On the Rails: The Experiences of Toronto’s Railway Workers On the Rails: The Experiences of Toronto’s Railway Workers Toronto Railway Museum
In the 1950s, the John Street facility included 43 buildings and several miles of track, which covered nearly 16 acres. In this drawing, you can also see how […]
Roundhouses were built to allow turntables. The turntable is in the centre of the building and allows locomotives to be turned and driven into stalls for maintenance. This […]
Michelle is seen here working on one of VIA Rail’s Locomotive Engineer (LE) Mobile Electronic Devices. Starting in 2016, these devices allowed workers to have instant access to […]
The interior of the Toronto Railway Museum photographed in 2022.
Chris working with two members of the Toronto Railway Museum team in 2020.
Chris Fox at work at the Toronto Railway Museum in 2014.
The last red caps were let go from VIA Rail in 2013. At that time, there were 24 red caps employed by the railway.
In 1981, VIA Rail and Amtrak resumed daily international service between Toronto’s Union Station and New York City. More than 60 rail enthusiasts took the first trip.
During the Second World War, railway companies employed women to fill vacancies left by male workers who went to war. After the war was over, many women left […]
As Michelle explains in her interview with the museum, even dressing for the weather could not prepare railway workers for the conditions they face: Michelle Ardron: “I finished […]
Sleeping Car Porters were introduced to Canada in the 1870s. Privately owned Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) began hiring emancipated Black Americans for cheap labour. Soon after, other Canadian […]
Shirley Jackson (far left) was active in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP). The Canadian group joined the American Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1939. On […]
