By James Bow Additional text by Jelo Gutierrez Cantos

A History of the 40 Junction Trolley Bus

This route, operating from Dundas West station on the BLOOR DANFORTH SUBWAY, northwest via Dundas to an off-street loop on the northwest corner of Dundas Street and Runnymede Avenue (the city limits of Toronto at the time) used to be served by an extension of the DUNDAS streetcar. When the Bloor subway opened its first phase between Keele and Woodbine stations, the Dundas streetcar continued to operate north of Bloor, until a conversion to trolley coach could take place. The 40 JUNCTION bus opened for service on May 11, 1968 — the day the Bloor-Danforth subway was extended west from Keele to Islington and east from Woodbine to Warden.

The operating characteristics of the 40 JUNCTION trolley bus all descended from its streetcar parent. It operated out of Dundas West station, seven days a week. Although it ran less frequently than its south-of-Bloor parent, the Junction bus retained the streetcar’s night service until February 8, 1987, when the service was taken over the next day by the new 313 JANE VIA DUNDAS BLUE NIGHT bus, operating from Dundas West station via Dundas and Jane to Steeles Avenue.

Looking at a map of the TTC’s services in the area, one may wonder why service on Dundas north of Bloor was split between this route and the 30 LAMBTON bus, with 30 LAMBTON running from High Park station via High Park to Kipling station. The two services duplicate service for a short stretch of Dundas Street between High Park and Runnymede. Even after the elimination of trolley bus service on 40 JUNCTION, the split continues to this day.

However, the urban development of the area that kept the DUNDAS streetcar separate from the suburban services beyond continued to play itself out long after the streetcars disappeared. The Toronto city limits ran down Runnymede, and the territory west of Runnymede was controlled by the Borough of York. The DUNDAS streetcar fostered higher density development on Dundas east of Runnymede, in a neighbourhood now known as the Toronto Junction. West of Runnymede, development occurred later and at lower densities. This justified higher frequencies for the 40 JUNCTION trolley bus than for bus services beyond, while at the same time limiting any enthusiasm for an extension of trolley bus wires west of Runnymede.

Also, until 1972, the TTC’s Zone 1/Zone 2 fare boundary passed through Runnymede loop, which meant that keeping the transit services separate made it easier to manage fare collection. If you wanted to travel from Dundas west of Runnymede to Dundas east of Runnymede, you had to pay a second fare anyway, so a transfer to a second bus was justified. Also, even though the 30 LAMBTON bus straddled both sides of the fare boundary, it fed into the BLOOR-DANFORTH SUBWAY at High Park, where one had to show a valid transfer to continue one’s journey, limiting the possibilities of fare evasion.

The JUNCTION trolley bus did not have any short-turn loops or branches, and since its conversion to diesel buses on August 3, 1991 (the first route of the system to be converted, likely due to a shortage of usable equipment), there have been no changes to its routing. Intriguingly, there is a chance that the bus route could be reconverted into streetcar operation. At some point, the TTC plans to extend the 512 ST CLAIR streetcar west from Gunns Loop to the current Junction loop at Dundas and Runnymede. When this happens, the TTC might convert the 40 JUNCTION route to streetcars in order to provide a second connection between its St. Clair tracks and the rest of the system, dramatically reducing the deadhead time of the St Clair streetcars entering and leaving service from Roncesvalles Carhouse. This was eventually changed after the Junction Area Study took place in 2017, with the route renamed and extended to Kipling station as the 40 JUNCTION-DUNDAS WEST bus, thus rendering the plan moot.

A Chronological History of the 40 Junction Route

Compiled by Peter Coulman
Additional contributions by Jelo Gutierrez Cantos

May 11, 1968

Service begins on a new trolley coach service replacing DUNDAS service north and west of Dundas West station. Trolley buses operate from Dundas West station via Dundas to an off-street loop at Runnymede. Service operates 24 hours a day out of Lansdowne division.

February 8, 1987

Last day of 24-hour operation. Staring the following night, night service provided by new 313 JANE VIA DUNDAS BLUE NIGHT bus. Remainder service operates seven days a week, eighteen hours a day.

August 3, 1991

Last day of trolley coach operation. Service provided the following day by diesel buses out of Lansdowne garage. No change to route or schedule.

February 18, 1996

Coincident with the closure of Lansdowne garage, service is reassigned, likely to Queensway garage.

November 23, 2008

Service is assigned to the newly opened Mount Dennis garage

September 2, 2012

Service is reassigned from Mount Dennis garage back to Queensway garage.

October 12, 2019

Last day of operation. Route renamed and replaced the day by the renamed 40 JUNCTION-DUNDAS WEST bus replacing the 30 LAMBTON service west of Runnymede Road.

Document Archive

• Junction Area Routing Changes Study, April 11, 2019 (PDF - 5.6 Mb)

40 Junction Image Archive

	TTC Canadian Car & Foundry trolley coach #9115 pulls onto eastbound Dundas Street West from Runnymede Loop in 40 JUNCTION service on April 25, 1971. Photo by Richard Glaze.
	TTC Canadian Car & Foundry trolley coach #9123 rests with poles down facing westbound on Dundas, just west of St. John's Road in 40 JUNCTION service. This photo was taken by Richard Glaze circa December 1971.
	An official TTC map of the 40 JUNCTION route, effective September 6, 2010.
	A Junction bus heading eastbound towards Keele. Quite a convertible in the foreground! Photo by R. Hill, donated from the Rob Hutch collection.
	A Western Flyer rebuild operates along Dundas. Note the former Dundas streetcar tracks poking up through the pavement. Photo by R. Hill, donated by Rob Hutch.
	Making a charter stop near a Jumbo Burgers near Junction Loop, TTC GM New Look bus #8051 rolled up an old 40 JUNCTION trolley bus rollsign. Photo by Robert King.
	TTC New Flyer D40LF 7329 lays over at Dundas West Station after completing a trip along the 40 JUNCTION route on May 16, 2015. Photo: Lex Reid.
	CC&F trolley coach 9109 prepares to enter Dundas West Station. Junction is a young route at this point. This picture could only have been taken between 1968 and 1972. This photograph is donated from the collection of Brad O'Brien.
	TTC T5-class Marmon Harrington trolley bus #9125 prepares to leave Dundas West station on the 40 JUNCTION route on October 18, 1970. The photographer is Robert McMann.
	TTC Canadian Car and Foundry trolley bus poses at Runnymede Loop at the western end of the 40 JUNCTION route. This photo was taken circa December 1971 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC Brown-Boveri leased-Edmonton trolley bus #9168 pulls into Dundas West station on 40 JUNCTION service, passing CLRV #4047 in this early 1990s shot. The photographer is unknown.
	TTC Western Flyer rebuilt trolley coach #9231 heads southbound on Dundas Street West, approaching Dundas West station in 40 JUNCTION service. This photograph was taken by C.G. Parsons on June 27, 1973 and is courtesy the John Knight collection.
	TTC Western Flyer rebuild trolley coach Route 9252 sits in Runnymede Loop at the western end of the Junction line. This 1985 shot was taken by John Calnan.
	This picture shows Western Flyer rebuild trolley coach 9314, approaching Dundas West Station on May 27, 1982. As there is no passengers in the vehicle, chances are it runs to Lansdowne Garage. Photo courtesy Werner Schedlbauer.
	A Western Flyer trolley bus approaches Dundas West Station. Note the office of Toronto Dominion Bank later replaced by a McDonalds restaurant. This photo was taken by Robert Newhouser in July 1984 and sent to us by Yury Maller.
	On November 29, 2008, Andrew Barton took this picture of TTC Orion VII hybrid Route 1622 in service on 40 JUNCTION, heading northwest at Indian Grove. This picture has been released into the public domain.
	In this photograph, taken by Roman Fomin on May 23, 2013, Orion VII "Next Gen" bus 1613 pulls out of Junction Loop at Dundas Street West and Runnymede Road.

References

• Corley, Ray F, Trolley Coach CC&F and Flyer Coaches, The Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto (Ontario), January 1987.
• Filey, Mike, The TTC Story: The First Seventy-Five Years, Dundurn Press, Toronto (Ontario) 1996.