Exploring Transportation History At The Halton County Railway Museum

Depending on your age, you probably remember different types of streetcars and subway trains in Toronto. Remember when the Red Rocket was actually the Red Rocket? I do. You can explore Toronto’s old transportation methods at the Halton County Railway Museum.

Visiting the Halton County Railway Museum is like taking a ride down memory lane. Old streetcars, rail cars, rapid transit, locomotives and freight, and passenger trains make their home here.

As it’s about an hour and a half away from Toronto, it’s a perfect spot for a day trip away from the city for some history lessons. The museum is located just northwest of Milton (north of Campbellville) on Guelph Line, so it’s fairly easy to get to by highway.

The Railway Museum Experience

The Halton County Radial Railway Museum is operated by Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association (OERHA), founded in 1953.

It opened the location in 1972 as a museum. It currently has over 75 vehicles in its collection with the oldest built in 1901.

This place is a serious mecca of transportation history in Canada. It includes several old streetcars that are from the early 1920s, showcasing how Torontonians got around by streetcar.

One such example is the Sunnyside streetcar, which we hopped on board to check out all the details.

The Halton Railway Museum - a vintage streetcar from the TTC Toronto — *How many people traveled on this streetcar? Who knows – but chances are that many a grandparent took a ride on this one.*

The Halton Railway Museum - a vintage train station from Meadowvale Village (Mississauga) — *An old train station from Meadowvale Village which is now part of Mississauga*

It also has this old train station and other memorabilia from TTC and local transit history. You can easily spend 2 to 3 hours walking around and learning about how people moved around over the past 100 years!

Emersing Yourself In Transit History

At the Halton County Railway Museum there are several things to do. For families with slightly older kids, a train ride and the history are both a learning experience and fun.

Take a ride on a vintage streetcar and a passenger train, restored to their earlier glory, along the 2 km loop rail.
Bring your camera, best lenses and tripod to take photos of numerous vintage transit vehicles with interesting features (most are housed in a large display barn).
Take a stop on the rail ride for a bite to eat at a restored TTC streetcar turned into a mini-diner
Take a ride in the caboose (extra $2.50/person)

The Halton Railway Museum - a vintage streetcar - Halton radial museum — *From one of the old streetcars from the 1920s – still in working order!*

When you take the train ride on the old passenger train, you can imagine how people travelled places. Cars weren’t plentiful 100-plus years ago. Going any long distance required a train ride.

Surprisingly, an old train is a smooth ride. We know, as we took one at Halton County Railway Museum!

Old railway car for London to Port Stanley at the Halton Radial Museum — *The old passenger train that transported London, Ontario residents to Port Stanley*

Taking a ride on an old passenger train that used to go from London to Port Stanley

Old railway car for London to Port Stanley train at the Halton Radial Museum — *The interior of the railway car that took people from London to Port Stanley.*

Explore Old TTC Cars

In one of the buildings at the Halton County Railway Museum, there are many old trains and TTC subway cars.

I found one that was “newer.” It was a TTC car from the past 40 years. I remember riding many times on these light gray-blue cars. They were uncomfortable with vinyl seats. In the summer they were always hot and stinky. If you wore a short skirt or shorts, your legs would inevitably stick to the seat. YUCK!

In the winter, the heating systems were poor, so you were always super cold when the train was on outdoor tracks.

Old TTC streetcar from the 1950s-70s at the Halton Radial Museum — *Frank sits in one of the older TTC subway train cars that some of us may remember from recent years.*

Many of these cars were still in use when I travelled to York University in the 1990s. Compared to today’s newer subway cars, I don’t know how we could stand a 1- or 2-hour commute on these things.

Directions & Details For Visiting The Halton County Railway Museum

How to the Halton County Radial Railway and Museum from Toronto:
Take the 401 west. Exit at 312 – Guelph Line. Travel north on Guelph Line until you reach the museum on east side of the road (approx. 10 miles/15 kilometers).

To learn more about visiting the museum, check out the details on their Halton County Railway Museum website.