Posts Tagged ‘trains’

long awaited ride to Kennedy

Posted: April 22, 2026 in construction, public art, transportation
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As everyone knows, the Eglinton LRT took FOREVER to plan, build, and test. Way back in June 2021, I posted about going to Kennedy and Eglinton to see the first LRT trains being tested (On a mission to Kennedy station). Little did we know then that it would be almost five years later before the trains came into service.

little brown dog sitting in an Eglinton LRT seat

below: Some of the stations have artwork (six of them I think). This is the glass and mirror installation at Eglinton, “Light from Within” by Louise Witthöft & Rodney Latourelle  (Witthöft Latourelle)

man going down escalator at Eglinton station, wall in front of him has artwork made of pieces of glass and mirror that look llke something has smashed through the center of a mirror or window.

below: There is also some colour at Don Valley station (formerly known as the Science Centre).   “Total Luna Eclipse” by Sarah Morris is a series of circles and overlapping circles in bright colours.

Don Valley LRT station looking down to track level from above

below: This is the interior of the concourse level on one of the subway stations along the Eglinton line. I am not sure which one it is because they all look the same. White everywhere, with an elevator in the middle.

interior of Eglinton LRT subway station, upper level, with elevator inthe middle, white floor, white walls, and white ceiling

below: Waiting on the platform at Don Valley, the last underground station before the tracks surface on their way eastward towards Kennedy.

a man stands on the platform at Don Valley station waiting for an Eglinton LRT train

people sitting on an Eglinton LRT train, one is on her phone,

looking out the window of a streetcar on Eglinton at Bermondsey, Esso gas station and circle K store, gas at over 1.60 per litre

factory in the distance, vacant ground in foreground

black metal bench beside sidewalk on Eglinton Ave., with Hakimi Labovic station behind

below: My apologies Scarborough, but you are rather dull to look at from this angle….

below: But most of us don’t ride transit for the scenery

teenage girls playing games with phone onthe streetcar

a woman wearing a toque, sitting on streetcar with a large walmart bag beside her

Eglinton LRT train at station

Nothing really exciting but there is definitely a sense of relief that it’s finally open.  It took too long and cost too much but it’s running….

Eglinton LRT train about to enter a station, above ground, in Scarbrough

Eastbound Eglinton LRT train station in Scarborough, portion of line where tracks are above ground, Scarborough, rainy day, waiting for he streetcar

In a lot of ways, the tracks running down the middle of Eglinton Avenue create a wall, especially for pedestrians.  For better or worse though, this section of Eglinton has never been pedestrian friendly.  It has been designed for cars.  And that’s probably not going to change in the near future.

sin saying stay off tracks in english and in french, with a train passing behind the sign

Eglinton LRT train in a station, above ground, Scarborough

traffic lights, mirrors, traffic, along eglinton avenue in scarborough

But the coming of the LRT will affect development along Eglinton (or rather, has already started to affect development).

digger and construction equipment outside a 4 storey brick apartment building, rainy day, trees in front of building

below: 1900 Eglinton East – From shopping center with lots of parking, to four mixed use buildings up to 48 storeys high.  Will the slow down in the condo market affect this?   If you are interested in this, it is application number 19208733ESC21OZ and the link takes you to the relevant City of Toronto webpage (Good luck!).

blue and white city of toronto redevelopment notice on eglinton avenue in scarborough

below: At 1911 and 1921, out with the old and in with 8 buildings, 4 towers, a park, and 2 new streets.  This is almost  right across the street from the picture above  (between Pharmacy and Warden).  The application wasn’t completed until Nov 2025 so not much is going to happen here for a long time yet.

redevelpoment notice at 1911 elginton east

Redevelopment in Toronto is slow.  This plaza (strip mall) at Kennedy and Eglinton was already boarded up in 2021.  It looks a little scruffier and a little rougher now but otherwise, not much has changed in five years.

boarded up and tagged over, old lowrise strip mall at Kennedy and Eglinton Adult store, Eglinton Medical supply, and Hair Garden, cracked pavement in front,

Construction along Eglinton East continues as Metrolinx builds the Scarborough Subway extension.  This section of subway is an extension of the Bloor-Danforth line and will run from Kennedy station, east along Eglinton past Brimley before turning north.  It ends at Sheppard and McCowan.  Back in 2023 I visited that intersection and I posted some photos – Intersections – McCowan and Sheppard

below: Eglinton at Midland, looking northeast (on a rainy day).

looking northeast along eglinton ave at midland avenue, rainy day, apartment building on corner, bus, traffic

intersections – McCowan and Sheppard

Posted: November 11, 2023 in construction, graffiti and street art, intersections, locations, transportation
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After years of false starts, indecision re routes, and all the other consequences of being City Council’s favorite political football, the new Scarborough subway extension is underway.

on black hoardings around metrolinx site, pink subway symbol, fallen street signs on their side at bottom of hoardings

Once upon a time, the extension was to only go to Scarborough Town Centre and was derided as the “One Stop Subway”.  Now it seems to be three stops from the present Kennedy station with the end point being at McCowan and Sheppard.  In true Metrolinx style, it seems like the last station is going to be called Sheppard East.  Such imagination! … to have three stations called Sheppard!  That seems to be the situation at present…. as for tomorrow’s situation?  Who knows…..

printed on hoardings around metrolinx site, map of scarborough subway extension from Kennedy to Lawrence to Scarborough Centre to McCowan

In case you’ve never been to that intersection, let me show you what’s there…..

below: Looking west on Sheppard approaching McCowan with Metrolinx site on the right hand side.  This construction site is very large and dominates the area.

looking west on Sheppard towards mccowan, metrolinx construction on right side

below: One of the entrance gates to the Metrolinx construction site.  Note all the stacked concrete sections that will form the tunnel walls.

gate across entrance to construction site, red crane inside, also partially curved structures that will form walls of circular subway tunnel

metrolinx site for mccowan station on SHeppard subway extension, red crane,

below:  This blue object is part of the equipment needed to move dirt brought to the surface by the Tunnel Boring Machine that is working underground (There is also a TBM working out in Rexdale on the Crosstown West).

large blue piece of equipment on construction site, made for moving dirt that has been removed from tunnel by tunnel boring machine

It is a very big machine

below: Gate B

Gate B of metrolinx sheppard extension site on mccowan, watch for oncoming traffic sign,

In general, the area south of Sheppard is residential while the area north of Sheppard is industrial or commercial.   Canadian Tire is on the northwest corner.

below: Apartments on Sheppard (south side, east of McCowan)

man walking past low rise apartment building with balconies, green fence beside sidewalk

below:  Because of the angle from which this photo was taken, the exact locations are slightly unclear.  The Medical Clinic is 4651 Sheppard East.  To the west of that is a vacant lot that used to be a gas station and it is on the SE corner of McCowan and Sheppard; it is in the process of being redeveloped.   The apartment building is actually on the SWt corner of McCowan and Sheppard.

apartment building and lowrise plaza with medical clinic, sheppard east

below:  looking east on Sheppard from McCowan

TTC bus shelter beside sidewalk on Sheppard East, hoardings or metrolinx construction site Sheppard East station, are behind the shelter

 

below: Walking McCowan north of Sheppard is partially impeded by a fence across the sidewalk…. but it is easily bypassed.  Nugget Avenue is just beyond the fence.

chainlink fence across sidewalk at Nugget Ave

below: Looking southeast from McCowan and Nugget where West Highland Creek branches.  The large Metrolinx site fills the triangle formed by McCowan, West Highland Creek, and Sheppard Avenue.  The white apartment building in the distance is on Sheppard Ave.

creeks north of Sheppard

The creek’s concrete bed might make for easy management of the water flow but it makes for an ugly scene – unfriendly to both nature and people.  There are parks north of here on both branches of the creek but here where most of the land use is industrial or commercial, little attention is paid to the esthetics.

dead vines on chainlink fence beside concrete bottom creek

graffiti on concrete sides of west highland creek

below: Dufferin Concrete at Nugget and McCowan

concrete plant in Scarborough

below: Nugget Avenue crosses West Highland Creek.  The plaza at 20 Nugget Ave, with the red and white stripes, was shut down (bought out) by Metrolinx.  Apparently, the two-acre property is needed for an emergency exit and underground tail track for the future Sheppard East Station.

bridge over creek at Nugget Ave

empty two storey plaza, lower level painted with red and white vertical stripes

empty building behind construction fence, red and white vertical stripes on lower level, window on upper level, three signs for businesses, Best Housewares Inc., BestFare travel and tours, and Babhis Beauty Salon

old banners on a chainlink fence advertising boxing week specials, ads for restaurant food,

below: Spotted on a bulletin board at a bus shelter on Nugget (It’s a collection of bible verses).

on public message board at a bus shelter, 4 pieces of 8 1/2 by 11 paper with typing on them, a collection of bible verses

below: Immediately north of Nugget Avenue are train tracks. This is the western edge of the large CPR Toronto Yard.  If you are interested in this yard and some of the trains, I blogged about it previously (Around the marshaling yards – with love and peace).

black tanker cars on railway bridge over McCowan

downward arrow shape painted in yellow and white on blue concrete under a brdge

below: North side of tracks along McCowan

concrete waterway and tunnel for west highland creek as it goes under the railway tracks

a banner for welcome to sheppard east village on a pole, with an autumn tree behind

vertical banner on pole on sheppard east for east sheppard village, picture of three people on banner

traffic signs and warning signs at entrance to construction site on mccowan road

dirt track uphill to the tracks

flock of birds on a wire

buds and birds

Posted: March 19, 2020 in nature, people, reflections
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Getting used to this “social distancing” thing but not the “stay at home” part.   A walk in the park seemed like a good way to mix the two – get a little exercise without running into too many people.

below: Keeping his distance

a man sitting on a bench in a park

It’s close to March 21st and the beginning of spring.   Actually this blog post started to take form after I parked my car and wandered aimlessly a few yards.  I was standing on a path in a ravine wondering which way to go… but why was I here?  I heard a bird, and then I heard another.

below: A robin snacking on sumach

a robin perched on top of a cluster of sumach buds and is leaning over to eat one

below: A female downy woodpecker

female downy woodpecker on a small tree

below: A little chickadee

chickadee sitting in a red dogwood, early spring, bright red branches, no leaves

below: It’s not a bird nor is it a sign of spring,  but it sat still enough to let me get my camera focused through the branches.

black squirrel sitting among tree branches, holding something in its mouth

below: The red dogwood branches have started to become more vibrant.

bridge over creek, sumach and dogwood bshes, winter to early spring, no leaves

below: Pussy willows have opened up their fuzzy white buds.  A definite indicator of spring.

a few thin branches of pussy willow

below: There weren’t many tree buds but this tree (and others of its type) were an exception.

small clusters of pink buds at the end of branches and twigs on a tree

below: There was a train too!  A different kind of sign of life.

park and trees in the foreground, early spring, with train on bridge in background

young birch tree

a purple graffiti heart painted on the concrete support at the bottom of a large metal trestle

Spring, and a walk in the park.  Sometimes it’s just the little things….  including someone to share your space.

a couple walks together over a small pedestrian concrete bridge

below: Reflections in the Wilket Creek

reflections of lifesaving equipment beside the Wilket Creek

viceroy on dupont

Posted: December 1, 2013 in graffiti and street art, landmarks
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1655 Dupont Street, a large red brick building that once housed the Viceroy Rubber Company factory.  Now it is Planet Storage with over 10,000 square feet of self-storage space.

The building, now designated as a heritage building,  has had it’s structure preserved although some of the lower storey windows have been boarded up. The east side of the building backs onto the Toronto Railpath and it has been decorated with graffiti at ground level.  An old storage tank at the southeast corner of the building has been painted bright green to match the Planet Storage logo.

Viceroy still makes hockey pucks and other rubber items but at a newer plant on Weston Road, under the name of Allied Viceroy.

Three storey brick factory building. The windows in the lower storey are covered with orange wood. There is graffiti along the lower five or six feet of the building.

looking south along the side of the building

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Looking north along the side of the old Viceroy rubber factory building. A red brick building with large windows. There is graffiti on the bottom five or six feet of the building.

Looking north along the West Toronto Railpath.

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a chainlink fence is in the foreground. Behind the fence is a tall green storage tank (the top part of it is not in the picture. One wall of a three storey red brick building is in the background.

At the southwest corner of the building and behind a fence is a tall green storage tank.

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bottom two storeys of a red brick factory. The lower storey has the windows boarded up and painted orange. There are graffiti tags along the bottom of the building.

tags under the orange

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An open window covered with metal bars and a metal screen. Graffiti on the walls too.

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a large tree is in the foreground and it is casting a shadow over the wall of a red brick building that has graffiti on it.

In the shadows.

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Large windows on a red brick building. The window frames are metal and they are rusty.

Rust, writing, and reflections

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an old door is painted bright green and on it is a piece of street art of a man in a black and white striped shirt. A blue and white graffiti tag is on either side of the door.

on the green door.

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a black and white drawing of a woman with binoculars sitting beside a train track waiting for a train that is in the distance

S is for Siderodronophilia, a proclivity to become aroused by watching or riding trains.

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The sun is shining on a red brick building with large windows. Graffiti tags are on the wall.

Tags in the sunshine.

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graffiti of many white fingers in at least three rows of four. The fingers have eyes and their noses look like the number two.

many fingers with twos.

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