草稿:多倫多軌

多倫多軌（英語：Toronto-gauge Railways）即軌距為4英尺10 ⁷⁄₈英寸（1,495毫米）的寬軌，比標準軌寬2³⁄₈英寸（60毫米）。目前僅大多倫多地區使用，且正用於多倫多公車局運營的多倫多電車和地鐵系統。同時，荷頓縣市郊鐵路交通博物館也使用多倫多軌距以便於收納多倫多電車和地鐵的車輛。一些現已停運的城際電車也曾一時用過該軌間距。

考慮到比起將整個系統改造成標準軌距，使新車輛使用該軌距顯得更容易些，故這個獨特的軌距得以保留至現在。此軌距有個以目前唯一使用該軌距的運營商多倫多公車局命名的別名，叫TTC軌距；但是，此軌距於多倫多公車局創立的1921年前便已存在。

路面電車應用

多倫多電車系統中位於士巴丹拿道和皇后街西交匯處的道口是該系統中3個全向平交道口之一。

多倫多電車大規模使用的槽軌示意圖

所有多倫多電車線路均使用多倫多軌距。此外，多倫多公車局的三個前身公司（多倫多街道鐵路公司，多倫多鐵路公司和多倫多市營鐵路公司）均在多倫多市內擁有過一些電車線路，它們也使用多倫多軌距。

1861年，多倫多街道鐵路公司創建了多倫多有軌電車系統並運營了第一條馬車鐵路。它還創建了多倫多軌距以允許馬車得以使用軌道的內側，皆為了提升在泥濘、未鋪砌的街道的乘車舒適度。此軌距同時也有防止標準軌距車輛在電車線路上行駛的作用。在多倫多街道鐵路公司的特許經營權於1891年結束後，多倫多鐵路公司接手了電車系統且用電車取代了原先使用的馬車，並延續了多倫多軌距的應用。由於多倫多鐵路公司拒絕向其周邊地區提供服務，政府還於1911年創建了服務周邊地區的多倫多市營鐵路公司。該鐵路公司的線路集中在西端、東段和市中心，但是互相之間不連通。為了在車廠間調配車輛，多倫多市營鐵路公司需要藉助多倫多鐵路公司的軌道，這也是為什麼多倫多市營鐵路公司也選用多倫多軌的原因之一。另一個原因是因為當多倫多鐵路公司特許經營權於1921年結束時，多倫多公車局收購了多倫多鐵路公司和多倫多市營鐵路公司，並建設了兩系統間的聯絡線。

對使用該軌距的解釋

多倫多軌距最先被用於多倫多街道鐵路公司的馬車鐵路系統。有兩種對於該軌距的解釋：

1. 該軌距防止蒸汽鐵路使用電車軌道。
2. 該軌距支持無軌馬車行駛，也能使得其能在泥濘的道路上行駛。

多倫多公車局贊同第一種解釋，因為多倫多害怕蒸汽機車和貨運列車駛入城市軌道。然而，對於貨運車輛侵入城市軌道交通的擔憂於1891年至1921年左右才慢慢產生，這使得該解釋不太可能。在這個時期，鐵路企業家威廉·麥肯齊和唐納德·曼掌握着加拿大北方鐵路、多倫多鐵路公司以及包括多倫多郊區鐵路在內的幾條市郊鐵路線。大約在1912年，多倫多郊區鐵路希望將其軌距從多倫多軌距改為標準軌距，而多倫多市考慮到貨運列車可能會駛入市區，故頒佈了關於更改軌距的禁令。多倫多郊區鐵路最終還是佔據上風並於1917年將軌距改為標準軌距。

同時，馬車鐵路軌道只能供馬車行駛，而不能供予那些更重的車輛使用。當都會街鐵路將其位於北多倫多鎮的電車線路由馬力驅動改為電力驅動，電力驅動的車輛儘管速度更快，但是它們更重以至於損壞了原先用於馬車的軌道，使得原線路不得不關停一段時間用來以更高標準重建原鐵路。

1861年多倫多市和多倫多街道鐵路達成的共識卻贊同第二種解釋：

上述鐵路的軌距應確保現役的車輛能夠在上述軌道上行駛，而任何人，不論在什麼情況下，不論何時多少次使用該軌道都是合法的。前提是他們不會干擾到多倫多街道鐵路在其上運行的車輛，且當遇到他人或超車他人時不得將他人擠出道路。

由於當時貨車輪距通常為標準軌距，因此有軌電車的軌間距可以稍寬一些，使貨車可以在軌道的內側行駛，而有軌電車則在外側行駛。例如威廉姆斯歐姆尼不巴士線於 1861 年改變了其巴士的輪距以適應此軌距。

變種

在多倫多公車局掌握電車所有權之前，電車軌距並不是現在的4英尺10 ⁷⁄₈英寸（1,495毫米），而是由歷史原因決定的4英尺10 ³⁄₄英寸（1,492毫米）或4英尺11英寸（1,499毫米）。

多倫多街道鐵路公司於1861年開通其第一條馬車鐵路使用的即為4英尺11英寸（1,499毫米）的變種軌距。當多倫多鐵路公司接管了電車系統，其章程也規定多倫多軌距應為4英尺11英寸（1,499毫米）。直到多倫多公車局於1921年接手電車系統，多倫多軌距才被改為現在的寬度。

然而，據報道，加拿大博物館協會顧問博物館學家肯·赫德則表示，在協議中有一條提到軌距需可以容納火車。考慮到當時的馬車鐵路使用的是階梯狀導軌，配備了具有內側輪緣的車輪的馬車需使用軌道外側（上層）軌道通行。而對於貨車來說，它們沒有輪緣且它們由木製結構和鐵質車輪組成，故它們選擇通過軌道內側（下層）軌道通行。由於上層軌道需要引導行駛於下層軌道的貨車不脫軌，上層的軌距需設置為4英尺11英寸（1,499毫米）。由於當時街道還未被鋪砌，這種軌道的佈局能夠為運載重物的火車提供穩定的路基。" 為了支持赫德的觀點，多倫多軌道公司甚至將「電車系統的軌距需在今後均維持在4英尺11英寸（1,499毫米）」寫入公司憲章。

根據雷蒙德·L·甘迺迪所說「電車鐵路是以4英尺10 ³⁄₄英寸（1,492毫米）的馬車輪距建設的（多倫多公車局將其改為4英尺10 ⁷⁄₈英寸（1,495毫米）且至今仍在使用，甚至於在地鐵建設上。（原文如此））」詹姆斯·V·薩蒙也稱「城市軌距」為4英尺10 ³⁄₄英寸（1,492毫米）。這兩個參考資料均在描述登打士街和基爾街平交口的一個直到1912年8月還在使用多倫多城市軌距的前有軌電車交叉口。這個平交口也同時被多倫多市郊鐵路和多倫多鐵路公司共同使用。

Subway usage

Heavy rail

All three heavy-rail subway lines in Toronto use Toronto gauge. They are:

• Line 1 Yonge–University
• Line 2 Bloor–Danforth
• Line 4 Sheppard

Some early subway proposals involved using streetcars at least partially in tunnels, so using the same gauge would be advantageous, but the idea was ultimately dropped in favour of dedicated rapid transit trains. Nonetheless, the heavy-rail lines use the streetcar gauge today. According to rail historians John F. Bromley and Jack May, the reason that the Yonge subway line was built to the streetcar gauge (Toronto gauge) was that between 1954 and 1965, subway bogies were maintained at the Hillcrest Complex, where the streetcar gauge is used for shop tracks. The Davisville Carhouse was not equipped to perform such heavy maintenance, and the bogies would be loaded onto a specially built track trailer for shipment between Davisville and Hillcrest. This practice stopped with the opening of the shops at Greenwood Yard in 1965.

Temporary streetcar/subway interchange to Davisville Yard (left) at Belt Line bridge

Using Toronto gauge for the Yonge subway line had secondary benefits. A number of ex-streetcar vehicles were used as work trains for the subway, taking advantage of the common gauge. Before the opening of the Yonge subway in 1954, there was also a temporary interchange track between the Yonge streetcar line and the Davisville Yard on the north side of the Belt Line bridge. In 1953, subway cars 5000 and 5001, after being displayed at the Canadian National Exhibition, were mounted on shop bogies and towed at night by a Peter Witt motor to the Davisville Yard via the Yonge streetcar line using the temporary interchange. (They arrived at the CNE from the Hillcrest Complex via the Bathurst streetcar line. Because of the subway car width, buses had to replace night streetcar service during the movements. At the CNE, the subway cars were displayed on their proper subway bogies.)

Subway lines 1, 2 and 4 all use Toronto gauge to allow the interchange of equipment between these lines. Initially, after the Bloor–Danforth line opened in 1966, trains from the Yonge–University line terminated at the termini of Bloor–Danforth line as a trial for interlining. However, this trial ended six months later. The Sheppard subway has no carhouse, and thus, for servicing, its trains must transfer to line 1 to reach the Davisville Yard.

Standard-gauge lines

In addition to the heavy-rail lines, there are light-metro and light-rail lines that are considered to be part of the Toronto subway system, but use the 1,435毫米（4英尺8 ¹⁄₂英寸） that is the usual track gauge in Canada:

• Line 3 Scarborough was a light metro using Intermediate Capacity Transit System technology that is incompatible for running on heavy-rail lines, thus making customization for Toronto gauge of no benefit. However, when its ICTS vehicles needed anything more than basic service (which can be carried out at the McCowan Yard), they were carried by truck to the Greenwood Subway Yard.
• Line 5 Eglinton and Line 6 Finch West are light-rail lines that are under construction. These projects are in large part funded by the Ontario provincial transit authority. The light-rail vehicles on these lines will not be customized to use Toronto gauge, both to ensure a better price for purchasing vehicles and to have a degree of commonality with other similar projects within Ontario.

Hamilton

In 2009, the City of Hamilton Public Works produced an analysis for a future light rail line in Hamilton. The analysis looked at whether the city should use standard gauge or "TTC gauge". The report said the benefit in using the Toronto gauge would be to save costs if Hamilton's order could be combined with Toronto's for light-rail vehicles, and to encourage their manufacture in the Greater Toronto Area. The benefit of standard gauge would be greater compatibility with other tram systems and the elimination of the costs to customize the bogies. This analysis occurred before Metrolinx took over the project and stipulated the use of standard gauge.

Radial railways

Radial railways were Interurban tram lines serving communities just beyond the then-city limits. These interurban lines were called "radials" in southern Ontario as they radiated from a city. By the early twentieth century, there were two radial systems operating from the City of Toronto:

• Toronto and York Radial Railway
• Toronto Suburban Railway

Most of the radials within the above two systems used Toronto gauge at some time during their existence. The following sections give a highly abridged summary of each line, focusing mainly on the gauge used. Click on links for a more extensive history.

Toronto and York Radial Railway

主條目：Toronto and York Radial Railway

By 1904, the T&YRR had acquired the following independent radial railways:

• Metropolitan Street Railway (Toronto): Metropolitan (later Lake Simcoe) line
• Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company: Scarboro line
• Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company: Mimico (later Port Credit) line

In 1922, the City of Toronto acquired the assets of the T&YRR, and contracted with the Hydro-Electric Railways to operate the radial lines on behalf of the City. However, ridership declined and the City suffered operating losses.

In 1927, the TTC took over all the above radial operations, converting standard gauge lines to Toronto gauge, and connecting the radial tracks to the streetcar system. The City had hoped for efficiencies by not duplicating carhouses and shops.

Metropolitan Street Railway

The Metropolitan line of the Metropolitan Street Railway opened in 1885 as a horsecar line that used Toronto gauge. Initially, it ran along Yonge Street from the Canadian Pacific Railway mid-town line to Eglinton Avenue. At that time, the area was outside of the City of Toronto. By 1891, the line was electrified. In 1895, the Province granted the Metropolitan the right to change its gauge, which it did to standard gauge allowing for freight car interchange with steam railways. By that time the Metropolitan had reached Richmond Hill. As a standard-gauge line, the Metropolitan was eventually extended to Sutton, along the way connecting to the standard-gauge Schomberg and Aurora Railway, a steam railway converted by the T&YRR into an electric radial line.

In 1927, the TTC took over operation of the Metropolitan line, renaming it as the Lake Simcoe line. At that time the Metropolitan line had extended from Glen Echo Road in Toronto to Sutton. The connecting Schomberg and Aurora Railway was closed. The TTC re-gauged the tracks of the Lake Simcoe line to Toronto gauge within a seven day period, and connected them to the Yonge streetcar line. It closed the Glen Echo carhouse and moved operations to Eglinton Carhouse along the Yonge streetcar line. After re-gauging, box motors serving the Lake Simcoe line carried less-than-carload freight to downtown Toronto. Some city streetcars were modified for radial use to handle crowds to Bond Lake, an amusement park adjacent to the line.

In Aurora, the TTC constructed a 3.2 km（2 mi） section of four-rail, dual-gauge track in order to deliver freight cars from a steam railway interchange to a local factory. (Three-rail dual gauge was not possible with only a 2³⁄₈英寸（60 mm） difference between the two gauges.) The TTC adapted an old radial car as a standard-gauge switcher. This was one of only two locations where the TTC had dual-gauge trackage; the other was at the Hillcrest Complex.

In 1930, the Lake Simcoe line was closed. However, three months later the section from Glen Echo to Richmond Hill reopened as the North Yonge Railways. It was operated by the TTC until 1948, and was the TTC's last radial operation.

Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company

The Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company opened the Mimico radial line in 1892. It ran along Lake Shore Road and initially used Toronto gauge. By 1905, the line reached its full length from Humber Loop to Port Credit. After taking over the line in 1922, Hydro-Electric Railways converted it from Toronto to standard gauge. When the TTC subsequently took over the line in 1927, it converted the line back to Toronto gauge in one overnight operation. The TTC also closed the old T&YRR carhouse near Grenadier Pond and moved operations to Roncesvalles Carhouse. In late 1928, the Mimico line became the Port Credit line when the portion east of Long Branch Loop was replaced by a streetcar line (today used by 501 Queen). The Port Credit line closed in 1935, replaced by buses.

Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company

The Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company opened the Scarboro radial line in 1893. It ran along Kingston Road and used Toronto gauge for its entire life. By 1906, the line reached its full length from Queen Street to West Hill. After Hydro-Electric Railways took over the line in 1922, the portion of the line west of Victoria Park Avenue was replaced by a TTC streetcar line, used today by the 503 Kingston Rd streetcar route. In 1927, the line was taken over by the TTC and connected to Bingham Loop, and the Scarboro line's Warden carhouse was closed with operations moved to Russell Carhouse. The line was closed in 1936.

Toronto Suburban Railway

The Toronto Suburban Railway operated several radial lines west of the old city limits, all radiating from the Junction at Dundas Street and Keele Street. Its first line, the Davenport line (serving Davenport Road), opened in 1892. Next came three other lines: Lambton (1892, serving the neighbourhood of Lambton), Crescent (1893, serving Gilmore Avenue) and Weston (1895, serving Weston Road) with an extension to Woodbridge called the Woodbridge line (1914). These were basically semi-rural, suburban streetcar lines. All were built to a track gauge of Error: gauge specification "58.75in" not known, a variant of Toronto gauge. By the completion of the Toronto Suburban's standard-gauge Guelph line in 1917, all the other Suburban lines were converted to standard gauge.

The Toronto Street Railway had a wye in the intersection of Keele and Dundas streets to turn its single-ended streetcars coming from east of the intersection. Before its conversion to standard gauge, the Toronto Suburban shared a track of this wye to connect its routes east and north of the intersection. After the conversion to standard gauge, the wye was rebuilt with a curved, mixed-gauge crossing for Toronto Suburban cars.

After its creation in 1921, the TTC took over all radial lines within the Toronto city limits. Thus, the TTC took over the Lambton and Weston lines and converted them back to TTC gauge.

See also

• Toronto subway track
• Toronto subway trackage