草稿:多伦多轨

多伦多轨（英語：Toronto-gauge Railways）即轨距为4英尺10 ⁷⁄₈英寸（1,495毫米）的宽轨，比标准轨宽2³⁄₈英寸（60毫米）。目前仅大多伦多地区使用，且正用于多伦多公车局运营的多伦多电车和地铁系统。同时，荷顿县市郊铁路交通博物馆也使用多伦多轨距以便于收纳多伦多电车和地铁的车辆。一些现已停运的城际电车也曾一时用过该轨间距。

考虑到比起将整个系统改造成标准轨距，使新车辆使用该轨距显得更容易些，故这个独特的轨距得以保留至现在。此轨距有个以目前唯一使用该轨距的运营商多伦多公车局命名的别名，叫TTC轨距；但是，此轨距于多伦多公车局创立的1921年前便已存在。

路面电车应用

多伦多电车系统中位于士巴丹拿道和皇后街西交汇处的道口是该系统中3个全向平交道口之一。

多伦多电车大规模使用的槽轨示意图

所有多伦多电车线路均使用多伦多轨距。此外，多伦多公车局的三个前身公司（多伦多街道铁路公司，多伦多铁路公司和多伦多市营铁路公司）均在多伦多市内拥有过一些电车线路，它们也使用多伦多轨距。

1861年，多伦多街道铁路公司创建了多伦多有轨电车系统并运营了第一条马车铁路。它还创建了多伦多轨距以允许马车得以使用轨道的内侧，皆为了提升在泥泞、未铺砌的街道的乘车舒适度。此轨距同时也有防止标准轨距车辆在电车线路上行驶的作用。在多伦多街道铁路公司的特许经营权于1891年结束后，多伦多铁路公司接手了电车系统且用电车取代了原先使用的马车，并延续了多伦多轨距的应用。由于多伦多铁路公司拒绝向其周边地区提供服务，政府还于1911年创建了服务周边地区的多伦多市营铁路公司。该铁路公司的线路集中在西端、东段和市中心，但是互相之间不连通。为了在车厂间调配车辆，多伦多市营铁路公司需要借助多伦多铁路公司的轨道，这也是为什么多伦多市营铁路公司也选用多伦多轨的原因之一。另一个原因是因为当多伦多铁路公司特许经营权于1921年结束时，多伦多公车局收购了多伦多铁路公司和多伦多市营铁路公司，并建设了两系统间的联络线。

对使用该轨距的解释

多伦多轨距最先被用于多伦多街道铁路公司的马车铁路系统。有两种对于该轨距的解释：

1. 该轨距防止蒸汽铁路使用电车轨道。
2. 该轨距支持无轨马车行驶，也能使得其能在泥泞的道路上行驶。

多伦多公车局赞同第一种解释，因为多伦多害怕蒸汽机车和货运列车驶入城市轨道。然而，对于货运车辆侵入城市轨道交通的担忧于1891年至1921年左右才慢慢产生，这使得该解释不太可能。在这个时期，铁路企业家威廉·麦肯齐和唐纳德·曼掌握着加拿大北方铁路、多伦多铁路公司以及包括多伦多郊区铁路在内的几条市郊铁路线。大约在1912年，多伦多郊区铁路希望将其轨距从多伦多轨距改为标准轨距，而多伦多市考虑到货运列车可能会驶入市区，故颁布了关于更改轨距的禁令。多伦多郊区铁路最终还是占据上风并于1917年将轨距改为标准轨距。

同时，马车铁路轨道只能供马车行驶，而不能供予那些更重的车辆使用。当都会街铁路将其位于北多伦多镇的电车线路由马力驱动改为电力驱动，电力驱动的车辆尽管速度更快，但是它们更重以至于损坏了原先用于马车的轨道，使得原线路不得不关停一段时间用来以更高标准重建原铁路。

1861年多伦多市和多伦多街道铁路达成的共识却赞同第二种解释：

上述铁路的轨距应确保现役的车辆能够在上述轨道上行驶，而任何人，不论在什么情况下，不论何时多少次使用该轨道都是合法的。前提是他们不会干扰到多伦多街道铁路在其上运行的车辆，且当遇到他人或超车他人时不得将他人挤出道路。

由于当时货车轮距通常为标准轨距，因此有轨电车的轨间距可以稍宽一些，使货车可以在轨道的内侧行驶，而有轨电车则在外侧行驶。例如威廉姆斯欧姆尼不巴士线于 1861 年改变了其巴士的轮距以适应此轨距。

变种

在多伦多公车局掌握电车所有权之前，电车轨距并不是现在的4英尺10 ⁷⁄₈英寸（1,495毫米），而是由历史原因决定的4英尺10 ³⁄₄英寸（1,492毫米）或4英尺11英寸（1,499毫米）。

多伦多街道铁路公司于1861年开通其第一条马车铁路使用的即为4英尺11英寸（1,499毫米）的变种轨距。当多伦多铁路公司接管了电车系统，其章程也规定多伦多轨距应为4英尺11英寸（1,499毫米）。直到多伦多公车局于1921年接手电车系统，多伦多轨距才被改为现在的宽度。

然而，据报道，加拿大博物馆协会顾问博物馆学家肯·赫德则表示，在协议中有一条提到轨距需可以容纳火车。考虑到当时的马车铁路使用的是阶梯状导轨，配备了具有内侧轮缘的车轮的马车需使用轨道外侧（上层）轨道通行。而对于货车来说，它们没有轮缘且它们由木制结构和铁质车轮组成，故它们选择通过轨道内侧（下层）轨道通行。由于上层轨道需要引导行驶于下层轨道的货车不脱轨，上层的轨距需设置为4英尺11英寸（1,499毫米）。由于当时街道还未被铺砌，这种轨道的布局能够为运载重物的火车提供稳定的路基。" 为了支持赫德的观点，多伦多轨道公司甚至将“电车系统的轨距需在今后均维持在4英尺11英寸（1,499毫米）”写入公司宪章。

根据雷蒙德·L·肯尼迪所说“电车铁路是以4英尺10 ³⁄₄英寸（1,492毫米）的马车轮距建设的（多伦多公车局将其改为4英尺10 ⁷⁄₈英寸（1,495毫米）且至今仍在使用，甚至于在地铁建设上。（原文如此））”詹姆斯·V·萨蒙也称“城市轨距”为4英尺10 ³⁄₄英寸（1,492毫米）。这两个参考资料均在描述登打士街和基尔街平交口的一个直到1912年8月还在使用多伦多城市轨距的前有轨电车交叉口。这个平交口也同时被多伦多市郊铁路和多伦多铁路公司共同使用。

Subway usage

Heavy rail

All three heavy-rail subway lines in Toronto use Toronto gauge. They are:

• Line 1 Yonge–University
• Line 2 Bloor–Danforth
• Line 4 Sheppard

Some early subway proposals involved using streetcars at least partially in tunnels, so using the same gauge would be advantageous, but the idea was ultimately dropped in favour of dedicated rapid transit trains. Nonetheless, the heavy-rail lines use the streetcar gauge today. According to rail historians John F. Bromley and Jack May, the reason that the Yonge subway line was built to the streetcar gauge (Toronto gauge) was that between 1954 and 1965, subway bogies were maintained at the Hillcrest Complex, where the streetcar gauge is used for shop tracks. The Davisville Carhouse was not equipped to perform such heavy maintenance, and the bogies would be loaded onto a specially built track trailer for shipment between Davisville and Hillcrest. This practice stopped with the opening of the shops at Greenwood Yard in 1965.

Temporary streetcar/subway interchange to Davisville Yard (left) at Belt Line bridge

Using Toronto gauge for the Yonge subway line had secondary benefits. A number of ex-streetcar vehicles were used as work trains for the subway, taking advantage of the common gauge. Before the opening of the Yonge subway in 1954, there was also a temporary interchange track between the Yonge streetcar line and the Davisville Yard on the north side of the Belt Line bridge. In 1953, subway cars 5000 and 5001, after being displayed at the Canadian National Exhibition, were mounted on shop bogies and towed at night by a Peter Witt motor to the Davisville Yard via the Yonge streetcar line using the temporary interchange. (They arrived at the CNE from the Hillcrest Complex via the Bathurst streetcar line. Because of the subway car width, buses had to replace night streetcar service during the movements. At the CNE, the subway cars were displayed on their proper subway bogies.)

Subway lines 1, 2 and 4 all use Toronto gauge to allow the interchange of equipment between these lines. Initially, after the Bloor–Danforth line opened in 1966, trains from the Yonge–University line terminated at the termini of Bloor–Danforth line as a trial for interlining. However, this trial ended six months later. The Sheppard subway has no carhouse, and thus, for servicing, its trains must transfer to line 1 to reach the Davisville Yard.

Standard-gauge lines

In addition to the heavy-rail lines, there are light-metro and light-rail lines that are considered to be part of the Toronto subway system, but use the 1,435毫米（4英尺8 ¹⁄₂英寸） that is the usual track gauge in Canada:

• Line 3 Scarborough was a light metro using Intermediate Capacity Transit System technology that is incompatible for running on heavy-rail lines, thus making customization for Toronto gauge of no benefit. However, when its ICTS vehicles needed anything more than basic service (which can be carried out at the McCowan Yard), they were carried by truck to the Greenwood Subway Yard.
• Line 5 Eglinton and Line 6 Finch West are light-rail lines that are under construction. These projects are in large part funded by the Ontario provincial transit authority. The light-rail vehicles on these lines will not be customized to use Toronto gauge, both to ensure a better price for purchasing vehicles and to have a degree of commonality with other similar projects within Ontario.

Hamilton

In 2009, the City of Hamilton Public Works produced an analysis for a future light rail line in Hamilton. The analysis looked at whether the city should use standard gauge or "TTC gauge". The report said the benefit in using the Toronto gauge would be to save costs if Hamilton's order could be combined with Toronto's for light-rail vehicles, and to encourage their manufacture in the Greater Toronto Area. The benefit of standard gauge would be greater compatibility with other tram systems and the elimination of the costs to customize the bogies. This analysis occurred before Metrolinx took over the project and stipulated the use of standard gauge.

Radial railways

Radial railways were Interurban tram lines serving communities just beyond the then-city limits. These interurban lines were called "radials" in southern Ontario as they radiated from a city. By the early twentieth century, there were two radial systems operating from the City of Toronto:

• Toronto and York Radial Railway
• Toronto Suburban Railway

Most of the radials within the above two systems used Toronto gauge at some time during their existence. The following sections give a highly abridged summary of each line, focusing mainly on the gauge used. Click on links for a more extensive history.

Toronto and York Radial Railway

主条目：Toronto and York Radial Railway

By 1904, the T&YRR had acquired the following independent radial railways:

• Metropolitan Street Railway (Toronto): Metropolitan (later Lake Simcoe) line
• Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company: Scarboro line
• Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company: Mimico (later Port Credit) line

In 1922, the City of Toronto acquired the assets of the T&YRR, and contracted with the Hydro-Electric Railways to operate the radial lines on behalf of the City. However, ridership declined and the City suffered operating losses.

In 1927, the TTC took over all the above radial operations, converting standard gauge lines to Toronto gauge, and connecting the radial tracks to the streetcar system. The City had hoped for efficiencies by not duplicating carhouses and shops.

Metropolitan Street Railway

The Metropolitan line of the Metropolitan Street Railway opened in 1885 as a horsecar line that used Toronto gauge. Initially, it ran along Yonge Street from the Canadian Pacific Railway mid-town line to Eglinton Avenue. At that time, the area was outside of the City of Toronto. By 1891, the line was electrified. In 1895, the Province granted the Metropolitan the right to change its gauge, which it did to standard gauge allowing for freight car interchange with steam railways. By that time the Metropolitan had reached Richmond Hill. As a standard-gauge line, the Metropolitan was eventually extended to Sutton, along the way connecting to the standard-gauge Schomberg and Aurora Railway, a steam railway converted by the T&YRR into an electric radial line.

In 1927, the TTC took over operation of the Metropolitan line, renaming it as the Lake Simcoe line. At that time the Metropolitan line had extended from Glen Echo Road in Toronto to Sutton. The connecting Schomberg and Aurora Railway was closed. The TTC re-gauged the tracks of the Lake Simcoe line to Toronto gauge within a seven day period, and connected them to the Yonge streetcar line. It closed the Glen Echo carhouse and moved operations to Eglinton Carhouse along the Yonge streetcar line. After re-gauging, box motors serving the Lake Simcoe line carried less-than-carload freight to downtown Toronto. Some city streetcars were modified for radial use to handle crowds to Bond Lake, an amusement park adjacent to the line.

In Aurora, the TTC constructed a 3.2 km（2 mi） section of four-rail, dual-gauge track in order to deliver freight cars from a steam railway interchange to a local factory. (Three-rail dual gauge was not possible with only a 2³⁄₈英寸（60 mm） difference between the two gauges.) The TTC adapted an old radial car as a standard-gauge switcher. This was one of only two locations where the TTC had dual-gauge trackage; the other was at the Hillcrest Complex.

In 1930, the Lake Simcoe line was closed. However, three months later the section from Glen Echo to Richmond Hill reopened as the North Yonge Railways. It was operated by the TTC until 1948, and was the TTC's last radial operation.

Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company

The Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company opened the Mimico radial line in 1892. It ran along Lake Shore Road and initially used Toronto gauge. By 1905, the line reached its full length from Humber Loop to Port Credit. After taking over the line in 1922, Hydro-Electric Railways converted it from Toronto to standard gauge. When the TTC subsequently took over the line in 1927, it converted the line back to Toronto gauge in one overnight operation. The TTC also closed the old T&YRR carhouse near Grenadier Pond and moved operations to Roncesvalles Carhouse. In late 1928, the Mimico line became the Port Credit line when the portion east of Long Branch Loop was replaced by a streetcar line (today used by 501 Queen). The Port Credit line closed in 1935, replaced by buses.

Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company

The Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company opened the Scarboro radial line in 1893. It ran along Kingston Road and used Toronto gauge for its entire life. By 1906, the line reached its full length from Queen Street to West Hill. After Hydro-Electric Railways took over the line in 1922, the portion of the line west of Victoria Park Avenue was replaced by a TTC streetcar line, used today by the 503 Kingston Rd streetcar route. In 1927, the line was taken over by the TTC and connected to Bingham Loop, and the Scarboro line's Warden carhouse was closed with operations moved to Russell Carhouse. The line was closed in 1936.

Toronto Suburban Railway

The Toronto Suburban Railway operated several radial lines west of the old city limits, all radiating from the Junction at Dundas Street and Keele Street. Its first line, the Davenport line (serving Davenport Road), opened in 1892. Next came three other lines: Lambton (1892, serving the neighbourhood of Lambton), Crescent (1893, serving Gilmore Avenue) and Weston (1895, serving Weston Road) with an extension to Woodbridge called the Woodbridge line (1914). These were basically semi-rural, suburban streetcar lines. All were built to a track gauge of Error: gauge specification "58.75in" not known, a variant of Toronto gauge. By the completion of the Toronto Suburban's standard-gauge Guelph line in 1917, all the other Suburban lines were converted to standard gauge.

The Toronto Street Railway had a wye in the intersection of Keele and Dundas streets to turn its single-ended streetcars coming from east of the intersection. Before its conversion to standard gauge, the Toronto Suburban shared a track of this wye to connect its routes east and north of the intersection. After the conversion to standard gauge, the wye was rebuilt with a curved, mixed-gauge crossing for Toronto Suburban cars.

After its creation in 1921, the TTC took over all radial lines within the Toronto city limits. Thus, the TTC took over the Lambton and Weston lines and converted them back to TTC gauge.

See also

• Toronto subway track
• Toronto subway trackage