page_title: Presidents' Conference Committee (Toronto streetcar)
section_title: Second-hand purchases
hierarchical_section_title: Presidents' Conference Committee (Toronto streetcar) / Fleet / Second-hand purchases
caption_attribution_description: English: A Roger Puta photograph
context_page_description: The Presidents' Conference Committee Car was a streetcar used by the Toronto Transportation Commission and the Toronto Transit Commission. The PCC streetcar was designed by the Presidents' Conference Committee, a group of transit operators in the United States and Canada.
  The TTC purchased 745 PCC streetcars in all, making it the largest PCC fleet in North America. Of that, 317 were air-electric and 428 all-electric; 540 ordered new and 205 used. 175 PCCs had couplers for multiple-unit operation, and the TTC used them to assemble 2-car PCC trains. The TTC had only a maximum of 744 PCCs in service because car 4063 was scrapped after it derailed and crashed into Lansdowne Carhouse wall on 20 January 1947. Today, only two PCCs remain in Toronto, bearing the original 1951 fleet numbers of 4500 and 4549, for charters and special events.
  Most of the PCCs were scrapped, with some becoming stationary structures such as restaurants, shops or farm sheds. Other retired TTC PCC cars were purchased for preservation by other organizations, such as rail museums, a few of which continue to operate Toronto PCCs on their own museum rail lines.
context_section_description: In 1951, the TTC still had 348 Peter Witt cars and 105 trailers. Since the Yonge streetcar line used only 70 Peter Witt trailer trains, the opening of the Yonge subway (part of today's Line 1 Yonge–University) in 1954 would in itself not allow the retirement of the remaining Peter Witt fleet. The TTC wished to avoid the high cost of buying new PCCs; thus, it had started to search for second-hand PCCs from U.S. transit operators closing out streetcar operations. 
  In 1950, the TTC acquired 50 all-electric PCCs (class A9) and 27 older air-electrics (class A10) from the Cincinnati Street Railway. Both sets of former Cincinnati cars were built by the St. Louis Car Company. In Cincinnati, these cars all had two trolley poles like for a trolley bus. The TTC removed one of the two poles.  
  In 1952, the TTC purchased 75 all-electric PCCs from the Cleveland Transit System. Fifty were built by Pullman-Standard becoming class A11 (dubbed "Cleveland"), and twenty-five by the St. Louis Car Company becoming class A12 ("Louisville"). Each class had roof housing for fan equipment, a feature which the TTC chose to disable. The housing gave the cars a distinctive appearance, with each class having a distinctively different style of housing. The A12 former Louisville cars were built for the Louisville Railway Company but were never put into service there. The cars were sold to the Cleveland Transit System as deliveries to Louisville were being made, the last 10 of the 25 "Louisville" cars being shipped directly to Cleveland.
  Also in 1952, the TTC purchased 48 all-electric PCCs from the Birmingham Electric Company. These class A13 ("Birmingham") cars were built by Pullman-Standard. In Birmingham, Alabama, these PCCs had the notoriety of having racially-segregated seating, a practice that ceased with their shipment to Toronto.
  In 1957, the TTC purchased 30 all-electric PCCs from the Kansas City Public Service Company, and became class A14 ("Kansas City"). These are the only all-electric PCCs not to have standee windows as the president of Kansas City Public Service wanted "none of those little apertures". The A14 cars supported only one-piece front rollsigns. Because of this, the A14 cars would show only destinations for the St. Clair and Earlscourt routes (today 512 St. Clair) effectively confining the A14 cars to the St. Clair streetcar line.  
  The "Kansas City" PCCs became the TTC's final purchase of second-hand PCC streetcars. At this time, only Mexico City had more second-hand PCCs.
  The TTC had to modify all its second-hand PCCs to its standards. The work included:
  Regauging to TTC gauge.
  Adding Necessary Action circuits (an exclusively Toronto feature) to activate track switches.
  Removing or sealing (A14) backup controls.
  Removing one of the two poles from the former Cincinnati cars (A9 & A10).
  Adding treadle-operation to A9, A11, A12 and A13 cars.
  Modifying doors to fold outward, if not so configured.
  Adding the green advance light on the roof above the front rollsigns.
  Removing ventilation fans from A11 and A12 cars.
  Adding two couplers each to A11 and A12 cars.
  By 1958, there were still 132 Peter Witt streetcars in service despite the presence of 744 PCC streetcars. The opening of the University subway extension (part of today's Line 1 Yonge–University) in 1963, and the closure of the Oakwood and Dupont streetcar lines ended Peter Witt operation, making the Toronto streetcar fleet 100% PCC.
caption: Class A14, St. Louis-built all-electric without standee windows
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