Caption: Amidst the industrial might of surrounding factory buildings, TTC PCC 4486 heads northbound on Lansdowne Avenue north of Dupont (and the CPR North Toronto Sub underpass in the background), operating on a Bloor run short-turning at Bedford Loop (on Bloor across from UofT's Varsity Stadium). Initially I thought this was an in-service deadhead, but a little more research and photo cross-checking suggests this may have been a weekend (Sunday) Bloor diversion due to trackwork, with Bloor cars diverting via Lansdowne, Davenport and Dovercourt.

Located a stone's throw from "The Junction" area, this stretch of Lansdowne Avenue was host to a number of factories and erecting plants, most prominently those belonging to Canadian General Electric (GE Canada) for manufacturing transformers and such, occupying vast amounts of real estate, employing many local residents, and served by rail with a number of sidings from the nearby CPR and CNR lines. One of CGE's Davenport Works long towering "headhouse" buildings is visible on the right. In the background south of the CPR underpass (with the car advertisement) is CGE's Royce Works plant (named after Royce Ave, now present-day Dupont St.). The tall grey buildings in the far background are American Standard (formerly Standard Sanitary - manufacturer of sanitary fixtures like sinks, toilets, etc). On the right are more CGE buildings, part of which is now GE-Hitachi's present-day uranium processing plant that's still in operation (much to the opposition of local activist residents).

As industry left the city over time, most of this has either been demolished or converted to condos and lofts. The rail sidings have been pulled up, as have the streetcar tracks: the opening of the Bloor-Danforth subway in 1966 nixed the Bloor streetcar and nixed Lansdowne carhouse as a streetcar base (converted for more trolleybuses later that year). The tracks on Lansdowne didn't last much longer, becoming home to another trolleybus route instead.

Robert D. McMann photo, Kodachrome from the Dan Dell'Unto collection.