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Guest
Swans on the Don
By Steve Munro & Sarah Hinchcliffe © April 15, 2005
The Authors
Steve Munro is a renowned transit activist in Toronto who was recently awarded the 2005 Jane Jacobs Prize. He
lives in an apartment overlooking the Prince Edward Viaduct, Castle Frank Station and the Don River.
Sarah Hinchcliffe, recently lured to the life of transit activism, provided the original concept and much
encouragement for this proposal. Her training and experience as an engineer1 bring a degree of sobriety and
realism to a proposal that might otherwise have proven far too visionary.
The Problem
Toronto yearned for a new way of thinking about transportation – one to show the heart of a great city; one to charm
locals and tourists alike. Something new and yet old, something functional and yet romantic, something elegant but
not too expensive.
The Don Valley Corridor bedeviled planners almost as much as travelers. Roads were packed with cars. Buses and
trains were packed with riders. Planning offices were packed with studies. Nothing moved.
Engineers looked at the Don and saw that the only way to achieve greater capacity was to exploit its one untouched
avenue – the river.
Early Days
The Province of Ontario recognized the need for new forms of urban transit, for ways to exploit the latent capacity
of busy corridors. This was no small undertaking. Transportation engineers the world over wrestled daily with
technologies that could not be improved, with transit modes that were too costly, too outdated, too unlikely to attract
research funds and economic development.
But Ontario was not deterred – find the right system and the world would beat a path to our door. Manufacturing
and export markets would be boundless.
One summer afternoon, a young bureaucrat, freshly recruited from the advertising industry to the Ministry of
Transportation, took refuge under a tree on Centre Island. His head rested on a large stack of unread2 technology
proposals. Carousel music played in the distance.
Startled by the exc ited shouts of young children, he raised tired eyes to behold the solution – through the trees,
across the lawn, beyond the picnic tables, almost like toys in the water: Swan Boats.
Who among the youngsters, tourists and lovers happily paddling circles ‘round the lagoon could know that these
simple craft would be the genesis of a new transit technology?
Development Begins
Travelers want personal service. Transit systems want marketability. Both want pizzazz, joy and whimsy –
anything but the drudgery of commuting.
Swan boats are the natural marriage of fancy with function. Unlike most other transit vehicles, they float and are
highly manoeuvreable making them ideal candidates for river-borne travel.
The OSBDC3 tested many designs, and trial runs on the Don were a common sight. Motorists crawling in traffic
dreamt of the day when they could float freely down the river to work. Engineers dreamt of a city crisscrossed by
canals.
Winter proved no obstacle – ordinary swan boats might head south to warmer lands, but OSBDC swans converted to
swan sleighs.
Community leaders complained of the new technology. “We won’t be able to cross the canals!†“The swandoliers
will make too much noise singing for the tourists!â€
The OSBDC rose to the challenge with designs for feather-light aqueducts where swan boats would glide overhead
and with plans for a light opera school for pianissimo singers.4
One problem remained:
Access to Castle Frank Station
Castle Frank lies on the west bank of the Don high above the river. How to get swan boats and passengers up that
formidable hill?
Downhill was simple: a second-hand flume from a defunct suburban theme park would provide a swift and thrilling
start to the northbound journey. Uphill was a much harder problem.
Trebuchet5 levitation was a first attempt, and this required much additional down to cushion the swan boat landings.
Test swan boats glided into a sling and sailed through the air. Alas, the complexity of adjusting for wind speed and
passenger load overwhelmed available guidance technology.6 Many swan boats perished.7
Eventually, a simpler solution prevailed, and what an impressive sight it was: boats glided down the river, linked to
a funicular8 and rose to the station above. A parallel stream of swans gently cascaded down the opposing track.
Private Sector Investment
Ontario, never shy to offload profits, encouraged the formation of Public -Private Partnerships. The Rosedale
Heights Swan Boat and Inclined Plane Railway Company9 entered a 100-year agreement to purchase and operate the
new line. The century of the swan boat had arrived!
RHSB&IPRC profits soared and share offerings for the Rouge Hill, Humber Downs and Credit Valley Swan Boat
Companies quickly sold out.
A planned Taddle Creek Swan Boat Comp any failed when its promoters realized that they could not link the
campuses of the University of Toronto and York University. The consultants had used maps from an era before the
creek was underground.10
With so many swan boat routes in operation, a unified service was needed, and the challenge of co-ordination fell to
the Greater Toronto Swan Boat Authority.11
Swans Take Flight
Despite the popularity of swan boat services, the Castle Frank funicular, once quiet and elegant, became clanking
and cantankerous. Riders complained of delays and Rosedale neighbours complained of noise. The engineers
actually listened. Their answer: the Mark II.12
One morning, a new swan boat gleaming white and gold turned the last corner before the rise to Castle Frank. It
paused briefly, spreads its wings, and flew gracefully up to the station. Local residents13 were astonished and
thrilled to witness swan after swan circle through the air.14
This was the long-awaited breakthrough in swan boat technology. No longer a southern Ontario curiosity, swan
boats were ready to circle the globe.
The Future of Swan Boats
The success of swan boats opens many opportunities for the City of Toronto. Waterfront transit will link the many
river-based routes providing an alternative to expressway travel. The city will have a signature image – a flock of
white swan boats – to draw tourists by the thousands.
Toronto, the site of a world-class transportation system, is ready for a crowning glory – a World’s Fair presenting
swan transportation in all its forms on land, sea and in the air. Fairground visitors will travel between sites on
special, dedicated swan boats. Ardent historians will visit the spot on Centre Island where, so many years ago, the
future of swan boat technology was revealed. A glorious cultural festival will culminate in a massed Swandolier
Chorus with voices from around the world.15
One last shining moment will arrive. Dawn. A warm late-summer day. A light mist in the east. The golden rays of
the rising sun caress the treetops. A giant, shimmering silver swan glides out in the harbour. Around its neck, a red
and gold banner waves in the morning breeze. On it, the words:
“Toronto & Rochester Swan Ferry Companyâ€.
--------------
1 B.Sc. (Eng.) Queen’s
2 Marketing people never actually read technology proposals.
3 Ontario Swan Boat Development Company
4 The mysterious impresario Baron Von Rothbart would be recruited as the school’s Artistic Director.
5 Trebuchets are large slingshots, but European and therefore inherently a superior transit technology.
6 This brings new meaning to the phrase “missing your stopâ€.
7 Only one legacy of the early trials remains: a down comforter store on Parliament Street that enjoyed an
unexpected windfall of raw materials.
8 Yet another European innovation.
9 A wholly-owned subsidiary of 407407 Ontario Limited.
10 York University, undeterred, mounted a campaign for a Swan Subway.
11 Strangely, the offices of the GTSBA were located far from any watercourses.
12 The engineers never really liked the funicular, a railway technology, and the complaints were just the excuse they
needed for further development.
13 Possibly excepting a certain renowned transit activist.
14 The renowned transit activist advocated emission controls, but was ignored.
15 York University will take particular interest in the Greater Cardiff Swan Boat System and its success in operating
transit services in abandoned mines.
By Steve Munro & Sarah Hinchcliffe © April 15, 2005
The Authors
Steve Munro is a renowned transit activist in Toronto who was recently awarded the 2005 Jane Jacobs Prize. He
lives in an apartment overlooking the Prince Edward Viaduct, Castle Frank Station and the Don River.
Sarah Hinchcliffe, recently lured to the life of transit activism, provided the original concept and much
encouragement for this proposal. Her training and experience as an engineer1 bring a degree of sobriety and
realism to a proposal that might otherwise have proven far too visionary.
The Problem
Toronto yearned for a new way of thinking about transportation – one to show the heart of a great city; one to charm
locals and tourists alike. Something new and yet old, something functional and yet romantic, something elegant but
not too expensive.
The Don Valley Corridor bedeviled planners almost as much as travelers. Roads were packed with cars. Buses and
trains were packed with riders. Planning offices were packed with studies. Nothing moved.
Engineers looked at the Don and saw that the only way to achieve greater capacity was to exploit its one untouched
avenue – the river.
Early Days
The Province of Ontario recognized the need for new forms of urban transit, for ways to exploit the latent capacity
of busy corridors. This was no small undertaking. Transportation engineers the world over wrestled daily with
technologies that could not be improved, with transit modes that were too costly, too outdated, too unlikely to attract
research funds and economic development.
But Ontario was not deterred – find the right system and the world would beat a path to our door. Manufacturing
and export markets would be boundless.
One summer afternoon, a young bureaucrat, freshly recruited from the advertising industry to the Ministry of
Transportation, took refuge under a tree on Centre Island. His head rested on a large stack of unread2 technology
proposals. Carousel music played in the distance.
Startled by the exc ited shouts of young children, he raised tired eyes to behold the solution – through the trees,
across the lawn, beyond the picnic tables, almost like toys in the water: Swan Boats.
Who among the youngsters, tourists and lovers happily paddling circles ‘round the lagoon could know that these
simple craft would be the genesis of a new transit technology?
Development Begins
Travelers want personal service. Transit systems want marketability. Both want pizzazz, joy and whimsy –
anything but the drudgery of commuting.
Swan boats are the natural marriage of fancy with function. Unlike most other transit vehicles, they float and are
highly manoeuvreable making them ideal candidates for river-borne travel.
The OSBDC3 tested many designs, and trial runs on the Don were a common sight. Motorists crawling in traffic
dreamt of the day when they could float freely down the river to work. Engineers dreamt of a city crisscrossed by
canals.
Winter proved no obstacle – ordinary swan boats might head south to warmer lands, but OSBDC swans converted to
swan sleighs.
Community leaders complained of the new technology. “We won’t be able to cross the canals!†“The swandoliers
will make too much noise singing for the tourists!â€
The OSBDC rose to the challenge with designs for feather-light aqueducts where swan boats would glide overhead
and with plans for a light opera school for pianissimo singers.4
One problem remained:
Access to Castle Frank Station
Castle Frank lies on the west bank of the Don high above the river. How to get swan boats and passengers up that
formidable hill?
Downhill was simple: a second-hand flume from a defunct suburban theme park would provide a swift and thrilling
start to the northbound journey. Uphill was a much harder problem.
Trebuchet5 levitation was a first attempt, and this required much additional down to cushion the swan boat landings.
Test swan boats glided into a sling and sailed through the air. Alas, the complexity of adjusting for wind speed and
passenger load overwhelmed available guidance technology.6 Many swan boats perished.7
Eventually, a simpler solution prevailed, and what an impressive sight it was: boats glided down the river, linked to
a funicular8 and rose to the station above. A parallel stream of swans gently cascaded down the opposing track.
Private Sector Investment
Ontario, never shy to offload profits, encouraged the formation of Public -Private Partnerships. The Rosedale
Heights Swan Boat and Inclined Plane Railway Company9 entered a 100-year agreement to purchase and operate the
new line. The century of the swan boat had arrived!
RHSB&IPRC profits soared and share offerings for the Rouge Hill, Humber Downs and Credit Valley Swan Boat
Companies quickly sold out.
A planned Taddle Creek Swan Boat Comp any failed when its promoters realized that they could not link the
campuses of the University of Toronto and York University. The consultants had used maps from an era before the
creek was underground.10
With so many swan boat routes in operation, a unified service was needed, and the challenge of co-ordination fell to
the Greater Toronto Swan Boat Authority.11
Swans Take Flight
Despite the popularity of swan boat services, the Castle Frank funicular, once quiet and elegant, became clanking
and cantankerous. Riders complained of delays and Rosedale neighbours complained of noise. The engineers
actually listened. Their answer: the Mark II.12
One morning, a new swan boat gleaming white and gold turned the last corner before the rise to Castle Frank. It
paused briefly, spreads its wings, and flew gracefully up to the station. Local residents13 were astonished and
thrilled to witness swan after swan circle through the air.14
This was the long-awaited breakthrough in swan boat technology. No longer a southern Ontario curiosity, swan
boats were ready to circle the globe.
The Future of Swan Boats
The success of swan boats opens many opportunities for the City of Toronto. Waterfront transit will link the many
river-based routes providing an alternative to expressway travel. The city will have a signature image – a flock of
white swan boats – to draw tourists by the thousands.
Toronto, the site of a world-class transportation system, is ready for a crowning glory – a World’s Fair presenting
swan transportation in all its forms on land, sea and in the air. Fairground visitors will travel between sites on
special, dedicated swan boats. Ardent historians will visit the spot on Centre Island where, so many years ago, the
future of swan boat technology was revealed. A glorious cultural festival will culminate in a massed Swandolier
Chorus with voices from around the world.15
One last shining moment will arrive. Dawn. A warm late-summer day. A light mist in the east. The golden rays of
the rising sun caress the treetops. A giant, shimmering silver swan glides out in the harbour. Around its neck, a red
and gold banner waves in the morning breeze. On it, the words:
“Toronto & Rochester Swan Ferry Companyâ€.
--------------
1 B.Sc. (Eng.) Queen’s
2 Marketing people never actually read technology proposals.
3 Ontario Swan Boat Development Company
4 The mysterious impresario Baron Von Rothbart would be recruited as the school’s Artistic Director.
5 Trebuchets are large slingshots, but European and therefore inherently a superior transit technology.
6 This brings new meaning to the phrase “missing your stopâ€.
7 Only one legacy of the early trials remains: a down comforter store on Parliament Street that enjoyed an
unexpected windfall of raw materials.
8 Yet another European innovation.
9 A wholly-owned subsidiary of 407407 Ontario Limited.
10 York University, undeterred, mounted a campaign for a Swan Subway.
11 Strangely, the offices of the GTSBA were located far from any watercourses.
12 The engineers never really liked the funicular, a railway technology, and the complaints were just the excuse they
needed for further development.
13 Possibly excepting a certain renowned transit activist.
14 The renowned transit activist advocated emission controls, but was ignored.
15 York University will take particular interest in the Greater Cardiff Swan Boat System and its success in operating
transit services in abandoned mines.