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Infiltration Forums > Archived Canada: Ontario > Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto? (Viewed 976 times)
mortimer 


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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 20 on 9/2/2005 3:29 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
^^Ah, the memories...I was looking through 8 year old photos a few days ago, and I have pictures of my girlfriend (who I still live with) in the middle of that Credit Valley bridge. I'm glad no trains came by, the little platforms spaced along the bridge had no railings on them.

yep.
Decoy 


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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 21 on 9/2/2005 4:55 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by Mutt
For those interested in almost abandoned rail bridges there is the one on Forks of the Credit rd. North of the city. Near Caledon not to far away from the old YYZ radar building. I've only once seen a commercial train cross the bridge, and that was 20 years ago its a dead end rail line to Orangeville. Occasionaly, like weekends, a tourist sighseeing train crosses it.


I'd be careful. There's active freight that runs these tracks down into Brampton more often than you'd think.

The line used to be CP, and ran from Owen Sound to Streetsville. When the CP found it less than profitable to keep it open, they closed everything north of orangeville. This cut off shelburne and other small town industries that used the rails (though not enough for CP). They turned the dead-end run from streetsville to O'ville into a branch line, and for most of my childhood they made fewer and fewer weekly trips, at more and more irregular times. Finally, about 5-6 years ago, CP quit making runs altogether, and were going to pull out all the rails. The Town of Orangeville bought the rail line from CP and established the Orangeville - Brampton Railway (OBRY).
http://www.obryrr.com
The tracks are used about twice weekly for freight runs, and on the weekends and some mondays the credit valley explorer does a sightseeing tour.
http://www.creditvalleyexplorer.com/

I've crossed the bridge a few times since the OBRY has taken over. If you wanted to be safe about exploring this bridge, I'd wait until evening, and then go all the way up to Orangeville and go across Townline till you hit the railyard. Look and see if the one engine is there. If she's in her siding and nobody is walking about, then they're done for the day. Since they only have one engine and they're essentially a small potatoes company, you can make your way down to the forks of the credit and check out the bridge with relative safety. Still, keep an ear and an eye out... just incase. I've never seen them operate after nightfall, but you just never know. Also, their website states that they run on tuesdays and thursdays, so if you avoid those days, check the explorer schedule and do a final check that the engine is put away for the day, you've got yourself a huge tressel to explore.
[last edit 9/2/2005 4:58 PM by Decoy - edited 1 times]

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Mutt 


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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 22 on 9/2/2005 5:49 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Wow, thanks for the detail.

I used to live a few miles from the bridge and would hang out on the platform some nights gazing at the stars or diddling some of the local talent, but that was more than 20 years ago. I walked the bridge a few months back, same-o same-o, took a few pictures, spit off the side, ya know the usual bridge things but didn't have some Erin District High School dolly bird with me like the old days.

I have some pictures I took of the bridge back in the early 1980's somewhere but I'm not sure where they are now as I'm in the midst of moving to Toronto for school so most of my stuff is either in Ottawa, Toronto or my car.

There is another huge bridge in Georgetown, but stay off that one as it is a mainline with very little chance of survival if you try to butt heads with a GP40 or two

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Rust 


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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 23 on 9/2/2005 10:50 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by smallspy
BTW, there were two Belt Line railways...the one more commonly known one, which is now for the most part a walking trail, and a second one around High Park. There is very little left of that one. No stations left of either one either, unfortunately.


For curiosity's sake, where abouts around High Park? I live right nearby.

smallspy 






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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 24 on 9/3/2005 4:33 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Rustblade, this is the best I could find in terms of maps:
http://www.geociti...isdube_1/maps.html

And you can still trace the ROW for the most part in overhead photographs:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Toronto,Ontario&ll=43.665047,-79.493508&spn=0.026749,0.053571&t=k&hl=en

There are quite a few good photos of the last days of the line as well on that site.

Scott 


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Downtown Toronto
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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 25 on 9/4/2005 3:48 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by Cybo
I actually saw someone walking across the bridge yesterday around 6:30pm. I have no idea where they were going...


Oh.. oops.. Could've been me! I was on my way to my sister's for dinner.

What day was that again?

Scott 


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Downtown Toronto
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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 26 on 9/4/2005 5:27 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Oh yeah... Almost forgot.

In the east end of Toronto parallel to the Bloor-Danforth subway at Warden Station. There is an old loop which some sections are still in use. The loop begins off the CN trunk just south of the Danforth and travels north between Warden Av and Birchmount Rd. then travels east to the Scarborough CN branch parallel to Midland Av. used by GO to take commuters north to Markham and Stouffville. This whole area was once the location of an array factories and this loop serviced many of those manufacturing facilities including the now defunct (and no longer existing) GMC Truck assembly plant. As I mentioned before, SOME spurs on this loop are still in use up by the lumber mill on Birchmount Rd. and another spur gets used by Griffith Labs over on Pharmacy Av.

The most interesting part of this track to me is the access portals to the TTC's Bloor-Danforth Subway which runs underneath. At one time several years ago, we used to be able to climb right down to the subway track level and watch the trains whiz by. This situation has likely been corrected by the good folks at the TTC over the years, but it's worth a shot.

lopix 


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Ontario
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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 27 on 9/6/2005 1:25 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Hmm... so following these unused spurs might lead to abandoned places?

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mortimer 


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teronno




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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 28 on 9/6/2005 3:45 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Probably not in the city, but in the rest of the province, in not-so-urban areas, possibly.

yep.
lopix 


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Ontario
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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 29 on 9/6/2005 6:46 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Just found out about some abandoned tracks, leading out of an abandoned quarry. Might have to check it out, apparently some cars still on the line, plus some quarry equipment. Likely hitting it the 17th, will report back

I'm not angry - just focused :: No human opinion is higher than the truth
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Agent Skelly 


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Re: Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto?
<Reply # 30 on 9/7/2005 5:32 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by lopix
Hmm... so following these unused spurs might lead to abandoned places?


Maybe not in the GTA, but I do know in some of the odd parts of the USA they might.

Back before railroad tracks were one standard size, tracks were of many sizes and there was in fact towns that were only accessable by tracks of a small gage. As I understand, when the tracks all became one size, the narrow gaged tracks to these towns were not work standardizing, so there was a day when the town got on the last train out of the place and never returned.

Infiltration Forums > Archived Canada: Ontario > Abandoned Railway Tracks in Toronto? (Viewed 976 times)
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