Today is the 10th Anniversary for the end of diesel buses on Toronto's Spadina Avenue. In remembrance of these old work horses, I'd like to suggest a classic music video to be found on YouTube - Spadina Bus by the Canadian rap group The Shuffle Demons. Made in the late '80's, it features Toronto's Chinatown, Kensington Market and other sites along this great through fare. Here is the link... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZnLjRi_g9o In the dark and early hours of 27 July 1997, The Shuffle Demons came together and performed Spadina Bus, "right on the bus" for the last run of "77B on the TTC". When dawn came, the Spadina Streetcar Line (Route 510) reclaimed its domain after a half century absence. Like St. Clair Avenue to the north, Spadina Avenue was originally designed with streetcars in mind, except grander. By the early 20's Spadina boasted tracks running up the middle of the street separated from other traffic by boulevards of mature trees. And like St. Clair, the right-of-way was removed in the Depression Era as a make work project and as a concession to automobiles. The streetcar line did survive but the trees, sadly, were torn out. Then after the end of the Second World War, the province of Ontario suffered electricity shortages. The grid was not capable of handling the economic transition from war to peace without some cut backs in consumption. The TTC did its part by "temporarily" switching some streetcar routes to bus operation. The Spadina Line, which ran 4km from Bloor Street down to the shore of Lake Ontario, was one of them. Thus the Spadina Bus was born. In 1973 the TTC's policy of streetcar abandonment was itself abandoned and City officials saw the extra wide Spadina Avenue as the first choice for streetcar reinstatement. But then officials chose a relatively new expression to speak of the resurrected transit mode - light rail. Though more modern and sexier sounding, this syntax sparked a NIMBY attitude from "concerned taxpayers" around Spadina and resulted in a mere twenty-four year wait for the streetcars' return. Another problem was that the heavily used and highly congested Spadina Avenue would have to be completely rebuilt from one end to the other. Spadina still retained trackage over much of its length but decades of neglect meant that none of it was revenue service quality. Especially with the heavier CLRVs introduced in the late 70's. The tracks between Bloor and College Streets and between King Street and the lake shore had been removed altogether. Many businesses rankled at what would be a huge and drawn out disruption. Modern tracks were finally installed between the lake shore and King Street in the late 80's. This was done to support a new Harbourfront streetcar line that ran a short route along Queen's Quay by the lake. Construction on the rest of Spadina would not start until the mid-90's once all the debate, hand wringing and simple obstruction were finally exhausted. And then it would take three more years. And some politicians still complained about the "waste of tax payers money, gold-plated public works project". But after 50 years "gold-plating" was required and it was the right sort "gold-plating". Spadina is now restored to its former glory as a regal tree lined boulevard with public transit that rivals subway service. And built at a fraction of the cost of a subway. The Spadina Streetcar Line did return in style. The photo depicts CLRV 4134 heading southbound past the western edge of the University of Toronto. The streetcar is on it's way to Queen Quay on Lake Ontario. There the line curves east to pass the tourist attractions and condos of Harbourfront. At Bay Street the streetcar then passes underground and turns north to Union Station. The Spadina Line looks much like a reversed 'J' on maps. It takes about 20 minutes to make the one way trip. The former Spadina Bus would have taken 90 minutes just to reach the lake.