Maps of Toronto's old rail lines?

[Admiral Beez]

Indeed, though best I can tell, the container terminal is located south of the ship channel below, meaning that white crane would not be able to unload containers onto trains on Unwin Ave.

https://goo.gl/maps/ygMvE16or5G2

 

[Admiral Beez]

Whereas Cleveland has urban train use and Great Lakes container shipping figured out, with rail lines connecting with their CEE (Cleveland-Europe-Express).

 

[mrxbombastic]

Can anyone comment on whether the Wilson Yard is still in use at all for anything. I recall seeing some ballast and such being added to the spur off the main line towards the Portlands and some materials storage on the Wilson Yard maybe 2 or 3 years ago. Apart from that I have never seen any action on that bit. Whats the use of having it then? why not just tear it up and allocate that space for future parkland? It further appears in documents more recently pertaining to the Gardiner Hybrid, showing that it doesn't seem it will be eliminated any time soon. It's controlled by TTR according to the TRCA page. Does TTR then use this as storage for their maintenance equipment? Again i dont recall ever seen anything but a few heavily rusted bulk freight containers sitting here.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I thought the Wilson Yard was a TTC subway depot north of the city?

 

[DSC]

I thought the Wilson Yard was a TTC subway depot north of the city?

I think the confusion comes from the map/arial on last page. I suspect Mrxbombastic is talking of the DON YARD - immediately east of the Don River. Here the TTR folk removed many of the unused sidings last year but it is occasionally used to store rail cars and is traversed when the (vert few) cars are sent to the facility on the south side of lake Shore. I suspect the Don Yard may be used again when/if the GO station at the Unilever site gets the go-ahead as that will probably mean a reduction in the GO yard just west of the Don.

 

[smallspy]

I think the confusion comes from the map/arial on last page. I suspect Mrxbombastic is talking of the DON YARD - immediately east of the Don River. Here the TTR folk removed many of the unused sidings last year but it is occasionally used to store rail cars and is traversed when the (vert few) cars are sent to the facility on the south side of lake Shore. I suspect the Don Yard may be used again when/if the GO station at the Unilever site gets the go-ahead as that will probably mean a reduction in the GO yard just west of the Don.

No, he's talking about Wilson Yard - which a very closely located but separate yard to Don Yard. And not to be confused with Keating Yard, which is at the corner of Don Roadway and Lakeshore Blvd.

Wilson and Keating Yards have always been owned by THC/TPA/PortsToronto, not CN. And with the slow withdrawal of industry from the port lands, it has been of lesser and lesser importance. I don't know what PT has in mind for the property, however.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[44 North]

I'd like to know what they have in mind for Wilson Yard as well, and how things will tie-in with the LDL revitalization and the Gardiner hybrid. I think the whole area and the ongoing plans are so dynamic that no one really knows for sure. But despite all this the area is really interesting. Huge vagrant population in these little nooks of our eastern waterfront, makes you feel like you're stepping into people's backyards when you venture through the holes in fences. But if Google Maps' aerial imagery is as up to date as it seems (late 2015ish), it'd appear the 3/4 tail tracks are still used for rail car storage. So it's not completely neglected. Seems tidier than it was when I took this image in 09.

*edit to make smaller

 

[mrxbombastic]

Thanks for adding in. Was hoping folks here would have more info than I. Y'all proved that true

 

[CapitalSeven]

This doesn't have every single spur that was ever built, but does have most of them.

http://ontariomap.webs.com/

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

Thanks for linking that - I have never seen it before. Map geek manna!

 

[themarc]

That white crane is a marine lift crane. Container cranes are MUCH different and are rated to 25 Tonnes.

Indeed, though best I can tell, the container terminal is located south of the ship channel below, meaning that white crane would not be able to unload containers onto trains on Unwin Ave.

https://goo.gl/maps/ygMvE16or5G2

 

[drum118]

The Keating Yard has been down graded over the years to the point it will most likely be remove at some future date unless new industry that need it gets built.

The track is too remain to the port for special movement in/out of Toronto. Any heavy lifting over the current crane capacity, a mobile crane would be use.

To have a container yard in the port dock area only require a new container crane to load/off load the containers as well building more tracks.

Base on all studies for the Portland Area I have been involved with, the port is a must keep area as well new and existing industries.

 

[crs1026]

There is one train a week down there, to deliver to the Ashbridges Bay water treatment plant and one other industry. It goes down there late Tuesday evenings, close to or shortly after midnight.

- Paul

 

[David Brake]

If you are interested in transit history you should check out two exhibitions about it at the Toronto Archives and Market Gallery. I will be doing a story about them in the next few days with pictures from both in it if you can't make it out there!

 

[Admiral Beez]

Now that I've been riding the GoTrain from Union to Port Credit I'm noticing the old spur lines going into old factory sites. For example, south-east corner Browns Line and Horner.

I'd like to find a map of these spurs, and know the history of what businesses they served.

 

[smallspy]

Now that I've been riding the GoTrain from Union to Port Credit I'm noticing the old spur lines going into old factory sites. For example, south-east corner Browns Line and Horner.

I'd like to find a map of these spurs, and know the history of what businesses they served.

I'm not sure that there is any such singular document that shows what lines went where. There are books that have been published on specific ares, but nothing that I'm aware of for the Port Credit and New Toronto areas. CN publishes internal track diagrams that show industries and track arrangements, but it can be very difficult to find old ones.

Your best bet may be to start with the publicly-available historical aerial photography and work from there.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.