Old Pueblo Trolley -- An All-Volunteer Operating Transit Museum

Toronto PCC Car #4608

TORONTO, CANADA

Toronto PCC 4608 under power leaving OPT Car Barn, March 2003

The Toronto PCC car to arrived at OPT on June 19, 1996. Toronto PCC 4608 was about the first purchase of the 17 Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) cars that went out of service at midnight, Friday, December 8, 1995. Old Pueblo Trolley, an active member of the Association of Railway Museums (ARM), was contacted the first week of December 1995 by Tom Twigge of the Halton County Radial Railroad Museum about interest in purchasing one of the Toronto cars.

OPT responded with a yes to Tom and set forth to give him a list of interested ARM member museums interested in purchasing the PCC's. At that time we also arranged to purchase one of the cars for Phoenix. OPT President Dick Guthrie flew to Toronto in early April to make the final arrangements with the TTC for bringing the two PCC's to Arizona. Tom Twigge had devoted almost the entire time between December 1995 and July 1996 to the effort to have the 17 TTC PCC's find homes in operating museums. His was the work which opened the opportunities for the rest of us and, without that great work, the story may have been significantly altered.

The two Arizona cars were shipped in May 1996 arriving in mid-June. Ours was unloaded on a section of wide gauge snap track located at our shop area on June 20, 1996. Tom flew down to Tucson as our guest the first weekend of August 1996. OPT volunteers closed the street in front of our "barn" and connected up 115.5 feet of wide gauge snap track and a long 600 volt extension cord and we spent most of the day under Tom's guidance operating the PCC.

Since that time the PCC has undergone a change of trucks to enable it to run on the OPT track, and is currently waiting to be rebuilt.

PCC cars similar to #4608 at their Toronto station.



			Toronto PCC Car #4608 TORONTO, CANADA Toronto PCC 4608 under power leaving OPT Car Barn, March 2003 The Toronto PCC car to arrived at OPT on June 19, 1996. Toronto PCC 4608 was about the first purchase of the 17 Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) cars that went out of service at midnight, Friday, December 8, 1995. Old Pueblo Trolley, an active member of the Association of Railway Museums (ARM), was contacted the first week of December 1995 by Tom Twigge of the Halton County Radial Railroad Museum about interest in purchasing one of the Toronto cars. OPT responded with a yes to Tom and set forth to give him a list of interested ARM member museums interested in purchasing the PCC's. At that time we also arranged to purchase one of the cars for Phoenix. OPT President Dick Guthrie flew to Toronto in early April to make the final arrangements with the TTC for bringing the two PCC's to Arizona. Tom Twigge had devoted almost the entire time between December 1995 and July 1996 to the effort to have the 17 TTC PCC's find homes in operating museums. His was the work which opened the opportunities for the rest of us and, without that great work, the story may have been significantly altered. The two Arizona cars were shipped in May 1996 arriving in mid-June. Ours was unloaded on a section of wide gauge snap track located at our shop area on June 20, 1996. Tom flew down to Tucson as our guest the first weekend of August 1996. OPT volunteers closed the street in front of our "barn" and connected up 115.5 feet of wide gauge snap track and a long 600 volt extension cord and we spent most of the day under Tom's guidance operating the PCC. Since that time the PCC has undergone a change of trucks to enable it to run on the OPT track, and is currently waiting to be rebuilt. PCC cars similar to #4608 at their Toronto station. Return to Homepage -- Return to the Collection