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25-621: Toronto's first public transportation company was the Williams Omnibus Bus Line and owned by undertaker Burt Williams. The franchise carried passengers in horse-drawn stagecoaches along Yonge Street between the St. Lawrence Market and the village of Yorkville for sixpence in 1849. The city granted the first franchise for a street railway in 1861 to Alexander Easton under the franchise of Toronto Street Railways (TSR) and Metropolitan Street Railway of Toronto (MSR) in 1885. In 1891,

50-452: A state-of-the-art plant tailored to their manufacturing needs and purchased a considerable amount of new equipment. The plant started operations in 1891 and was the largest works of its kind in Canada, specializing in the design and manufacturing of marine engines, boilers, and complete vessels, with offices and supply depots at Winnipeg and Vancouver. Doty equipment was very extensively used in

75-553: Is a list of historic and current buses used by the Gray Coach: The TTC once operated trolley buses on 10 routes, mostly on downtown routes and a few in the northern limits of the City of Toronto. The first route began operation with four buses on June 19, 1922, from a shed on Merton St. This early trolley coach operation was replaced by a streetcar line. In later years, many of these routes replaced streetcar routes, using

100-588: Is a list of historic and current buses used by the old TTC: Gray Coach Lines was suburban bus operator founded in 1927 by the Toronto Transit Commission . Gray Coach used inter-urban coaches to link Toronto to outlying areas throughout Southern Ontario. In addition, Gray Coach operated tour bus operations in association with Gray Line tours. The main terminal was at the Toronto Bus Terminal on Elizabeth Street, downtown. Here

125-594: The Mayflower in 1620) and the Primrose . The two sisters cost $ 33,000 each to construct and incorporated the latest conveniences and improvements, including electric lights. In 1888, the Dotys were forced to find a new location for their business when the owner of the property wanted to take over the site. "In 1889, they purchased land on the east side of Bathurst Street between Niagara and Front where they constructed

150-531: The Second World War both placed heavy burdens on the ability of municipalities to finance themselves. During most of the 1930s, municipal governments had to cope with general welfare costs and assistance to the unemployed. The TTC realized that improvements had to be made despite the depression and in 1936 purchased the first of the newly developed PCC streetcars . The war put an end to the depression and increased migration from rural to urban areas. After

175-625: The Doty Brothers operated a ferry to Hanlan's Point. They also used the "palace steamers" Queen City and Canadian to service High Park and the Humber from York and Brock St wharves. When the business outgrew the capacity of the premises at the Yonge Street Wharf, John Doty leased "about an acre of ground, with some buildings thereon, at the foot of Bathurst Street on the west side, and removed his works to that place in 1881." This

200-524: The Globe stated that Bertram would carry on business under the good name of the "Doty Engine Works." The facility operated until 1905 under George and John Bertram as the Bertram Engine Works. John's sons, Fred and Frank stayed on as managers for a time. This was when they built their hydraulic sand pump, a piece of equipment they would later use under contract to the City for the dredging of

225-616: The Ontario Business Corporations Act to Michael A. McLaughlin. Captain Andrew J. Tymon (1844-?) operated a number of ferries from 1880 until the formation of his own service in the mid-1880s. It later merged with John Doty's (1822-1902) Ferry Company to form TFC in 1892. Vessels included: His son Joseph Tymon (b. 1873) would become a ferry captain for the Toronto Ferry Company. John Doty

250-570: The St. Lawrence Market to the Red Lion Hotel in Yorkville. The bus line was a great success, and four larger vehicles were added in 1850. After a few years, even more buses were in use, and were operating every few minutes. In 1861, the city gave a 30-year franchise for to Toronto Street Railways who built a horse car line, and the gauge of the buses was modified so as to fit between the tracks. The bus system lasted only until 1862, when it

275-552: The TTC. Some older wooden cars were retired due to wear and replaced by Peter Witt orders. Buses are a large part of the TTC operations today, but before the 1960s they played a lesser role to streetcar operations. Bus service in Toronto started in 1921, but it was not until the creation of the TTC that buses become a part of public transit. There were a few independent bus operators that continued to provide inter-urban bus services: Here

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300-648: The Toronto Harbour. In 1901, at the age of 79, John Doty was living with his son Fred and family in Goderich, Ontario, where Fred had established the Doty Engine Works of Goderich. Soon after, he moved back to Toronto, boarding at the home of Robert Thomas, an engineer living at 97 Ossington Avenue and employed at the Bertram Engine Works, the new owners of the factory built by John Doty. This would be his last place of residence. On 1 October 1902, at

325-601: The Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) and, in 1921, the Commission took over and amalgamated nine existing fare systems within the city limits. Between 1921 and 1953, the TTC added 35 new routes in the city and extended 20 more. It also operated 23 suburban routes on a service-for-cost basis. It abandoned money-losing radial railway line (known as 'interurbans' elsewhere in the continent), North Yonge Railways . The Great Depression and

350-655: The age of 70, John Doty retired from his business. Then, on the cusp of achieving so much, there was a downturn in the market. "The compulsory move of the plant in 1891 caused a substantial strain on the company's capital and credit. The financial panic of 1892 caused the Company to go into receivership. It was taken over by the Bertram interests." The family was forced to sell the John Doty Engine Works to their creditors, Bertram & Co. An announcement in

375-460: The creation of Metro Toronto in 1954 and the building of the Yonge subway line, the Toronto Transportation Commission was renamed the Toronto Transit Commission . The Toronto Transportation Commission was mainly a streetcar operator and this remained the core operations before 1954: All remaining Toronto Railway Company cars as of 1921 and all Toronto Civic Railways cars as of 1921 was absorbed into

400-549: The development of the Canadian North West." Coinciding with the move to the new plant in 1890, was the sale of the Doty Ferry Company to the Toronto Ferry Company, which was incorporated as a joint stock company with financier E.B. Osler as president and Lawrence Soloman as general manager. John Doty became a shareholder, and the vessels belonging to the Doty Ferry Company were purchased as part of

425-524: The franchise was passed onto William Mackenzie's Toronto Railway Company for 30 years. Outside of the city there were a number of other operators, including: Prior to the establishment of the TTC, the City of Toronto operated its own system under the Toronto Civic Railways (TCR). However, the TCR routes were operating in areas not served by the private TRC. In 1920, a Provincial Act created

450-501: The old overhead power system which was adapted to dipole service. The buses consisted of a standard bus platform with electric motors with two trolley poles connected to electrical lines above. Routes served by trolley buses included: In 1926, the City of Toronto purchased the ferry services operated by the Toronto Ferry Company . The fleet was transferred to the TTC, which engaged in a modernization program, retiring

475-492: The smaller older vessels, and purchasing modern, diesel-powered ferries which still provide the backbone of modern service to the Islands. Williams Omnibus Bus Line Williams Omnibus Bus Lines was the first mass transportation system in the old City of Toronto , Ontario, Canada with four six-passenger buses. Established in 1849 by local cabinetmaker Burt Williams, it consisted of horse-drawn stagecoaches operating from

500-668: The venture. The Island Park Ferry Company and most of the other vessels in the city's ferry boat business were also acquired, giving the Toronto Ferry Company a virtual monopoly on hauling the public to and from the Island. It was reported that "six of the ferries were built by The John Doty Engine Works." That same year, The John Doty Engine Company of Toronto (Limited) was organized. The company's officers were: John Doty, President; Daniel Hunter, Vice-President; Franklin H. Doty, General Manager; Frederic W. Doty, Secretary-Treasurer; John Walsh, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer. The following year, at

525-466: The war, municipalities faced the problem of extending services to accommodate the increased population. Ironically, the one municipal service that prospered during the war years was public transit; employers had to stagger work hours in order to avoid overcrowding the streetcars. Toronto continued their program of purchasing PCC cars, running the world's largest fleet, including many obtained second-hand from U.S. cities that abandoned streetcar service. With

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550-458: Was a Toronto industrialist born in Lewiston, New York in 1822. He moved his young family to Oakville, Ontario in 1851 where he established the town's first foundry and machine shop. By 1875, he, his wife Louisa Jane and two sons, Fred and Frank, moved to Toronto where John established a machine shop at the Yonge Street Wharf, 2 The Esplanade, with offices nearby at 2 Church Street. In summer 1886

575-624: Was bought out by the TSR. The omnibuses were manufactured by Williams' own cabinet-making store on Yonge Street, H. Burt Williams. Prior to Williams' operations, there were a variety of stagecoach operators in the city: The companies and agencies that succeeded Williams: Toronto Ferry Company The Toronto Ferry Company was formed from the merger of the Doty Ferry Company with A.J. Tymon's Island Ferry Company , two of Toronto's early ferry operators to Toronto Islands in 1890. TFC

600-623: Was founded and headed by businessman Lol Solman , who owned several attractions on the Toronto Islands including Hanlan's Point Amusement Park , Hanlan's Point Stadium and the Hanlan's Hotel. The company's ferry license and ships as well as the amusement park and other assets were acquired by the Toronto Transportation Commission in 1927. On March 17, 2021, The Toronto Ferry Company Inc was registered under

625-593: Was the former site of Dickey, Neill & Company's Soho Foundry. In addition, The John Doty Engine Works operated a shipyard on the waterfront and established The Doty Ferry Company in 1887 with the purchase of vessels belonging to the Turner Ferry Company to provide a ferry service to the Toronto Island . In 1890, they built sister ships the Mayflower (a nod to the fact that John was a seventh generation descendant of Edward Doty who came over on

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