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TTC 1975 GM Buses (8010-8117):
Left: 8027 was at Finch station in Oct 92, 8027 stayed at Malvern when she was
retired in early 1995.
Right: 8017 was seen at Birchmount storage yard in Aug 1997. See more about 8017
below.
8010-8117 are possibly the first group of TTC buses that lasted so long without major body rebuild. About 38 of them (such as 8013, 8016, 8018, 8021, 8023-25....) had been retired in late 1980s to early 1990s and the other 70 carried on as rush hour buses only following the decision to remove all the Trolley bus service in early 1990s. About 50 of them lasted until 1996 to early 1997 until the 7000 and 9400 Orion 5 buses entered service.
Because of the bus crisis, the TTC spent $6 million to refit some of the reliable ones in 1994 so that these old buses could stay as long as possible. However, the money was spent mostly on the 1977 and 1979 GM buses. Most of the remaining 1975 GM buses were in desperate need of maintenence and the TTC neither put electronic destination signs nor new destination curtains on them because these buses were expected to be retired anytime soon. Most non-Malvern based buses did not have any destination sign and only a piece of cardboard or paper showing the destination was used for at least 5 years.
As the TTC began the program to rebuild the newer GM New Looks in 1995, no decision on rebuilding the 1975 GM buses was made because of their relative obsolete mechanics and inefficient power train. More of them were gradually retiring, then being sold for scrap subsequently when there were buyers.
It was until the summer 1997 when the then 10 months old 9400 series CNG buses were withdrawn from active service, the TTC decided to keep the remaining 1975 GMs. But the number of survivors was already down to about 18 and they should start their second full time career soon.
| 7147 | Midland 57A buses used to run between Kennedy station and Sheppard and the route discontinued after the Scarborough RT line opened in March 1985. Here 7147 was seen on Midland 57A in the winter of 1984. |
| 8011 | 8011 spent most of her time at Malvern garage before ending up her last few months at Arrow Road in early 1995. 8011 had never got a black and yellow destination. This photo was taken in 1992. |
| 8017(1992) | 8017 had the original 1975 4 color destination sign on this Oct 1992 photo. In July 1995, 8017 received a new black and yellow destination sign (see above). As the new 7000 series Orions came to Malvern, 8017 became a surplus and was reallocated to Eglinton garage until her final withdrawl in late 1996. 8017 went to Birchmount storage yard afterwards and she is now the oldest bus in the TTC. |
| 8022 | 8022 had been retired in the early 1990s from Malvern. With no new buses source and proper maintenence program in the early 1990s, she was reinstated in late 1994 and went to Arrow Road after disappearing for about 4 years. I didn't even believe my eyes when I saw 8022 (still had the black and white Malvern sign) the first time in so many years running on 35E Jane Express in Nov 1994. 8022 later received a black and yellow Arrow Road sign and lasted until mid 1996 when the 7000 series Orions arrived. This photo was taken in March 1996. |
| 8029 | 8029 used to be a Malvern-based bus, but was reallocated to Birchmount in 1992. As Hillcrest was shut down, their Classics 6250-6259 and Orion 5's 6715-6745 were reallocated to Malvern, Some of Malvern's 8010-8093 became surplus and so these buses were sent elsewhere for their final days (as was the TTC expectation on these buses at that time). From this late 1992 photo, 8029 still had her black and white Malvern sign on the front but the side sign had been removed. |
The appearences are different but they are the same bus, the differences include the front bumpers, the license plates, the GM logos, the painting schemes, the marker reflectors, the steering wheels, the fleet number behind the centre doors (see the original larger view) and the extra black bubble transponder above the centre doors (see the new larger view). The original 4-colored destination sign at the front was also replaced in mid 1985 after the Scarborough RT line opened as 8034 was reallocated to Malvern from Eglinton. The first photo was taken in the Bayview and Eglinton area in June 1983 (by Keith Littlewood).
8034 began service in 1975 and was withdrawn in 1992 at the age of 17. As the state of good repair program began in the summer of 1995. Any servicable buses were inspected for possible longer service, 8034 was chosen from the storage yard to Hillcrest for repair.
In May to June 95, most of the 1975 GM buses that were expected to last for at least one more year received a new black and yellow destination sign in order to avoid the confusion of paper cardboard sign. No more extra new sign was given to 8034 when she returned to service on Sept 1 1995. Therefore, 8034 never had a new black and yellow sign until she was retired in March 1999. The last time I saw 8034 was in late January 1999 after the snowstorm, 8034 broke down at Finch station and it might be the last time 8034 showed up there.
| 8032 | 8032 has been running almost exclusively on Finch East 39 from 1983 to the early 1990s, she left her home garage Malvern in her final months to Eglinton garage after the arrival of the 7000 series Orions. 8032 was then seen mostly on rush hour duties on 34C Eglinton East in 1996, she was finally retired in late 1996 from Eglinton garage. |
| 8034-129 | 8034 was on #129 in Oct 1998, her usual morning rush hour duty. |
| 8034-129/right | The side sign for route 129 Mccowan North. Since there was no repainting on the door side of the bus, the 1975 or earlier GM feature that the upper red stripe line doesn't extend all the way to the front was retained on the door side. No 1977 or later GM bus had this feature. |
| 8034-129/left | The driver side of 8034 was completely repainted with the red stripe extends all the way to the front.and that just looks like the other unrebuilt GM buses. There was no repainting on the door side. |
| 8034-53 | 8034 was seen on Yonge Street going north to Steeles, with the black and white 53 Steeles East sign.(photo from Simon Yiu) |
| 8034/7090 | 8034 and 7090 at Sheppard station, 8034 used to be a regular afternoon rush hour bus in 1997. |
| 8034/7126 | Both 7126 and 8034 were very active in 1997, but no more in 1999 as they don't use Orion 5 buses on Sheppard East 85 run #13, a full day long branch route, anymore. |
| 8034/8768 | 8768 just returned to service after the 12 year rebuild in late 1997 while 8034 was an extra bus this day. |
| 8034/7119 | 8034 and 7119, both buses were ready for their next trip in the afternoon rush hours. |
| 8034-85E | 8034 had been the oldest bus in the TTC for the past 3 years after the withdrawal of 8017 in 1996. Her unique black and white mylar outlasted all the other buses that had acquired electronic signs in the early 1990s. This is a Nov 1998 photo showing her unique 85E Express sign. |
| 8034-85F | The only available side sign for Express route, it is 85E in this example. |
| 8034 back/1 | The back of 8034. |
| 8034-night | 8034 was on a winter afternoon rush hour duty on #129 Mccowan North. It was already dark when 8034 finished the afternoon on #129 in Nov 1998.(photo by Simon Yiu) |
| 8034 back/2 | Another rear view with her silver back bumper on 8034. |
| 8034 retired/1 | After retiring in March 1999, both 8034 and 6368 are stored in Malvern yard. This is the back of 8034, the 2 buses in front of 8034 are 8203 and 6368. |
| 8034 retired/2 | A few weeks later, 8034's black and white destination sign was removed. |
| 8036 - 39A | 8036 had stayed in Malvern most of the time until she was retired in spring 1997. Here is a 1992 photo when she still had her black and white sign.8036 received a new black and yellow destination curtain in June 1995, but the sign was lost after she was retired in winter 1996. 8036 was still in Hillcrest storage yard when photographed in Oct 1998. |
| 8051-light | 8051 in January 2000 but the destination sign was mistakingly installed just behind the flourscent light! |
| 8051- 35C | The last 2 remaining 1975 GM buses were still in active service in Dec 99. 8051 had the faulty front destination sign for a few months but the problem was fixed by the end of November 99, here, 8051 was seen on 35C in early Nov 1999. 8058 has been running under the good care from Malvern garage. One interesting note is that 8051 has the old style fleet # on the front, new license plate while 8058 has new bigger size fleet # but older license plate. |
| 8051-retired 1 | A very sad news for some people is that the very last bus that still still carries the old 1980's livery, 8051, was finally retired in April 2002 and her license plate BJ 4851 has been removed. 8051 was basically assigned to weekday rush-hours-only duties only in the past 12 years. |
| 8051 -retired 3 | Retired 8051 has lost the back window and the bus is now in the scrap line. |
| 8056 | 8056 (BF1355) just received the new yellow and black mylar when the bus was photographed in July 1995. 8056 together with most of the other 1975 GM buses were retired as the 7000 series Orion Vs arrived in 1996. The bus at the background is 8167. |
| 8057 | 8057 continued in active service with Malvern until summer 1996. As the 7000 series Orions arrived, 8057 was reallocated to Danforth briefly to replace the streetcars before the bus was finally retired in fall 1996. |
| 8058 - 39E | Because of the snow, all the Orion articulated buses were not in service, almost all the 40ft buses including 8058 were required to run in the rush hours in this January 2000 afternoon. |
| 8058 - 603 | On Feb 2 1999, the Scarborough RT shut down for another 13 hours. There was no shuttle bus in the first hour of the breakdown. Buses from Danforth, Birchmount and Malvern were coming gradually in the next hour, 8058 was seen on Route 603. |
| 8058(original) | After the refurbishment in the summer of 1996 (also the time when most of the 1975 fishbowls retired from Malvern), 8058 received large # on the front. This Oct 1998 photo showed that 8058 still had the unused exterior centre door exit light, it was removed later (see left photo). 8058 received another repair work and new paint scheme in June 2001. |
| 8058 back-1999 | There is no change on all the markers on 8058 after her 2001 refurbishment. Only a few early rebuilt 8740-8985 (such as 8743, 8746, 8854) series GMs that were done by the end of 1995 had these original designs retained. No GM bus older than 8743 except 8058 had both new livery and OEM marker lights. |
| 8058 / 2360 | After getting the attention of many in the past 10 years, 8058 was finally decommissioned in Nov 2004. This photo was taken in July 2004. As 8853 was renumbered to 2353 in January 2005, there is no more 8000 series bus in the TTC. |
| 8058&8051 | 8058 met 8051 probably the first time in 10 years after 8046-8051 left Malvern to Landsdowne in 1991. Both of them have their own unique characteristics. Here is the back of the 2 unrebuilt buses, this is the 3 active 1975 GM buses, namely 8051, 8058 and 2151 in the TTC . These photos were taken during the OTA charter. |
| 8060 | 8060 (BF1359) was seen in the last few months of active service when the bus was photographed in the summer of 1994, 8060 could not last long enough to receive the new yellow and black mylar. |
| 8068 (1992) | 8068 (BF1457) was just reallocated to Birchmount from Malvern in early 1992 as the brand new 6640 series Orion Vs arrived, 8068 was laying over at the SW corner of Midland and Steeles where it was only an undeveloped loop for the 57 Midland buses. |
| 8068 (1999) | 8068 was last seen in April 99 on 36 Finch West, she was the last GM bus the white color top corners on the front. 8068 was retired in Sept 1999. |
| 8073 (1992) | 8073 (BC1211) is now the only 1975 GM bus that has received complete body, mechanical and transmission rebuild in the TTC. This 1992 photo shows her original destination sign of 1975 style, as the color became fading, all the 1975 GM buses received black and yellow mylar by June 1995 (except 8034) and a Dec 95 photo shows 8073 on the 139 Huntingwood duty. In 1997, Wilson took over the operation of 139 Huntingwood and 8073 was usually seen on 39B Finch East or 85 Sheppard East.later. In January 1999, 8073 was finally rebuilt and became 2151 (BJ8837). Rebuilt 2151 has lost all of the unique 1975 GM features such as 2 speed transmission and mylar. |
| 2151 (2005) | 2151, Orion 7532 followed by 7770 were photographed on March 7 2005, when it was the first time I have seen 7770 and the last time 2151 was seen in active service. |
| 8078 | 8078 was at Eglinton station in Sept 1992. 8078 did receive black and yellow destination sign for a few months before she was retired in fall 1995. GM 8075-8078 stayed at Eglinton garage for many years. 8078 was the first to go, followed by 8076. 8075 and 8077 were reallocated to Malvern by Feb 1996 as the result of major service changes. |
| 8086/6210 | An April 1997 view on 8086 and 6210. 8086 still carried the Malvern's front and side destination signs and the original license plate BC1 224. 8086 remained in service for 2 more years before the bus was retired in fall 1999. |
| 8086-32B | 8086 was seen on #32B at Eglinton West station in Sept 98. 8086 was the only vehicle that carried Eglinton garage's destination curtain at the front, but the Malvern garage sign was still up on the side of the front entrance. 8726 was the only GM bus in the TTC fleet that was painted with the Metro Zoo ad now, another bus, 8909 had lost her many-years white color Metro Zoo ad after the major rebuild in 1997. |
| 8088 | As 8094-8096 were retired from Danforth, Danforth took the chance to give up her remaining 1975 GM buses with 8088 and 8093 reallocated to Landsdowne and Malvern respectively by the fall of 1994. Here, Landsdowne-based 8088 was seen on 63A Ossington in Oct 1994, 8088 was retired a few months later. |
| 8086-34C | A July 1999 view on the sunsetting 8086, 8111 was also in her final months of service in this Nov 1998 photo. Some of the yesterday's features on TTC buses were lost after their retirement: The very last 8086's Eglinton territory destination curtain and 8111's water bumper are now history and will never be seen again in Toronto now. |
| 8091 | 8091 was assigned to the 86B duty in an afternoon 1995, 8091 was retired in 1996 as the demand of buses decreased because of the service cut in Feb 1996 and the arrival of the new Orion buses. |
| 8093 | 1994 was a difficult year in terms of buses for the TTC, still without the state of good repair program, some garages such as Danforth had to find any available bus to fill the big demand (major service cut did not happen until Feb 96). Having recently arrived from Birchmount, 8093 along with the Danforth's natives 8094-96 were required to run even on Saturdays mostly on 25 Don Mills under Danforth supervision. 8093's black and white Malvern destination sign on the front was removed but was reinstalled in summer 1995 when 8093 was back to Malvern for her final months of active service. 8093 was retired from Malvern in January 1996 and was scrapped later. Here, 8093 was seen at Pape station in a 1994 Saturday afternoon. |
