Caption: Subway cars at CP West Toronto shops: Brand new TTC H2 5501 is seen inside Canadian Pacific's West Toronto erecting shop as the overhead crane lifts the front of the car off its pedestals. Shop forces, using a rail car mover bar and good old brute force, move a completed subway car truck underneath the car, all the while still sitting on the deck of CP flatcar 313007 (converted from a heavyweight sleeping car into a flatcar in the mid-60's to handle transporting new subway cars). Another photographer can be seen crouched down below the car observing the process.

Apparently, some or all of the H2 order of new Toronto subway cars were made at Hawker Siddeley's plant in Thunder Bay and shipped down to CP in West Toronto. The trucks/wheelsets were made in Hamilton and forwarded to West Toronto, where they were installed under the cars at CP's erecting shops, before the completed subway car was then interchanging to CN for final delivery to the TTC at Greenwood Yard. The TTC typically installed the trucks themselves at Greenwood Shops, or had cars shipped with the trucks already underneath them.

CP's West Toronto erecting shop (part of the steam-era West Toronto backshop facilities which included the blacksmith's shop, transfer table, erecting shop, etc, see the Old Time Trains page) have long since been demolished and redeveloped, but the transfer table survives on display near parking lot of the present-day Rona.

Robert D. McMann photo, Dan Dell'Unto collection slide