"Toronto", Engine #2 Photograph coloured with watercolour. 1881. 18.5 x 35.4 cm. TPL (TRL) JRR 1115 On May 16, 1853, the "Toronto", a wood-fired steam engine, pulled away from a platform at Front and Simcoe streets. Guided by William Hickett with assistants, Charles McCall and Joseph Lopes, it steamed toward Machell's Corners (Aurora) thirty miles away. This trip along the roughly graded track took five hours. A horse and cart took two days to cover the same distance. By July, the same engine was making the longer 42 mile trip to Bradford in a little over one hour. The "Toronto," built at James Good's foundry at Yonge and Lot (Queen) streets, was the first locomotive built in Canada. The fan shaped cowcatcher was designed to push aside large objects lying on the track to prevent the engine derailing. Originally this engine had no headlight because the train did not run at night. Behind the large smokestack were a steam whistle and a big brass bell that let people know the train was coming. The engine pulled a tender, which carried a 1,800 gallon water tank and 4' hardwood logs that fuelled the engine. Stops for wood and water were frequent. (Photo dated 1881, engine rebuilt in 1855)