Hawker Siddeley Canada H5
| Hawker Siddeley H5 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Delivered | 1976-1979 |
| Numbered | 5670-5807 |
| Lines | Yonge-University-Spadina |
| Seats | 76 |
| Control | Chopper |
| |
The Hawker Siddeley Canada H5 is a type of subway car built for the Toronto Transit Commission. They are classified as H5 by the TTC, but are based on the common Hawker Siddeley RT75 design of previous cars.
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History
The Toronto Transit Commission recieved 138 H5 subway cars (5670-5807), ordered in 1974 and delivered between 1976 and 1979. They were ordered for the future Spadina subway line and Bloor-Danforth extensions. The H5 subway cars were the first subway cars to be equipped with air conditioning and chopper control as standard equipment. Unlike previous subway cars, the H5 used Otaco modular seating instead of bench seats. Otaco modular seating was similar to the seats used in CLRV streetcars. These seats were easier to maintain than the bench seats but some feel that they are less comfortable. They also featured redesigned end caps, compared to the previous H-cars delivered.
Ongoing Retirement and Possible Resale
The cars are scheduled to be retired and replaced by new Bombardier Toronto Rocket subway cars, which is ongoing. Initially however, T1 cars in the 5300 series assigned the Yonge-University-Spadina line moved from the YUS to the Bloor-Danforth to allow the retirement of the older H4 subway cars assigned to the B-D line. After all the H4 cars were retired in January 2012, TR deliveries started to retire H5's. Retirement has been fairly sequencial, with many of the early cars the first to go.
It was announced in September 2011 that 255 H5 and H6 cars were to be sold to EKO Rail, for refurbishing and use on a new LRT project in Lagos, Nigeria, and that the first car was already shipped. There is currently some confusion as to how many will ultimately end up in Lagos, or if the deal has fallen through as roughly a dozen H5 cars have been hauled off to Future Enterprises in Hamilton ON to be scrapped.
Painting
Originally, the front and the rear of the H5 cars were painted all black. Due to safety and visibility issues, TTC decided to experimentally repaint these areas with a variety of different, high-visibility colours. Finally the TTC settled on simply using silver paint. Aside from the Gloucesters and one-off experiment of painting H1 cars 5496 and 5497 red, the H5 cars were the only other revenue subway cars to be painted anything other than the standard silver (ends) and black or grey (roof).
Spotting Features
- Flush-mounted lighting on flat end caps at the top ends.
- Yellow interior doors and doorways.
- End gate bumpers new flat plate design, instead of sideways T-shaped on previous H-series cars.
- Silver gasket around front window opposite operator controls.
- Front windows now mounted flush instead of recessed like on previous orders.
- Side indicator light cluster now has 3 lights, instead of 2 on the previous H4 class.
Exception: 5796 has various external and interior spotting features almost identical to the T1 class (see below).
Interesting Facts
- 5804-5807 were ordered to replace H1 cars 5388-5391 (destroyed by a vandal-instigated fire at Christie Station on October 1976).
- 5804-5807 were delivered with high-visibility red and orange stripes on their front ends. The stripes were removed in the mid-1990s.
- 5804-5807 were equipped with M.A.N. (Germany) trucks. Hawker Siddeley acquired the right to manufacture these trucks. This allowed the company to test the design in North America service, and were later used under the H6 subway cars and ALRV's.
- 5755 was involved in a split switch accident in the Greenwood yard, and was scrapped after the accident. A portion of the cab was preserved for training purpose. Its sister 5754 was modified so that it could operate as a single car (with systems of both an "A" and "B" car, and was later paired up with 5720 (see below) when its mate was destroyed.
- 5796 was modified by the UTDC and Can-Car sometime between July and December 1990 to become a testbed of some of possible interior configurations of the then-upcoming T1. It also received the same trucks that were later used under the T1 cars. It has kept those modifications since then, including a different interior colour scheme and (reduced) seating arrangement, and exterior body modifications.
- 5721 was scrapped on May 6, 1999 after it crashed into a H1 train in the Russell Hill subway accident. Its mate, 5720, was renumbered to 5754, while the original 5754 was renumbered 5755.
- 5717 caught fire on June 8th 2011 and has since been retired. Its mate 5716 has been stored (it is speculated from observation and personal spottings of active units at the time that this car may have been the first shipped to EKO Rail for refurbishing).
See also
Gallery
H5 side view
H5 interior
H5 rear "B" end view
