synonymouse Wrote:
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> Keep the fabulous streetcar photos coming, Drew.
>
> I assume Toronto kept the trolley poles to keep
> the overhead compatible with trolley coach?

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Good thought. Transit Toronto's FAQ page provides this info, and more:

Why doesn't the TTC use the pantograph on streetcars?

Well, it will. The new Light Rail Vehicles currently under order and rolling out between 2014 and 2018 will ship with both trolley pole and pantograph and gradually shift from the former to the latter as Toronto's network of overhead wires is upgraded to be pantograph friendly. But how did Toronto's trolley poles last so long?

Mark Brader also notes that another issue on the TTC's mind may have been the fact that streetcars were being operated alongside trolley buses in Toronto until 1993. Trolley buses require trolley poles so they can flexibly connect with the trolley wires (can anybody picture a pantograph for a trolley bus?). Although cities such as San Francisco and Edmonton have shown that pantograph and trolley wires can intersect, the intersections are a lot more complicated affairs.