The G-series rapid transit

Rapid transit

A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 cars were a Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 subway car model, built between 1953 and 1959.

The cars were built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company

Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company

Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company was a railway rolling stock manufacturer based at Gloucester, England; from 1860 until 1986....

 for the Toronto Transit Commission

Toronto Transit Commission

-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...

.

The cars are influenced by Gloucester's Q38 and R stocks

London Underground R Stock

The R38, R47, R49, and R59 Stock cars were built for the District Line in 1938, 1949, 1952 and 1959. R Stock cars were driving motors and non-driving motors...

 built for the London Underground

London Underground

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

. Since the TTC's original concept for the subway system foresaw the use of rapid transit cars derived from the PCC streetcar

PCC streetcar

The PCC streetcar design was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful in its native country, and after World War II was licensed for use elsewhere in the world...

, like the
Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....

's 6000-series

Chicago 'L' rolling stock

The rolling stock of the Chicago 'L rapid transit system consists of 1,190 rail cars dating from 1969 to 1994, delivered in four series: the 2200-series, 2400-series, 2600-series, and 3200-series, also known as the High Performance Family, because of innovative design and technological features...

 cars, they also bear some minor influences of these. These influences are visible in the use of bulls-eye incandescent lighting similar to that of a PCC car (one pair of cars later had fluorescent lighting installed), and the small operator's cabin located in the front left corner of each car. The Chicago influence was felt through the work of DeLeuw, Cather & Co. of Chicago, whom the TTC contracted as a consultant for the rapid transit project.

The G-series cars were frequently described as "robust and reliable", despite being constructed overweight and energy-inefficient. The last cars in this series were retired from revenue service in 1990.

The only surviving cars in original condition are 5098/5099, which reside at the Halton County Radial Railway

Halton County Radial Railway

The Halton County Radial Railway is a working museum of electric streetcars, other railway vehicles, trolleybusses and buses. It is operated by the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association...

 in Milton, Ontario

Milton, Ontario

Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...

.

Design variances

A total of 140 cars were built. Most were steel-bodied and had painted exteriors; however, six (G-2 series) experimental aluminum-bodied cars demonstrated the benefits of using aluminum for rapid transit car construction. The G-3 class cars were built as 'non-driving-motors' in that they were motorized but not equipped with driving controls.

Formation

The G cars were originally designed in 2-car "married pair" formations, and were run in trains consisting of 2, 3 or 4 sets (4, 6 or 8 cars). When the G-3 class non-driving cars were introduced in 1956, 14 pairs of the G-3 class cars were inserted between G-1 class cars to form semi-permanently coupled 4-car trainsets, which could be coupled to the 2-car sets or operated on their own.

G-Work cars

Upon retirement from revenue service several G-Series cars were rebuilt or refitted for duties as subway work cars.

• 5068/5069 converted to grinder cars RT-36/RT-37 in 1991 and are now retired
• 5100/5101 converted to garbage cars RT38/RT39 in 1987 and were retired in 1998
• 5102/5103 converted to grinding cars RT-34/RT-35 and were retired after an accident with a T1 subway car
  T-series (Toronto Subway car)
  The T-series rapid transit cars are a Toronto subway car model, ordered in 1992 and built in 1995-2001. The cars were built by Bombardier Transportation's Thunder Bay Works for the Toronto Transit Commission...
  
  in 2004
• 5104/5105 became tunnel washing units RT14/RT15 in 1988 and were retired in 1999

Model G cars

Two 1/16 scale models of cars 5042 and 5043 were commissioned by Sir Leslie Boyce of GRC&W and constructed by Bassett & Lowke, and have been located at Hillcrest and Greenwood at various times.