RAPIDO TRAINS: Canadian Light Rail Vehicle

Charls Gendron
Jul 8
3 min read

This is a conditional announcement with a 5% early bird discount if you order by September 15th, 2025

In the 1970s, most North American cities were discontinuing their streetcar operations in favour of increased road capacity or light/heavy rail systems. Most cities except Toronto! Toronto’s citizens, spurred by the recent successes against the Spadina Expressway and concerned about the Toronto Transit Commission’s desire to eliminate all streetcars by 1980, successfully lobbied the TTC to continue their streetcar operations. This also meant the TTC would need to find a worthy successor to their ageing fleet of vehicles, and fast.

Most streetcars in their fleet were 30 years old or older and there were no off-the-shelf replacements available. Upgrades to the TTC’s current fleet kept them afloat while the agency went on the hunt for a new car. Enter the Canadian Light Rail Vehicle, commonly referred to as the CLRV. With the help of funding from the Ontario government, which did its part to end the push for the Spadina Expressway, the TTC purchased 200 new vehicles. These would enter service for the first time on the 507 Long Branch route in late 1979. As more vehicles entered service, more routes would fill up with the CLRVs.

Throughout the years, the CLRV became the face of the system. These vehicles operated until 2019 as the backbone of the TTC fleet. Many still survive today in museum collections. The TTC itself even has a vehicle preserved in their possession!

HO Scale TTC Canadian Light Rail Vehicle Features:

Accurately scaled from the 3D scan and prototype drawings
Power collection via track power or combined trolley pole and track power
Road number-specific details including original couplers or front skirts
All-wheel pickup and truck-mounted motors
Highly detailed interior including seats and operator controls
Fully functioning "Short Turn" flag sign on the front (where appropriate)
Factory-applied destination signs
Additional decals to change the destination sign display (where appropriate)
Fully-functioning lighting including brake lights and turn signals (DCC Only)
MoPower capacitor system for uninterrupted DCC running
DC/Silent (21-pin DCC Ready) or DC/DCC/ESU LokSound