The Toronto Railway Heritage Centre
The Toronto Railway Heritage Centre (TRHC) opened to the public on May 29, 2010. For the first season of operation, the centre will be open on Saturdays, Sundays and Statutory Holidays from 12 noon to 4 p.m. We will operate miniature railway rides on these days and will open other components of the museum based on the availability of our volunteer staff.
We recommend that railway enthusiasts visit the TRHC on Saturdays when there will typically be more to experience on that day of the week. We expect to maintain this schedule into the fall season as long as the weather remains pleasant. There are currently no full-time staff and the operation is entirely volunteer driven. So how much is happening on any given day will depend on how many volunteers show up to operate the attractions.
Features of the TRHC include:
- A ride on the half-kilometre miniature railway through Roundhouse Park.
- An exhibition of historic railway equipment.
- The restored 1929 Canadian Pacific Railway John Street Roundhouse.
- The operational 120-foot long turntable.
- The restored 1896 CPR Don Station. (incomplete)
- The fully restored 1896 Grand Trunk Railway Cabin D interlocking tower.
- A visit in the engineer's cab of Canadian National Railways steam locomotive No. 6213.
- A computer simulated cab ride in an actual diesel locomotive
- Historic tours of the roundhouse area. (when there is sufficient demand from five or more people)
- Self-guided tours through Roundhouse Park. (incomplete)
- Interpretive exhibitions in the buildings. (incomplete)
The museum does not have a phone and the most efficient way to monitor ongoing progress at the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre is to access our website which is continually updated.
Contact information to reach us directly can be found on our Contact page.
The Toronto Railway Historical Association
The Toronto Railway Historical Association (TRHA) was established in 2001. It is incorporated and is a Federally registered charity. Its primary purpose is to promote the development of the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre, which will:
- Communicate the history of railways in Toronto.
- Identify, celebrate and facilitate the study of the creative, technological, social and industrial achievements of Torontonians who have contributed to the development of railways in Canada.
- Assemble, conserve and preserve artifacts and objects relating to the development of the railway industry.
- Undertake research to construct and maintain a comprehensive record of Toronto’s railway history.
- Make that record available to Canada and the world via internet technology.
- Working in partnership with the City of Toronto and other stakeholders, our organization of volunteers have played a major role in the development of the museum which opened at the end of May in 2010.