The
Model Railroad Club of Toronto was
founded in 1938 by Harry Ebert an Borden
Lilley.
Originally located in Harry Ebert’s
basement, the model railroad club of
Toronto (MRTC) soon moved to new
premises at Toronto union station.
Following world war 2 the railways
required the union station space the
club occupied so a hunt for a new home
was on. In January 1946 the club moved
to its long time location in the
basement of East Liberty Street a former
munitions factory. In April 2013 the
club relocated to 11 Curity avenue,
Toronto. Over the past 78 years a great
many have belonged to the club and
enjoyed themselves through fellowship
with others that share passion for the
hobby. For many memberships at the model
railroad club of Toronto has a lifelong
commitmentThe
Model Railroad Club of Toronto was
fortunate in having its home in the same
premises from January 1946 to April
2013, occupying two former Bren gun test
ranges in a building purpose-built for
gun production during World War II. At
the conclusion of the war, the Canadian
Government leased the building to
commercial tenants and in 1950 sold the
property to a company formed by a
majority of those tenants. The Model
Railroad Club of Toronto was the first
tenant to occupy the building in 1946,
became a shareholder/tenant in 1950, and
was the last surviving tenant of that
era to leave, a span of over 67 years.
The Central Ontario
Railway had been running for thirty-two
years before succumbing to Mackenzie and
Mann, builders of the Canadian Northern
Railway, to feed their main line between
Toronto and Ottawa. The first train ran
from Picton to Trenton in 1880 under its
original name, the Prince Edward County
Railway. Two years later, as the Central
Ontario Railway, multiple expansions
began in order to reach the areas of
relatively unexploited iron ore
discoveries recently found to the north.
The intention was to connect with the
Canada Atlantic Railway (later absorbed
by the Grand Trunk Railway) near
Whitney, but they didn't quite make it.
Construction was halted some eight miles
away and never resumed. Despite the
railway's reliance on the mining
industry, haulage of farmers' produce
and sawn lumber proved to be steady, as
did passenger traffic.
Today’s Central
Ontario as it is presented in model
form, is a loose representation of the
original. While our town’s are named
after Club members, we endeavor to name
passenger cars after towns along the
original route as well as trying to
capture some of the flavor of that era
through the types of industries we have
built on our layout..
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