Books and Information Sources

Books about Toronto's Railways

While putting together this web site I faced a dilemma: a good site demands quality information, yet there is little value in duplicating information that is already in print elsewhere.

I decided to focus mainly on the present, and on information about what can be seen by visiting each location today.

For those who want to know more about the history of railways in Toronto, here are some good books on this topic:

Andrae, Christopher
Lines of Country: An Atlas of Railway and Waterway History in Canada
The Boston Mills Press, Erin Mills, Ontario, 1997
ISBN 1-55046-133-8
The penultimate source for maps of railway lines in Canada

Ashdown, Dana William
Iron & Steam - A History of the Locomotive and Railway Car Builders of Toronto
Robin Brass Studio, Toronto, Ontario, 1999
ISBN 1-896941-12-5
Lots of history about early Toronto industries including carbuilders and locobuilders

Bebout, Richard (ed)
The Open Gate:Toronto Union Station
Peter Martin Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 1972
ISBN 0-88778-072-5
Everything you ever wanted to know about Toronto Union Station

Brown, Ron
Ghost Railways of Ontario
Broadview Press, Peterborough, Ontario, 1994
ISBN 1-55111-054-7
An excellent account of vanished rail lines, including the Belt Line and CNoR

Brown, Ron
Ghost Railways of Ontario Vol II
Polar Bear Press, Toronto, Ontario, 2000
ISBN 1-896757-14-6
More great details on abandoned Ontario Rail Lines

Bush, Edward F.
Engine houses and turntables on Canadian railways 1850-1950
The Boston Mills Press, Cheltenham Ontario, 1990
ISBN 1-55046-002-1
Lots of information on Toronto area roundhouses and engine terminals

Beaumont, Ralph and Filby, James
Running Late on the Bruce
The Boston Mills Press, Cheltenham, Ontario, 1980
ISBN 0-919822-32-0
CP Credit Valley and Grey-Bruce lines

Beaumont,Ralph
Steam Trains to the Bruce
The Boston Mills Press, Cheltenham Ontario, 1977
ISBN 0-919822-21-5
CP Credit Valley and Grey-Bruce lines

Cooper, Charles
Rails to the Lakes The Story of the Hamilton & Northwestern Railway
The Boston Mills Press, Cheltenham Ontario, 1980
ISBN 0-919822-31-2
CN Hamilton-Georgetown-Barrie-Collingwood lines

Filey, Mike
Mike Filey is a prolific Toronto writer who has authored many books on Toronto's past. Almost every one of these has at least some rail content...and lots about Toronto's transit system, too!

Kluckner, Michael
Toronto The Way it Was
Whitecap Books (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, 1988
ISBN 0-921396-02-3
One of the best books I have found on Toronto's history. The nuggets of railway information in this book are as thick as the chips in Decadent Chocolate Chip cookies.

Martyn, Lucy Booth
The Face of Early Toronto
The Paget Press, Sutton West, Canada, 1982
ISBN 0-920348-24-6
Excellent maps of Toronto circa 1884

Riddell, John
The Railways of Toronto Volumes I and II
B.R.M.N.A., Calgary Alberta, 1991/1994
ISBN 0-919487-38-6, 0-919487-47-5
Many interesting pictures of old Toronto rail lines, and good maps too!
Check out the BRMNA Home Page for these and other books

While we're on the topic, the Boston Mills Press have a wonderful selection of railroad books.

Back to Other Railfan Information Page

Back to Home Page

Webmaster: Paul Cordingley

Toronto, Canada

Our e-mail address: pcordingley"insert the at"rogers.com