page_title: Line 1 Yonge–University
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Line 1 Yonge–University / History / Construction
caption_attribution_description: An ex-Chicago metro car from the Halton County Radial Railway museum.
context_page_description: Line 1 Yonge–University is a rapid transit line on the Toronto subway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission, has 38 stations and is 38.8 km in length, making it the longest line on the subway system. It opened as the "Yonge subway" in 1954 as Canada's first underground passenger rail line, and was extended multiple times between 1963 and 2017. Averaging over 790,000 riders per weekday, Line 1 is the busiest rapid transit line in Canada, and one of the busiest lines in North America.
context_section_description: During World War II, workers travelling from their homes in "northern Toronto" (which would now be considered the downtown core) to the industrial areas to the east and west of the downtown area on Yonge seriously strained the existing road and streetcar networks. There was concern that the expected post-war boom in car ownership would choke the city with traffic. The scheme was first proposed by Toronto Transportation Commission in 1942 to relieve congestion, which was delaying their bus and tram services. The TTC formed a Rapid Transit Department and studied various solutions between 1942 and 1945.
  A plan was put to the voters on January 1, 1946. The plan had two parts. First, it featured a "rapid transit subway" operated with subway trains from Eglinton Avenue as far as College Street. The line would continue directly under Yonge and Front Streets to Union Station. Second would be a "surface car subway", diverting streetcar services off Queen and Dundas Street. This would run mostly along Queen Street, with each end angling north to reach Dundas Street west of Trinity Park and Gerrard Street at Pape Avenue. The route would run directly under Queen Street from University Avenue to Church Street, with the rest off-street. The vote was overwhelmingly in favour, and Toronto City Council approved construction four months later.
  The plebiscite contained the condition that the federal government would subsidize 20% of the project. The federal Minister of Reconstruction, C.D. Howe, promised federal support in an October 3, 1945 letter. However, the funding fell through over a disagreement about the details of the employment arrangements. A scaled down proposal, about 20% smaller, was agreed to in its place. The work along Queen Street was abandoned temporarily, and the original $42.3 million ($613 million in 2018) was reduced to $28.9 million ($419 million in 2018) plus $3.5 million ($50.8 million  in 2018) for rolling stock. After a two-year delay due to postwar labour shortages, construction on the new subway did not start until September 8, 1949. A total of 1.3 million cubic metres (1.7 millioncubic yards) of material was removed and some 12,700 tonnes (14,000 tons) of reinforcing steel and 1.4 million bags of cement were put into place. A roughed-in station was constructed below Queen station for a proposed Queen line, but that line was never built.
  Service on the Yonge route would be handled by new rolling stock, and the TTC was particularly interested in the Chicago series 6000 cars, which used trucks, wheels, motors, and drive control technologies that had been developed and perfected on PCC streetcars. However, the United States was in the midst of the Korean War at the time, which had caused a substantial increase in metal prices, thus making the PCC cars too expensive. Instead, in November 1951, an order was placed with the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company in England for 104 cars for $7,800,000 ($75.4 million  in 2018) including spare parts.
  The Toronto Subway typeface and TTC logo were also designed during this period. The logo used during the subway's development was designed by mid-century architect John C. Parkin and chief architect Arthur Keith. Against the wishes of Walter Paterson, the chief engineer, TTC chairman William McBrien and general manager H.C. Patten rejected the design in favour of one that was more similar to the one previously used on TTC vehicles.
caption: The TTC intended the subway to use streetcar-derived trains, like this former Chicago 'L' train preserved at the Halton County Radial Railway.
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