Kummler and Matter overhead system from Switzerland is the best of the best! Trolleybuses in Zurich travel in absolute HIGH SPEED, regardless whether the buses are on curves, wire crossings, switches! And, de-wirement never happens...

If Toronto kept the Trolley Bus system running. It would've been the 70th anniversary of Trolleybuses in Toronto this year

Man, I actually thought that these used to be the coolest buses ever as they rolled along Ossington Avenue. I could never wait for my next ride on one up to my Dad's

Hopefully in time, this will get more views because it is priceless. I remember being on one of these going to the CNE down Dufferin as a kid. Stepping on the steps to get off at the backdoors was a highlight.

My dad drove trollys for the ttc from the early 80's until they where retired.

I got to drive these old GM "fishbowl" buses as they called them for 3 years when I started driving for the TTC in 2009. That was the tail end of their service. The are all gone now. And I quit the TTC since.

Remember these old school trolley buses which disappeared from Toronto in 1993. Two electric poles keep coming off the overhead wires when turning.

The TTC knew the trolley buses were toast, so they let the overheads decline to the point they were de-wiring all the time. They were gone inside of a year. Now the new streetcars are using pantographs (albeit limited usage so far).

Great footage! :)

@northlanderdude Because TTC was short-sighted and wasn't able to invest in acquiring the right technology to sustain its trolleybus system. The situation would be a lot different if TTC adopted Kummler and Matter overhead system from Switzerland, and used German made trolley poles on their buses. In Salzburg, trolley poles of trolleybuses come off the wires is such a rare occurrence that it is regarded as a major traffic accident if it ever happens.

It was too bad that the TTC had to get rid of its trolley buses. However, it would have been too expensive to keep the trolley bus network, because of the cost of replacing the buses themselves (they were getting old) and the wirelines were in terrible shape. The cost of replacing the trolley wires, especially the wire junctions, would have been horrendous. But, when I lived on Weston Road many years ago, the trolley buses were a god-send, because they were fairly quiet. (Back in those days, I had to work evening shifts and sleep in most mornings until about 11 am..)

My country never had these and I always wonder how would they do if those arms came off. Thank you for the video.

Cool video. I miss the trolley buses on my local Mt Pleasant route...and Nortown 61

They're like the 'dial up' of buses.

Interesting video

The retrievers obviously were out of adjustment, or the ropes were too slack. When the pole dewires, the retriever is supposed to kick in quickly, restraining the pole so it doesn't thrash about. A sign of a well-run trolleybus system is taut ropes. TTC and HSR let those ropes get so slack they probably couldn't effectively restrain a dewired pole.

Yes, I can drive a trolleybus - and I did it some years ago ...

@SkunkRailfan The technology TCC had was way backward and the state of the overhead wires in the video looks very poorly maintained. Modern trolleybuses in Europe, particularly Switzerland, is a marvel itself. They travel in HIGH SPEED when passing wire crossings, wire frogs, etc with no worries that their poles would off the wires. I've just visited Zurich last Nov and I'm utter impressed by their efficient trolleybuses, that SPEED like racing cars on the roads.

@MrTrolleyharry Absolutely! It all boils down to the right technology!

strangely hypnotic

I think he dewired just for the benefit of the videographer...otherwise we'd have nothing to comment on. I drove trolleys for the HSR for 12 years...sometimes the mechanics just don't get enough practice and they position themselves poorly then again sometimes being on camera you get nervous...

Pó em SP não é tanto assim Mas a quedas de alavancas são frequentes e quase chega a quebrar as redes 👍

Thanks for posting this, Michael. Brings back awesome childhood memories of riding these leased Edmonton trolley buses on 6A Bay with my mom when I was little circa 1992/93. Hard to believe that was three decades ago now! Do you have any TTC subway videos, preferably of the early Hawker-Siddeley, Montrealer or Gloucester trains? Or perhaps any Burlington, Oakville or Markham Transit bus videos from the 1990s?

In the dewirement in the end it looks the driver didn't activate a power-on/off switch right. I remember reading in an old usenet post that the Edmonton buses often wouldn't draw enough power to activate the switches, which might be the case here.

New Flyer New Look bus

I wonder how many more times he lost his poles. After he drove off

Haha that TTC trolley had the old Edmonton Transit logo on it.

A fish eye trolley bus....novel indeed. As to the driver...he seemed to turn to soon in the yard, and then the out of garage deal was probably positioning...Went through all of at Oakridge Transit centre for BC Transit in Vancouver, the poles had me in panic mode for ages after coming out of class...It is a nerve game initially, until you master the wire, and when to get the bus moving and let momentum carry you through some overhead. If you don't intend to be a master of driving a trolley...you will, like this guy, spend your time putting the poles back up....B T W...a rotten way to start a shift...he was probably late for his start point with that de wiring issue he had to deal with before he hit the street.

I wonder what happens if both those poles end up on positive wires lol

those bay street trolley bus's were awful the rear power pols on them were always falling off LOL I use to ride that bus from Jesse Ketchum PS to Queen street every week day back in 88 to 92

4:55 I am surprised to have seen a cyclist in a video this old!

@SkunkRailfan It's a little too late... very unlikely for TTC to re-introduce trackless trolleys in the future. Having trackless trolleys will essentially help TTC form an integrated all-four style transit scheme that is made up by regular buses, streetcars, trackless trolleys and subways.

GMC Brown Boveri New Look Electric Bus

I see why the TTC got rid of the trolley buses !

This was one of West end Toronto's worst neighborhoods in late 1980' to mid 1990's. Lansdowne and Bloor was Crack and Heroin sleaze dumping ground. I grew up 15 mins from here. Not a nice place back then.

I couldn’t help but notice the former Knob Hill Farms supermarket at Lansdowne and Dundas. My family shopped there often when I was a kid. According to good ’ol Wikipedia, the supermarket shut down in 2001. What a shame. Too bad the trolleys dewired a few times. Turning slowly or driving around bends slowly would do the trick, I suppose. (-: But then I wonder: Are dewirements more common when trolleys turn left or right? Or does that matter?

@SkunkRailfan Watch this：Winterthur Trolleybuses 2012-03-11

an electric fishbowl bus???

When was trolley bus ceased in Toronto?

Did the trolly buses pollute or was it zero emission?

@AM458 That mechanic was not trained right, how to operate trolley buses. Truth is driving, all driving is a art. You have it, or you do not. That guy doesn"t.

So is the bus gas powered or electric because of the overhead wires?

5:04

Oh my goodness what a headache 🤦🏾‍♂️ I never did like this wire look anyways ✌🏾

Bro Septa got the same shit

Funny how people born around Can o' duhh suppose themselves superior to everybody, especially to Americans..Frisco's trolleybuses never had to slow much through complex junctions there, they literally flew right through them.

Hahaha fail

Electric buses are not hard to drive!

Those buses are a risk to the driver and the passengers and motorists.