In 1984, the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission celebrated Toronto's sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) by commissioning a special paint scheme for Three of its streetcars. PCCs 4536 and 4545 and CLRV 4002 were done up with a special blue coating, with additional splashy artwork that made these vehicles stand out. Not to be outdone, the Province of Ontario declared 1984 to be a bicentennial year (even though Upper Canada wasn't officially formed until 1793) and had two CLRVs (4000 and 4005) done up for the occasion.
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PCC 4536 rests in Bingham Loop on a fantrip. Its special paint scheme certainly made it look distinctive. Much of the body was painted deep blue, with red, white and blue stripes around its middle, an off-white roof and a picture of Toronto's City Hall near the front on its left side. This 1984 photo is by Rob Hutch.
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Old Blue enters Woodbine Loop of Kingston Road, preparing for another photo shoot.
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At the outlet of Woodbine Loop, onto Queen Street, Old Blue meets up with a short-turning CLRV. The two paint schemes offer a sharp contrast.
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Here, Old Blue II (4536) is seen here paying a visit to old Exhibition Loop.
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Here, Old Blue turns from King Street southbound onto Dufferin. Up to this point, specially painted streetcars were a rarity, likely because the vinyl covering that transforms today's advertisement vehicles wasn't in wide use at the time. This car and the other sesquicentennial streetcars were all specially painted for the occasion, likely making their transformation a lot more costly.
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TTC A8 PCC #4536 heads east on the Queensway private right-of-way in sesquicentennial colours on July 1, 1984. The car is likely on a private charter. The photograph is by Ted Wickson.
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On the same railfan trip, PCC 4545 (nicknamed here 'Old Blue') prepares to 'loop-the-loop' at Bingham Loop. This PCC belonged in the same class as 4500 and 4549, the two remaining PCCs on the Toronto system that are still capable of carrying passengers. Photo by Rob Hutch.
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Sesquicentennial PCC #4545 prepares to loop the loop at Dundas West station on what is likely a charter on July 1, 1984. Note the appearance of ALRV demonstrator #4900 in the background. This photo is by William J. Madden.
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CLRV 4000 (the first CLRV of its class) was the other CLRV to receive a special paint scheme commemorating Ontario's 200th anniversary. This CLRV was painted yellow, instead of blue, however, prompting me to label it 'Mellow Yellow'. Clayton Langstaff took this photo and it originally appeared on Dave's Railpix photo site.
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Ontario Bicentennial streetcar #4000 operates on a charter southbound on Bay Street on July 2, 1984. This photo is by Robert McMann and is courtesy the John Knight collection.
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CLRV 4002 was the CLRV that was painted up for the Toronto sesquicentennial. Here we see it northbound on Bathurst Street, approaching Queen. Clayton Langstaff took this photo and it originally appeared on Dave's Railpix photo site.
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CLRV 4005 was painted up in a blue Ontario bicentennial scheme. Here we see it northbound on Bathurst Street, crossing Dundas Street southbound. Clayton Langstaff took this photo and it originally appeared on Dave's Railpix photo site.
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TTC CLRV #4005 is shot here at heading northbound on Broadview Avenue, just south of Riverdale (thanks to Robert Lubinski for identifying the location) on June 11, 1984. The photograph is by Ted Wickson.
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TTC CLRV 4005, painted bicentennial blue, passes through Humber loop in August 1984. Photo by W.N. Carr, from the John Knight collection.
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TTC CLRV #4005, in bicentennial blue, sits between CLRVs 4051 and 4193 at Russell Carhouse on July 2, 1984. Photo by L. Swanson, courtesy the John Knight collection.
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