The Birney cars were the TCR's first cars that could be operated by a single person. Normally, they could seat 28 passengers with a provision for 32 using folding seats.[1]
History
Starting in mid-1920, the TCR operated the Birney cars on three of its routes:[1]
Gerard
Bloor
Danforth
Under the TTC, the Birney cars operated on various routes such as:[1][2]
Bloor West: Formerly the TCR Bloor route, it was replaced in August 1925 by an extension of the
Bloor streetcar line, which used single-ended cars.
Parliament: Birney cars served this route from July 1923 to May 1940 when they were replaced by single-ended cars.
Coxwell: Birney cars began service on this route in October 1921. They were replaced by single-ended cars in June 1940 after the construction of a loop at Coxwell Avenue and Queen Street.
Davenport: In November 1923, Birney cars started service along a route that was part of the
Toronto Suburban Railway's
Davenport route. The line was replaced by buses in December 1940.
In 1940 and 1941, the remaining fourteen Birney cars were sold to the
Nova Scotia Light and Power Company, Limited (successor of Nova Scotia Tramways and Power Company) becoming cars 159–172 in Halifax.[5]
All Birney cars were scrapped circa 1949 as Cornwall[4] and Halifax[6] were terminating streetcar service.[5]
Bromley, John F.; May, Jack (1978) [1973]. Fifty Years of Progressive Transit: A History of the Toronto Transit Commission (2 ed.). New York: Electric Railroaders' Association.
LCCN73-84892.
Partridge, Larry (1983). Mind the Doors, Please! The Story of Toronto and Its Streetcars. Erin, Ontario: The Boston Mills Press.
ISBN0-919822-62-2.
Hood, J. William (1986). The Toronto Civic Railways. Toronto, Ontario: Upper Canada Railway Society.
ISBN0-921429-07-X.