Toronto Railway Company
| Locale | Toronto |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1891–1921 |
| Predecessor | Toronto Street Railways |
| Successor | Toronto Transportation Commission |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 10 7⁄8 in (1,495 mm) |
| Headquarters | Toronto |
The Toronto Railway Company (TRC) was the first operator of horseless streetcars in Toronto.
Formed by a partnership between James Ross and William Mackenzie, a 30-year franchise was granted in 1891 to modernize transit operations after a previous 30 year franchise that saw horse car service from the Toronto Street Railways (TSR). At the end of the TSR franchise, the city ran the railway for eight months, but ended up granting another 30-year franchise to a private operator, the TRC. The first electric car ran on August 15, 1892, and the last horse car ran on August 31, 1894, to meet franchise requirements. There came to be problems with interpretation of the franchise terms, for the city. A series of annexations, especially in 1908–12, significantly extended the city limits to include such areas as Dovercourt, Earlscourt, East Toronto, Midway (formerly between Toronto and East Toronto), North Toronto, and West Toronto. After many attempts to force the TRC to serve these areas, the city created its own street railway operation, the Toronto Civic Railways to do so, and built several routes. Repeated court battles did force the TRC to build new cars, but they were of old design. When the TRC franchise ended in 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission was created, combining with the city-operated Toronto Civic Railways lines.
The TRC had a proposal for a subway-like line under Queen Street using streetcars, but the idea died after a city vote rejected the proposal in 1910.
The proposed system consisted of three underground routes: streetcar tunnels under Queen and Bloor Streets, and a rapid transit subway along Yonge Street. These routes would have connected with surface streetcar routes and radial railways.
The TRC streetcars were made of wood and after 1906 the basic design of their cars did not change. All but ten of the TRC cars were built in-house at their car works at Front and Frederick Streets.
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