CPR West Toronto Yard
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West Toronto Yard is a small marshalling yard for Canadian Pacific Railway in Toronto. Built in 1882 to relieve stress at the Parkdale Yard and located near Keele Street and Dundas Street West in the Junction. Once the main yards for Toronto, but overtaken in 1964 by the CPR Toronto Yard.
A Rona retail store stands on the site of the former roundhouse. The turntable from the roundhouse and transfer table from the erecting shops have been preserved in a garden at the back of the Rona property. Engines from West Toronto formerly served local industry. West Toronto Yard is primary used for storage and classification of CPR's industrial customers in the Guelph - Islington corridor. CPR's premier piggyback service, the Expressway was originally sited West Toronto, upon becoming successful, it was relocated to Hornby.
West Toronto became very crowded by 1913, necessitating westward expansion. The result of this is Lambton Yard which stretches from Runnymede Road to Scarlett Road. Plans to build a hump class yard on the site were canceled c.1950. The search for a new site for a main classification yard eventually resulted in the Agincourt site selection for a modern hump retarder yard. Toronto Yard opened April 1964.
[edit] See also
- John Street Roundhouse
- CNR Spadina Roundhouse
- West Toronto Roundhouse 1891 - demolished 1998
- Parkdale Roundhouse 1870s; last used 1907