THE TORONTO G TRAINS: The story of the original Red Rockets

The opening of “Canada’s First Subway” on March 30th, 1954 forever changed the city of Toronto. Former mayor Allan Lamport called it “the day the modern Toronto was born”. The city was in the midst of a boom in the early 1950s and the opening of the Yonge Subway with its fleet of shiny red trains suddenly launched a young industrial city into the same league with international metropolises such as London and New York.

Proposals for underground transportation in Toronto date back more than a century. However, many of these plans envisioned the use of streetcars running under the streets in the subway portion and above ground as regular streetcars on the outer portions of the routes. The TTC’s rapid transit proposal of 1945 was the first to call for the use of specialized cars for a rapid transit line under Yonge Street, to be based on the design of the successful PCC streetcars. This was the genesis of Canada’s first subway cars; after several twists and turns of fate the cars were delivered just in time for the opening of the subway.

Toronto’s original Red Rockets came to be known as the “G” trains, so nicknamed for their equipment designation, “G”, which was based on the name of their builder, the Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company of England.

The development of this unique model of rapid transit cars and their history is described with comprehensive detail in this impressive 264 page, 8” x 10 ½” full-colour publication, which includes 212 photo images, diagrams and maps, 166 of which are in colour.

The expansion of the subway system and subway fleet as it affected the G trains, illustrated with photos from more than three decades, is fully described. The appendices provide detailed technical information, including diagrams, a fleet roster, descriptions of the equipment used on the cars, yard operations and a detailed description of a G train operating a round trip on the Yonge-University subway with photographs along the line.

THE TORONTO G TRAINS is published by the Canadian Transit Heritage Foundation. We have been involved in a number of recent publications commemorating Canada’s public transit heritage, including:

• Tires and Wires: the story of electric trolley coaches serving sixteen Canadian cities
• A Century of Moving Toronto: TTC 1921-2021
• The Street Side Guide to Urban Transit Fleets in Canada, published bi-annually

THE TORONTO G TRAINS is available at $59.95 plus postage via Canada Post ($19.50 for Canadian orders, $21.00 for U.S. and $27.00 for International). Note – Canadian order prices are in Canadian dollars; all others are in U.S. dollars.

CTHF members and Retired Toronto Transit Commission employees are entitled to a $10.00 discount by entering coupon code gtr10 at checkout.

Here’s how to order your copy

To purchase THE TORONTO G TRAINS: The story of the original Red Rockets

follow this link to the CTHF e-store. Alternatively, this order form can be completed and mailed with the appropriate payment amount to the CTHF address shown on the form.

Act Now . . . You’re sure to find this superb book a welcome addition to your public transit library.