stations for safety and security reasons.

The only other tunnel shooting straight west is the one leading to the Welbeck Emergency Exit at Sheppard-Yonge Station as seen in the below image.

View attachment 240937

iirc don't operators sometimes use the Welbeck exit to access trains in the storage tracks for the sherppard line?

I know for me the only place that ever caught my attention was the massive attic above Lawrence Station. You can see it from the north end escalators if I'm not mistaken. I assume the TTC uses it for storage space.