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47-574: Distillery Loop is a streetcar loop in the Toronto streetcar system in Toronto , Ontario, Canada that lies at the south end of the Cherry Street branch  – originally dubbed the Cherry Street streetcar line  – that runs from a streetcar junction on King Street East south along Sumach and Cherry Streets. The loop opened in June 2016 and is some of the newer streetcar infrastructure in

94-735: A U-shape loop around the area. The line branched from the Union Station Rail Corridor just west of the Don River, passed through the Keating Yard just east of the Don Roadway, crossed to the south side of Lake Shore Boulevard, turned south on the west side of Leslie Street, then ran west roughly parallel to Unwin Avenue to terminate at the Port of Toronto facility west of Cherry Street. The right-of-way

141-507: A balloon loop was constructed at Beech Forest on the 2 ft 6 in ( 762 mm ) Victorian Railways line from Colac to Crowes. Advantages of a balloon loop include: Compared to stations with stub platforms, balloon loops allow: Disadvantages of a balloon loop include: Port Lands The Port Lands (also known as Portlands ) of Toronto , Ontario , Canada are an industrial and recreational neighbourhood located about 5 kilometres south-east of downtown, located on

188-468: A major industrial and shipping hub; however, this hope was not fulfilled. By the 1970s, most industries had left the area, and much of the land was polluted from former heavy manufacturing and oil refinery operations. By the 1980s, the Port Lands were used primarily for light industry, as well as for municipal facilities such as salt storage. In the early 2000s, several film production studios were built in

235-471: A new Polson Loop near the intersection of Cherry and Polson Streets. One reason for the change was the risk of conflict with construction of the planned Ontario Line , which is to run under Distillery Loop. Another reason was that a connection to Queens Quay would require that Distillery Loop be relocated to make way for a streetcar passage under the Union Station Rail Corridor . The planners for

282-409: A re-aligned Queens Quay and Commissioners Street. The proposed East Bayfront LRT was to have linked Union station via Queens Quay East either to a temporary loop at Parliament Street or to Distillery Loop. However, by June 2021, the plan was changed: a new Parliament loop would not be built and Distillery Loop would be bypassed; instead, the line would proceed south on a realigned Cherry Street to

329-575: A roof shingle manufacturing and a waste transfer station on the site of a deactivated incinerator. The Hearn Generating Station smokestack (215 metres (705 ft) in height), together with the Ashbridges Bay sewage sludge incinerator stack and the Commissioners Street waste incinerator stack stand as towering landmarks of a bygone industrial era. All three facilities are no longer in operation. The Pinewood Toronto Studios (formerly FilmPort )

376-478: A stub terminus. Balloon loops enable higher line capacity (faster turnaround of a larger number of trams) and allow the use of single-ended trams which have several advantages, including lower cost and more seating. However, double-ended trams also benefit from the capacity advantage of balloon loops. Occasionally, balloon loops are used for reversing trains on lines with heavy grades and tight curves to equalize wear on both sides of locomotives and rollingstock. Such

423-647: Is home to Cherry Beach, parkland similar to the Toronto Islands but surrounded by a mostly vacant, industrial setting. Regatta Road is a short street that runs south of Unwin Avenue just east of Cherry Street along the Martin Goodman Trail. It is home to a number of rowing and sailing clubs: Other commercial uses also exist on the land. The vacated factory spaces have become home to a small cultural contingent, consisting mostly of musician jam spaces and recording studios. The old box factory on Polson Pier houses

470-424: Is situated beside the now defunct Richard L. Hearn Generating Station. The Toronto Transit Commission has two facilities in the Port Lands. Its Lakeshore garage on Commissioners Street services Wheel-Trans minibuses. The TTC's Leslie Barns on Leslie Street is a maintenance and storage facility for streetcars. Toronto Hydro has a 49,000-square-metre (12-acre) facility at 500 Commissioners Street. In 2009,

517-615: Is still the predominant method of tramway operation in the world , in spite of the recent construction of some new, typically smaller, stubbed systems with double-ended trams. Balloon loops are used extensively on tramway systems with single-ended trams. Usually located at termini, the loop may be a single one-way track round a block. Single-ended trams have a cab at only one end and doors on one side, making them cheaper and having more space for passengers. On tram systems with double-ended trams balloon loops are not required but may still be used as they can provide greater turn-around capacity than

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564-686: Is to the south between the ship channel and the lake. It serves the Outer Harbour Marina. The Don Roadway makes a connection with the south end of the Don Valley Parkway . Carlaw Avenue and Logan Avenue cross from the north side of Lake Shore Boulevard to Commissioners Street. Other minor streets entirely within the northerly area are Bouchette Street (named for Joseph Bouchette surveyor of Upper Canada in 1793), Saulter Street South, Basin Street, Villiers Street, Munition Street and Polson Street. In

611-409: Is today a protected heritage structure. The southbound approach to Distillery Loop has a wheel greaser that is automatically activated by GPS; however, the greaser only functions for the newer Flexity streetcars . Running on a separated right-of-way, the branch line is approximately 700 metres (0.43 mi) long and has three stops, each with a platform. Both streetcar tracks run on the east side of

658-438: The 1880s, Gooderham and Worts was heavily using the marsh to dispose of waste from pigs and cattle, as well as wheat swill from their distilling operations. Up to 80,000 gallons (almost 364,000 L) per day of liquid manure drained into the marsh. The once natural area had now become an open sewage dump and a health hazard. A local newspaper described the situation as "a malarial swamp...teeming with pestilence and disease." By

705-505: The 1890s, the potential threat of a cholera outbreak forced the city to act. In 1892, after the city threatened legal action, Gooderham and Worts installed a filtration system for waste. In 1893, City engineer Edward Henry Keating (1844–1912) had the Keating Channel constructed to redirect the flow of the Don River west into Toronto Harbour . This improved the Don's flow but did not resolve

752-780: The 1920s. The marsh was eliminated between Cherry and Leslie Streets, and the Keating Channel became the sole outlet for the Don River. In the 1950s, the Leslie Spit , the Hearn Generating Station , the Commissioners Incinerator and the Gardiner Expressway were built, the latter over the mouth of the Don River. There was a hope that the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway would make the Port Lands

799-620: The 19th century, looped streetcar (tram) lines also began to appear on systems in the US, and soon looped operation with single-ended streetcars became widely used on many North American streetcar systems. European systems were almost universally converted to looped operation in the early 20th century, and most also adopted single-ended trams. Loops were also used on some tramways in Asia, South America and New Zealand, as well as on other Australian systems in addition to Sydney. Looped operation with single-ended trams

846-643: The Distillery Loop, streetcars were replaced by buses overnight along the Cherry Street line. Late night streetcar service was restored on July 15, 2017, as TTC riders found the transfer between the night bus and streetcar to be inconvenient. To address the reported problems, the TTC: In February 2020, city councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam reported that residents near the Cherry Street branch continued to complain about noise and vibration from streetcars turning at

893-496: The East Bayfront LRT considered, at the time, four alternative methods of passing under the railway corridor, scheduled for a later project, preferring either option 3 or 4: Balloon loop Balloon loops are common on tram and streetcar systems. Many streetcar and tram systems use single-ended vehicles that have doors on only one side and controls at only one end. These systems may also haul trailers with no controls in

940-449: The Port Lands and protect the area from flooding by naturalizing the mouth of the Don River. There was also the goal to prepare for residential development and create more parks within the Port Lands. The Ashbridge streetcar line was an early public transit service in the Port Lands. It opened on November 5, 1917 to serve workers employed at munitions factories in the Port Lands during World War I . The City of Toronto constructed and owned

987-459: The Port Lands created as part of Waterfront Toronto's Port Lands Flood Protection Project. The waters of the Don River made a 90-degree turn into the Keating Channel, creating a bottleneck that often leads to flooding. In 2024, Waterfront Toronto completed a channel running south from the Don River, and then west between Commissioners Street and the Shipping Channel to provide a second outlet for

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1034-470: The area made by public transit. As part of this initiative, it was recommended that the streetcar service along Cherry Street be extended south from Distillery Loop to the Ship Channel in a dedicated right-of-way on the east side of the street in similar fashion to the former 514 service. This would make Cherry Street the primary north–south transit route within the western Port Lands and would include stops at

1081-750: The area. In 2001, the City of Toronto, the Province of Ontario and the federal government jointly created the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation, today known as Waterfront Toronto , to plan for the renewal and redevelopment of the Port Lands. By this time the Port Lands were considered to be the largest under-developed and under-used urban space in North America. In 2017, Waterfront Toronto received $ 1.25 billion from municipal, provincial and federal levels of government to clean up

1128-480: The city. The Cherry Street branch is currently served by the 504A King streetcar route which has its eastern terminus at Distillery Loop. Distillery Loop is located south of Mill Street and north of the railway viaduct on the east side of Cherry Street. It lies across the street from Distillery Lane in the Distillery District. The loop runs counter-clockwise. With the junction at Sumach Street and King Street,

1175-483: The corner of King and Sumach Streets. There were also complaints of a rumbling noise as streetcars passed over the eastbound trailing-point switch at the intersection. In June 2020, the TTC had made several changes to address track noise, some of which could be applied to other locations on the streetcar system: In August and September 2022, the TTC replaced tracks at the intersection of King and Sumach Streets in order to resolve

1222-577: The facility had 189 solar panels to generate 36 kilowatts (kW) of electricity for internal use. Starting in 2013, the Toronto Port Lands Company created a "concrete campus" at 575 Commissioners Street near Leslie Street. This consolidated the operations of several concrete companies including Essroc, Lafarge, Metrix, and St. Mary's into one location. The campus freed up the companies' former spaces at other port locations for cleanup and redevelopment. Other industrial include road salt storage,

1269-622: The former Don River delta and most of Ashbridge's Bay . Approximate geographical borders are the Gardiner Expressway / Don Valley Parkway ramps to the north and west, Lake Shore Boulevard to the north, Lake Ontario on the three remaining sides: the Inner Harbour to the west, Ashbridge's Bay to the east and the open waters of Lake Ontario to the south. Landmarks include the Portlands Energy Centre , Leslie Barns (streetcar facility), Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant , and

1316-545: The line but had the Toronto Railway Company (TRC) operate it. The double-track line ran south from Queen Street, crossed over the Grand Trunk Railway tracks and the Keating Channel on a trestle, following the Don Roadway and turned west on Commissioners Street running in a reserved right-of-way that terminated at Cherry Street. At each end, the line had a single track terminus without a turning loop or wye;

1363-515: The line used bidirectional streetcars supplied by the TRC. The Toronto Transportation Commission took over the TRC and the Ashbridge line on September 1, 1921. On September 19, 1924, the line was replaced by buses after the streetcar trestle over the Keating Channel was deemed to be unsafe for further use. The Toronto Port Lands Company owned the last remaining railway line in the Port Lands, which made

1410-414: The line's opening. Traffic lights were poorly timed at the intersections of Cherry and Front Streets and Cherry Street and Eastern Avenue. Along Queens Quay, painted turn lane lines were not clear enough to discourage motorists from accidentally getting onto the streetcar right-of-way and then being trapped there. Because of complaints of squealing wheels at the corner of Sumach and King Streets, as well as at

1457-553: The loop can turn streetcars coming from either direction along King Street. Decorative features at the loop include paving blocks, a small grove of young trees, and a small flower bed between the track and the street. At the railway viaduct on the southern side of the loop stands the Cherry Street Tower which the Toronto Terminals Railway once used to control the eastern approach to Union Station . The signal tower

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1504-488: The marsh provided habitat for birds and other animals. The area was connected to the Toronto Islands archipelago until a violent storm in 1858 created a natural channel break turning the archipelago into a series of islands to the west. Pollution problems developed by the mid 19th century because of industrial development along the harbour and the lower Don River in addition to the use of the marsh for sewage disposal. By

1551-471: The name Toronto Port Lands Company. TPLC is a City corporation that manages real estate assets and promotes development in the Port Lands. With respect to development, it works closely with Waterfront Toronto. TPLC is the largest landowner in the Port Lands with 160 hectares (400 acres) in its portfolio, and acts as landlord with over 80 tenants as of 2015. Ookwemin Minising is a 22-hectare (54-acre) island in

1598-467: The new streetcar right-of-way crossed the security zone of the competition's Athletes Village. On June 19, 2016, the Cherry Street streetcar line opened and was originally served by the new 514 Cherry route, using Distillery Loop as the route's eastern terminal. On October 7, 2018, the 514 Cherry route was discontinued, and replaced by route 504A King running from Dundas West Station to Distillery Loop. A few problems were reported within several months of

1645-399: The noise problem. A new westbound trailing point switch of a different design was installed to eliminate the clacking sound when streetcar wheels passed over the switch. New track lubricators were to be added to the eastbound and northbound approaches to the intersection. As part of the framework for redevelopment of Toronto's Port Lands , the city is aiming to have 55 percent of all trips to

1692-619: The now out-of-service Hearn Generating Station . There is also parkland such as Cherry Beach and the Leslie Street Spit . Ashbridges Bay Marsh once existed at the delta of the Don River in Toronto. The marsh extended as far east as today's Leslie Street. Much of the Port Lands were initially part of Ashbridge's Bay, which consisted of a five-square-kilometre triangular area of marshes and ponds surrounded by sandbars. The water and reeds in

1739-546: The pollution problem. Also, the 90-degree curve of the river into the concrete-lined Keating Channel increased the risk of flooding in the Port Lands. In 1912, the Toronto Harbour Commission started to develop the Ashbridge's Bay Reclamation Scheme. The plan was to drain and fill in the marsh in order to address health concerns, and to develop the area for industry and shipping. By 1922, 200 hectares of marsh were filled in, followed by another 200 hectares later in

1786-539: The rail service at the time, but according to a 2017 City of Toronto port, TPLC had the responsibility to keep the line open in case some future development in the area needs it. As of 2019, Google Maps showed that the line was severed at Commissioners Street to accommodate the construction of a building on the former right-of-way. In 1986, the City of Toronto created the Toronto Economic Development Corporation which since 2009 has operated under

1833-449: The rear car, and, as such, must be turned at each end of the route. Balloon loops were first introduced on tram and, later, metro lines. They did not commonly appear on freight railways until the 1960s, when the modernising British Rail system introduced merry-go-round (MGR) coal trains that operated from mines to power stations and back again without shunting . On the former Sydney tram system, loops were used from 1881 until

1880-442: The river. Parks and wetlands will be completed in 2025 along this new water course, which will form the east and south side of the new island. The Keating Channel and Toronto Harbour are on the north and west side of the new island respectively. Mixed-use residential development is planned for Ookwemin Minising. The district is bounded on the north by Lake Shore Boulevard and on the east by Leslie Street . Cherry Street anchors

1927-611: The second-generation system's closure in 1961. Initially, the Sydney system was operated by single-ended steam trams ; then from the 1890s by double-ended electric trams. Lines were looped in the Sydney CBD and the other busiest areas of operation, such as the eastern suburbs lines, as they provided greater turn-around capacity on the crowded system. The Sydney system was the first example of a tramway system using loops and has continued to build them up to 1997 (third-generation system). Later in

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1974-423: The south, Regatta Road leads from Unwin Avenue to the sailing clubs on the outer harbour. The Port of Toronto is a 21-hectare (52-acre) container shipping facility and a cruise ship terminal along the eastern shore of the inner harbour operated by PortsToronto . PortsToronto also operates the large Outer Harbour Marina in between Cherry and Leslie Streets. The Portlands Energy Centre , a cogeneration power plant,

2021-554: The street, with a tree-lined median separating them from two automobile lanes, and bike lanes on either side of them. The entire width is 32.5 metres (107 ft), including sidewalks 5 metres (16 ft) wide. The branch line was built by Waterfront Toronto , in cooperation with the Toronto Transit Commission , to serve the West Don Lands neighbourhood and the Distillery District. The new West Don Lands neighbourhood

2068-577: The west side, providing access south from Lake Shore Boulevard to Cherry Beach . Commissioners Street and Unwin Avenue are two streets that span east–west between Cherry and Leslie Streets. Named after the members of the Toronto Harbour Commission, Commissioners Street is the spine across the area north of the ship channel. East of Leslie Street the road becomes North Service Road. Unwin Avenue (named for Charles Unwin , provincial and Toronto city surveyor, who surveyed Toronto Islands after 1858)

2115-487: Was 9 metres (30 ft) wide and trains on the line travelled at slow speed. By 2017, the Keating Yard had been reduced to a passing loop used to run the locomotive around its train. A train would operate every one to three weeks to bring five or six carloads of chemicals to the Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant on the east side of Leslie Street. The Port of Toronto facility was not using

2162-449: Was built on the 11 acres (4.5 ha) site of a former Esso oil tank farm. The first phase opened in 2008. The area along the south shore of the Port Lands has become mostly recreational. The Leslie Street Spit extends south from the Port lands and forms an outer harbour, sheltering a bird sanctuary and two boating marinas in the outer harbour. The south-western corner of the Port Lands

2209-425: Was expected to have 6,000 units once opened. The projected cost of the branch line was $ 90 million. In 2007, the plan for the Cherry Street streetcar line was finalized. Construction started south of King Street in 2012. In April and May 2014, the TTC constructed the junction at the corner of King Street East and Sumach Street. Completion and opening of the branch were delayed until after the 2015 Pan American Games ;

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