General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

WOOD/ IRON/ TEXTILES/ GLASS

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

535.0 cm

Width

215.0 cm

Height

330.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Railway Transportation

Category

Public transportation

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

STEPHENSON

Country

United States of America

State/Province

New York

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

1874-1921

Canada

THIS STYLE OF HORSE CAR WAS ORDERED FOR THE OPENING OF THE KING STREET ROUTE IN 1874 (REF. 1) In 1861, Toronto Street Railway horse cars replaced horse driven omnibuses as a mode of public transit in Toronto. Starting 1892, electric streetcars emerged in Toronto and by 1894 the TSR stopped operating horsecars in Toronto.

Function

HORSE DRAWN PUBLIC TRANSPORT ON RAILS

Technical

THESE WERE ONLY TSR CARS WITH 12 FT. BODIES & WERE NICKNAMED 'BAND BOX' CARS. THEY WERE USED WITH EITHER 1 OR 2 HORSES & IN 1893 WERE CONVERTED TO ELECTRIC TRAILERS, SERVING UNTIL 1894 WHEN ALL BUT 13 & 16 WERE DISPOSED OF. THEY BECAME OFFICE CARS AT EXHIBITION UNTIL 1921 WHEN TAKEN OVER BYTTC. 13 WAS SCRAPPED. Compared with omnibuses, horsecars provided service which was generally faster, more frequent, and considerably more comfortable. Hauling streetcars over steel rails laid in the streets made more efficient and comfortable use of horsepower than the use of omnibuses over unpaved or cobbled streets.The fact that horsecars were a faster mode of transportation than the omnibus was a catalyst in the expansion of city boundaries,as these vehicles made it possible for residents to maintain jobs within the city center while enjoying living quarters outside of older, less attractive central city neighborhoods. The level of growth inspired by horsecar traffic was nowhere near as great as that inspired by the faster electric cars of a later era, but it was greater than any negligible hints of urban sprawl which may have been inspired by omnibus operation. While horsecars and the rail infrastructure required to operate these vehicles were expensive to manufacture and maintain, the real linchpin in this form of transit was the motive power: the horses. Horses ranged from $125 to $200 in cost, but the ratio of horses to cars was strongly tipped in favor of the horse: each animal was only good for a few hours of service per day, so enough animals had to be kept on hand to relieve their comrades at the end of successive shifts. The care and feeding of horses on so large a scale worked a burden on even moderately-sized companies. Horses had to be properly housed, shod and groomed; neglect of animals adversely affected service out on the lines, which careless operators discovered to their peril. Still, horses were routinely overworked, especially in rush hours when cars were heavily loaded. There was also their manure to deal with which was a serious street pollutant. In the early 1870s, a European horse disease, the Epizotic Aphtnae, ravaged the streetcar horses of the eastern U.S. and Canada. This disease, known as the "Great Epizootic," left thousands of horses dead or disabled. The Horsecar service was devastated. Adding this tragedy to the already high cost of operating this horse-drawn form of public transportation made it abundantely clear that an efficient mechanical substitute for horse traction was needed.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

'16' PAINTED IN GOLD OUTLINED IN WHITE WITH RED SHADING ON BOTH ENDS/METAL BAND ACROSS DOOR INCISED 'JOHN STEPHENSON/ NEW YORK'/ RED & GOLD SIGN ON EACH END READS 'KING STREET' & ON EACH SIDE READS 'WOODBINE TO/ ST LAWRENCE MARKET'

Missing

COACH WAS 'REFURBISHED' BY TTC IN 1934 & NUMBER OF ORIGINAL PARTS REPLACED IS UNKNOWN

Finish

EXTERIOR PAINTED DARK RED & YELLOW: YELLOW LOWER SIDE & END PANELS, RED UPPER SECTION WITH YELLOW WINDOW CASINGS & RED FRAMES/ GREEN ROOF/ BLACK PAINTED STEPS, RAILINGS/ GREY PAINTED FLOOR/ EXTERIOR ROOF UNDERSIDE PAINTED YELLOW/ INTERIOR: STAINED & VARNISHED WOOD DOORS, CEILING, WALLS, SEAT BENCHES/ RED UPHOLSTERED SEAT CUSHIONS & BACKS/ BLACK UNDERCARRIAGE

Decoration

GOLD PAINTED ACANTHUS LEAVES ON SIDE PANELS & ON ENDS FRAME GOLD OUTLINED OVAL AT CENTRE, WHICH CONTAINS GOLD 'TSR' WITH BLACK & WHITE OUTLINING & RED SHADING/ HORIZONTAL WOOD TRIM PAINTED BLACK WITH GOLD STRIPE SEPARATES AREAS/ BLACK STRIPING DIVIDES PANELS ON YELLOW LOWER BODY, SAME DESIGN IN GOLD ON RED AREAS ON ENDS