In the heart of downtown Toronto, right next to the CN Tower, is a 17-acre park named Roundhouse Park. The park is named after the half-circle railway roundhouse located on-site.
The roundhouse was once a repair facility for the Canadian Pacific Railway that could hold 32 full-sized locomotives. Built in 1929, it was in use until 1896, when the Canadian Pacific Railway donated it to the city of Toronto.
Today, the roundhouse is a designated National Historic Site. A restaurant, a rec room, and the Toronto Railway Museum are located inside the historic site. While the museum is only open from Wednesdays to Sundays, the locomotives in the park are accessible 24/7.
There is also an authentic train station, named Don Station, in the park. Don Station was built in 1896 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, along the Don River, and Queen Street. It was moved to Roundhouse Park and refurbished after the area was named a Historic Site.
Roundhouse Park contains four full-sized locomotives.
- Canadian National Railway No. 6213 (1942)
- Canadian National Railway No. 4803 (1942)
- Canadian Pacific 7020 Class DS10-B (1944)
- Canadian Locomotive Company 50-ton Whitcomb centre-cab switcher (1950)
There are also three freight cars, two passenger cars, and one diesel unit.
- Canadian Pacific Jackman Sleeper (1931)
- Canadian Pacific Cape Race buffet-compartment-solarium-observation-sleeper (1929)
- Dominion Atlantic Railway Sans Pareil (now Nova Scotia) Pullman dining car (1896)
- Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway caboose No. 70, steel sheathed (1921)
- Canadian Pacific Railway 188625 – “Fowler” steel-frame boxcar, built (1917)
- Reinhart Vinegars RVLX 101 – wooden vinegar tank car, built (1938)
- Toronto Terminal Railway (TTR) – Pyke self-propelled crane
- GO Transit Hawker Siddeley RTC-85SP/D diesel multiple unit (1967)
With locomotives that are 80 years old, and other freight cars that are over 100 years old, Roundhouse Park, together with the Toronto Railway Museum, offers a small glimpse into the history of Canada’s rail transportation Industry.
