Posts Tagged ‘Ellesmere’

What remains

Posted: July 12, 2025 in history, old buildings, transportation
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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There is talk about what to do with the Scarborough Rapid Transit (SRT) line that runs from Kennedy station, north to Lawrence and Ellesmere, and then east to Scarborough Town Centre.   The SRT was built in 1985 and then closed in July 2023.  The concrete and glass infrastructure still remains.  The tracks are gone.   A few years ago, I went for a ride on the SRT (blog post is  Are you going to Scarborough? ) but I never checked out the stations themselves.  Since I am not sure how much longer they are going to exist, I thought I’d better take a look before it’s too late.

below:  Lawrence East station nestles under the bridge where Lawrence passes over railway tracks between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue.

low flat concrete building, Lawrence East station on now defunct SRT line. It is under a bridge, under Lawrence Avenue.

looking in the windows of lawrence east rapid transit station, now empty, reflections of outside as well

below: Although the SRT tracks have been removed, other tracks remain.   These tracks continue on to Agincourt GO station and points farther north.

behind chainlink fence, train station, but with tracks removed.

below: Looking south

chainlink fence, with railway tracks behind, two sets of tracks, the ones in the foreground have been removed

below: Signs for 54A and 954 Lawrence buses

overhead signs for lawrence bus routes at old lawrence east station

below: If you wanted to cross the tracks, this was the fastest way…

stairs for underground passage to cross subway tracks at lawrence east station, round hole with stairs in the middle,

stairs down to underpass under railway tracks at lawrence east srt station, metal doors locked closed,

north side of lawrence east srt station

northwest corner of lawrence east srt station

below:  Permanently closed

poster on door of srt station, picture of old srt subway car, notice that the line is permanently closed.

below: Mike Myers Drive with Lawrence East station in the background.

below: A short distance north of the Lawrence East station is the old Ellesmere station.  It too is under a bridge (under Ellesmere of course!).  It is smaller than the Lawrence East station

south side of Ellesmere station, with tracks now removed, curved glass structure under a bridge,

below:  Ellesmere station also has the circular hole for the stairs leading to an underground passage.  The station looks like a big glass tube.

ellesmere station, east side, with blue railing around circular hole, long glass tube structure in the background that is the station, bridge overhead

 

looking in window of ellesmere srt station, reflections, sign saying southbound to kennedy

below: Someone is missing their lock.

three toronto bike lock rings, painted red, one with a rusty chain and combination lock still on it.

After Ellesmere station, the SRT turned east, diverging from the other set of tracks.  Midland station was just after the turn – on Midland between Ellesmere and Progress.  Sorry, no pictures (busier street, no parking).  Although the architecture is similar (a glass tube), Midland station is built on top of a bridge, above the road instead of below it.   From Midland the trains went directly east to Scarborough Town Centre.   For most of thee eastern section, the tracks run behind industrial or light industrial land.  I haven’t been able to find out if there is any access or if it is all fenced off.

below: East view of Scarborough Town Centre station with covered walkways from both the federal government building on the left, and the shopping center on the right.

a TTC bus passes by Scarborough Town Centre station with its now abandoned elevated tracks

below: No trains run here anymore, but the station is still used for buses with the elevated rails being used as a roof.

TTC buses loading and unloading at Scarborough Town Centre, seen from above, from the walkway between station and Scarborough Town Centre

people opening doors going into Scarborough Town Centre

below: Pillars supporting the elevated tracks still run through the parking lot of Scarborough Town Centre to McCowan.

pillar P53, and others behind it, SRT tracks at Scarborough Twn centre parking loto

below: McCowan station was the eastern end of the line.

McCowan SRT station, glass, reflections in the glass

below: McCowan station viewed from the east side. The tracks continued a short distance to the SRT yard where trains were housed and serviced.

east side of McCowan Scarborough Rapid Transit station, elevated line for transit

elevated tracks for old scarborough srt, in front of a tall condo building

below: At McCowan, Scarborough Transit Connect is partnered with Metrolinx to build the new Scarborough Extension subway from Kennedy station to a new terminus at Shepherd and McCowan. See a previous blog post, Intersections –  McCowan and Sheppard for some photos from

fence around construction site, Scarborough Transit connect, working on new Scarborough Town Centre station for Scarborough extension of line 1 of TTC subway

below: Traffic on McCowan is impacted by the subway extension construction

looking north on McCowan at Progress, by old McCowan srt station, concrete barrier narrowing the street, construction on the right

below: One more view of the construction at McCowan station

below: And last, I found evidence on a pole in the parking lot at Scarborough Town Centre that indicates that I have missed the Rapture; they left without me. I guess that I am stuck here!

graffiti sticker on a pole that says Rapture Jesus took us home