4000-4139
TTC Class A1 (originally P.C.1)
Builder: CC&F/St. Louis
Built: 1938
Ordered: March '38
Trucks: Clark B-2
Motors: CdnWH1432

Toronto's premier order of 140 PCC cars was placed with the St. Louis Car Company in March, 1938. This was the largest single PCC car order placed to date, and also the first order for cars equipped with conventional folding doors as opposed to the so-called "blinker" doors used on most other PCC cars. The unfinished shells and trucks were shipped from St. Louis Car to CC&F's Turcot works at Montreal. Production moved relatively rapidly: the first two completed cars (4001 and 4002) were received at Hillcrest Shops on August 20, 1938, and the last (4139) on November 23 of the same year.

These cars were built to essentially the same specifications as were most early PCC cars, being those of the "Brooklyn design." (This was in homage to that city's significant contributions to the PCC effort, as a testing ground in the development of the vehicle, and as the first city to place an order for production model PCC cars.) In addition to the conventional doors discussed above, the Toronto cars were also distinguished by their large, cowl-covered dash lights, distinctive TTC "advance lights," and, of course, by their TTC gauge trucks. Also noticeably absent were the decorative chromed headlight wings, which were widely applied to PCC cars elsewhere, although these were by no means universal.

Disposition:

Toronto's first group of PCC cars was as well received as the streamliners were upon their introduction in other cities, being justifiably popular with riders and operators alike. This class of car remained relatively intact for nearly three decades, although the first of its lot was removed from the roster after less than a decade of service. A1 car 4063 earned the unenviable distinction of being the first TTC PCC to be scrapped in 1947, after the in-service car accidentally careened through an open switch at the entrance to Lansdowne Carhouse, resulting in a collision in which the car was totalled and the north wall of the structure sustained substantial damage. Probably the second car of the class to be scrapped was 4052; it was scrapped in 1962, also due to collision damage.

Early in 1963, car 4000 took on a new role as a Hillcrest training car, replacing venerable Peter Witt 2300 in this position. Additionally, a TTC initiative to equip numerous PCCs with auxiliary braking controls saw six cars of this class (including 4000) so modified, in 1958 and 1962. It appears that the remaining five cars were simultaneously available for passenger service, unlike 4000.

The opening of the crosstown Bloor-Danforth subway line in February, 1966 was the cause of a large-scale surface route realignment scheme, including the abandonment of several car lines. This enabled the TTC to retire all remaining A1 class cars, among others. Mass scrapping of retired PCC cars commenced in 1968, with this class extinct by 1969. Thirty-nine serviceable A1 cars were among the 140 PCCs sold to Alexandria, Egypt between 1966 and 1968.

Preserved Units:

In 1969, following its retirement from training car service, A1 car 4000 was acquired by the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association for preservation at OERHA's Halton County Radial Railway Museum in Rockwood, Ontario, near Guelph. An historically significant addition to HCRR's collection, car 4000 is still preserved there in 1998, in beautifully restored and operating condition.

Also saved from scrapping was A1 car 4138, the body of which was acquired by the Toronto Board of Education circa 1969. It is said that the carbody was used for classroom space at Toronto's Duke of York school on George Street. Its final disposition/present status is unknown to this author.

Miscellaneous Notes:

In addition to the celebrity status accorded this class of vehicles as Toronto's (and Canada's) first group of PCC cars (including the CNE debut of cars 4001 and 4002 in 1938), one of its number gained some notoriety as a recording star.

Car 4001, along with Peter Witt 2836 and several other, anonymous cars, was featured on a unique LP entitled "The Sound of Streetcars" in the 1960s. Recorded by Toronto-based HRN Productions in September 1962, "The Sound of Streetcars" kept the memory of 4001 alive long after its scrapping in February, 1969.

I was fortunate enough to have acquired a pristine, unopened copy of this record in 1995, although at this late date I have still not heard it, having disposed of my last record player many years ago! The rear cover of my copy features an attractive, three-quarters angle close-up of the front and curb-side of car 4001, in which is visible the small yellow circle on the curb-side windshield, marking it as one of the PCCs equipped with auxiliary brakes for motorman training.

Ostensibly identical to the A1 cars, TTC's second order of PCCs, comprising 50 cars, was placed in February of 1940 and all cars were on the property by the middle of November. Two cars of this class (4150 & 4151) were delivered in time to be rolled out to the CNE for fairgoers to admire at that year's "Ex."

Canada had been officially at war for a year by the time the A2 class was being delivered, and these cars would soon settle down to hard work, proving their worth immediately, and enabling the TTC to extend PCC service on busy lines.

Disposition:

This class seems to have remained intact for a little over two decades, with 4179 scrapped in 1962 following a collision. Five units were equipped with auxiliary brake controls (see A1 class for details), although no units were removed from active service as a result.

The A2s also fell victim to the opening of the Bloor-Danforth subway. Twenty-three units were among those sold to Alexandria, Egypt, and the balance were scrapped as part of the PCC scrapping program. Car 4199 would come to outlive all other air-electric cars of the A1-A5 classes, and was not retired until September 28, 1972.

Preserved Units:

None known.