Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

Presidents' Conference Commission Cars

The PCC (short for Electric Railway Presidents' Conference Commission Committee) car was conceived as a solution to the problems facing the electric street railway companies in the 1920s. By the early 1930s, design work was well underway on a streetcar that could compete with the automobile in speed, styling and comfort. The first PCC to be delivered and enter into service was Pittsburgh Railways number 100, in August 1936. Also during the summer of 1936, the Toronto Transportation Commission made an advance payment for 100 of the new cars. When the order was finally placed in March of 1938, it had been increased to 140 units -- the largest single order for PCCs until after World War II.

During the 1950s, the TTC's fleet of older Peter Witt cars was wearing out and replacement vehicles were needed. Rather than purchasing additional new PCCs which were becoming more and more expensive, the Commission turned to American cities that were abandoning their systems and selling relatively new cars at quite low prices.

All told, Toronto ordered a total of 540 new PCCs, and bought an additional 205 used cars that came from Birmingham, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City and Lousville, giving the TTC the largest fleet of PCC cars in North America.

All photos by Alan Gryfe and © Alan Gryfe unless otherwise noted.

Fleet NumbersDateBuilderClassNotes
4000-41391938Canadian Car & FoundryA-1Largest initial order for PCCsair
electric
4150-41991940Canadian Car & FoundryA-2
4200-42591942Canadian Car & FoundryA-3
4260-42741944Canadian Car & FoundryA-4
4275-42991945Canadian Car & FoundryA-5
4300-43991947-48Canadian Car & FoundryA-6all
electric
4400-44991949Canadian Car & FoundryA-7Multiple Unit
4500-45491951Canadian Car & FoundryA-8
4550-45741949St. Louis Car Co.A-9ex Cincinatti, 1950
4575-46011939-40St. Louis Car Co.A-10ex Cincinatti, 1950air
electric
4625-46741946Pullman-StandardA-11MU; ex Cleveland, 1952all
electric
4675-46991946St. Louis Car Co.A-12MU; ex Cleveland, 1952
4600-46181951/
1988-89		CC&F/TTCA-15rebuilt from A-8 class
4700-47471946-47Pullman-StandardA-13ex Birmingham, 1952
4750-47791946-47St. Louis Car Co.A-14ex Kansas City, 1952

4 3 1 8
1947 CC&F class A-6		 4338
1947 CC&F class A-6		 4 3 5 2
1947-48 CC&F class A-6

4 4 0 4
1949 CC&F class A-7		 4 4 1 5
1949 CC&F class A-7		 4 4 2 0
1949 CC&F class A-7
 
4 4 2 1
1949 CC&F class A-7		 4 4 6 6
1949 CC&F CC&F class A-7		 4484
1949 CC&F class A-7


4 5 2 1
1951 CC&F class A-8		 4 5 4 5
1951 CC&F class A-8		 4549
1951/1988 CC&F/TTC class A-15

4 5 5 1
1949 St. Louis class A-9		 4 5 6 8
1949 St. Louis class A-9

4 6 0 0
1939-40 St. Louis class A-10		 4 6 0 2
1951/1988 CC&F/TTC class A-15

4649
1946 Pullman class A-11		 4695
1946 St. Louis class A-12

4 7 0 4
1946-47 Pullman class A-13

4 7 5 1
1946-47 St. Louis class A-14		 4 7 6 0
1946-47 St. Louis class A-14

TRCo

Civic

Radials

Witts

PCCs

CLRVs

ALRVs

 

Home

  

Streetcars

  

Buses

  

Rapid Transit

  

Other

For more enthusiast info about the Toronto Transit Commission, surf over to the Toronto Transportation Society's sites at www.angelfire.com/ca/TORONTO/ and www.globalserve.net/~obd/tts/.