The project to reconfigure Harvey Shops at TTC’s Hillcrest facility was formally launched today. The work involves rejuvenation of the 100-year old property so that it can host up to 25 streetcars serving 512 St. Clair and, at least to some extent, 511 Bathurst greatly reducing dead-head time from carhouses for these routes.
This change in use is triggered by the new longer cars and the shift of major streetcar maintenance to Leslie Barns which is designed for them. Hillcrest was built in an era of Peter Witts, later PCCs, that are half the length.
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This project is long overdue because the extra capacity is needed for streetcars to be delivered over the coming year. The situation is compounded by the loss of capacity at Russell Carhouse where major reconstruction is still incomplete. The TTC has improved overnight streetcar service as a means of “storing” surplus cars, although this has the added benefit of generating new riding and providing more convenient service for users of the night routes.
The Hillcrest project will be done in two phases allowing it to begin carhouse operation before the planned end date in 2029.
The eastern portion of the shops will be converted so that tracks run through from north to south. The current arrangement is oriented south to north, and most car movement within the building uses a transfer table to shift cars between the entry at the east side of the building and stub tracks further west.
The views below look west along the transfer table runway from the east side of the building in 2012 when CLRVs were the dominant form of vehicle. The runway will be filled in, and tracks which are now separated by it will be connected to provide a through route.
And here are views in earlier days showing the transfer table itself, and Peter Witt 2894 undergoing restoration for Tour Tram service. (This car is now at the Halton County Radial Railway Museum.)
Tracks around Harvey Shops will be reconfigured to provide a clockwise loop rather than the counter-clockwise arrangement now in place. Most of the storage area will be east of the building replacing some employee parking.
Steve Munro 
I wonder if, in retrospect, it was a mistake for the TTC to have gotten rid of Wychwood carhouse.
Steve: It happened at a time when the TTC had only recently decided to retain streetcars and, quite frankly, that change had not really taken hold among some management. (For example, it took years for streetcar track construction standards to change to a style appropriate for a long lifespan.) St. Clair carhouse was underutilized and they were able to fit the existing fleet into Ronces and Russell. Dropping it was seen as a money-saving decision.
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I’m curious as to how many of the current tracks in the Harvey Shops building will be converted to run through the Harvey shops building, I would assume that all of them will be converted to run through since there will be no other way to access them, It’d not quite clear in the presentation material. And I guess they would all be used for storage?
Steve: Looking at the plans, not many. Most of the storage is outside east of the building.
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