On April 10, 1986 with my friend Mike B, thanks to a strike by the high school teachers, we decided to visit every TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) subway stop and get a transfer from each station. Yes, exactly like I did in 1984, I wanted to visit every subway station and get a transfer from each stop. I wanted to add to my transfer collection. Making the trip even more exciting was that there was an entire new line - the Scarborough RT to visit, plus I didn't have anything better to do.
With the opening of the Scarborough RT in 1985, our start point was much closer to where I lived. We started at the Scarborough Centre RT station (this transfer has gone missing - somewhere over the course of 25 years it has disappeared), we then went east to to McCowan, doubled back past Scarborough Centre, Ellesmere, Midland (Automated Entrance), Lawrence and then to Kennedy. We also started much earlier than I did back in 1984. Would the earlier start time make any difference?
Onwards to the same route I did in 1984 - save for the actual subway stops starting at Kennedy and not Warden. Kennedy, Warden, Victoria Park, Main Street. About an hour sooner in comparison - so you would think we'd finish an hour sooner....
Continuing to Woodbine, Coxwell, Greenwood, Donlands, Pape, Chester, Broadview and Castle Frank (Or Castlefrank as the transfer states)
We seem to be making good time as we visit Sherbourne, Yonge, Bay, St. George, Spadina, Bathurst, Christie and Ossington
I erred in the scan and missed Dufferin - this station was visited! Website fixed and here is the scan:
And we visit Landsdowne, Dundas West, Keele, High Park, Runnymede, Jane, Old Mill and Royal York
We finished off the Bloor-Danforth line with Islington and Kipling. We then make out way to the Yonge-University-Spadina line and for some reason we decide to begin at Finch. I do not remember why and it seems to add time to our quest
It takes us close to 1.5 hours to get to Finch. I strongly suspect we must have stopped somewhere for lunch; again, I don't remember. Anyhow, we go to Finch, Sheppard, York Mills, Lawrence, Eglinton and Davisville (North York Centre not built/finished until 1987, I believe)
It's getting harder to compare to 1984 since we took the opposite route - anyhow, we visit Summerhill, Rosedale, Bloor (this time I made sure I got a transfer from this station), Wellesley, College, Dundas, Queen and King
The almost-home stretch - Union, St. Andrew (I do remember the doors not opening and us having to double back at the next station), Osgoode, St. Patrick, Queen's Park, Museum, Dupont
The Finish - St. Clair West, Eglinton West, Glencairn, Lawrence West, Yorkdale, Wilson
We finished at 4:05. The trip once again takes about 7 hours.
Somewhere in the mid-90's new transfer machines were introduced and the look of the transfers were identical at each station, save for the station name. The old transfers had double lines for the Scarborough RT, a single thick line for the Bloor-Danforth Line and no line for the Yonge-University-Spadina line. These transfers I collected on this day had some character to them!
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I also wanted to try to collect all the TTC Bus and Streetcar Transfers - click here to read of that quest
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