Editing Line 1 Yonge–University (section)

===Construction===
[[File:Front street excavation.jpg|thumb|left|Subway excavations in front of [[Union Station (Toronto)|Union Station]] (left) on [[Front Street (Toronto)|Front Street]] in 1950]]
[[File:Yonge subway home demolition.png|thumb|left|Homes were expropriated then demolished east of Yonge Street near Summerhill in order to construct a [[cut-and-cover]] tunnel.]]
During [[World War II]], workers travelling from their homes in "northern Toronto" (which would now be considered the downtown core) to the industrial areas to the east and west of the downtown area on Yonge seriously strained the existing road and streetcar networks. There was concern that the expected post-war boom in car ownership would choke the city with traffic. The scheme was first proposed by Toronto Transportation Commission in 1942 to relieve congestion, which was delaying their bus and tram services.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=The Railway Magazine |date=June 1954 |pages=420–425 |editor-first=B.W.C. |editor-last=Cooke |publisher=Tothill Press |location=Westminster |number=638 |volume=100 |title=Yonge Street Subway, Toronto}}</ref> The TTC formed a Rapid Transit Department and studied various solutions between 1942 and 1945.

A plan was put to the voters on January 1, 1946. The plan had two parts. First, it featured a "rapid transit subway" operated with subway trains from Eglinton Avenue to the north as far as [[College Street (Toronto)|College Street]] to the south. The line would continue directly under Yonge and Front Streets to Union Station. Second would be a "surface car subway", diverting streetcar services off Queen Street and Dundas Street. This would run mostly along Queen Street, with each end angling north to reach Dundas Street west of [[Trinity Bellwoods Park|Trinity Park]] to the west and Gerrard Street at Pape Avenue. The route would run directly under Queen Street from University Avenue to Church Street, with the rest off-street.<ref name="editorial">"The Toronto Subway Referendum" (editorial), ''[[Toronto Star|Toronto Daily Star]]'', December 1, 1945, p.&nbsp;6</ref><ref name="referendum-ad">"Rapid Transit for Toronto" (TTC advertisement), ''Toronto Daily Star'', December 12, 1945, p.&nbsp;26</ref> The vote was overwhelmingly in favour, and Toronto City Council approved construction four months later.<ref name="bhist" />

The plebiscite contained the condition that the federal government would subsidize 20 percent of the project. The federal Minister of Reconstruction, [[C. D. Howe|C.D. Howe]], promised federal support in an October 3, 1945, letter. However, the funding fell through over a disagreement about the details of the employment arrangements. A scaled down proposal, about 20 percent smaller, was agreed to in its place. The work along Queen Street was abandoned temporarily, and the original $42.3{{nbsp}}million (${{Formatprice|{{inflation|CA|42300000|1945}}}} in {{Inflation-year|CA}}) was reduced to $28.9{{nbsp}}million (${{Formatprice|{{inflation|CA|28900000|1945}}}} in {{Inflation-year|CA}}) plus $3.5{{nbsp}}million (${{Formatprice|{{inflation|CA|3500000|1945}}}} in {{Inflation-year|CA}}) for rolling stock.<ref name="bhist" /> After a two-year delay due to postwar labour shortages, construction on the new subway did not start until September 8, 1949. A total of {{convert|1.3|m3|cuyd|abbr=off|disp=preunit|million |million }} of material was removed and some {{convert|12700|tonne}} of reinforcing steel and 1.4{{nbsp}}million bags of cement were put into place.<ref name="bhist" /> A roughed-in station was constructed below {{stl|TTC|Queen}} station for a proposed [[Queen subway line|Queen line]], but that line was never built.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://transittoronto.ca/subway/5006.shtml |title=Toronto's Lost Subway Stations |website=transittoronto.ca |date=November 28, 2010 |access-date=February 17, 2012 |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927031446/https://transittoronto.ca/subway/5006.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:HCRY-Chicago-48.jpg|thumb|The TTC intended the subway to use streetcar-derived trains, like this former [[1–50 series (CTA)|Chicago 'L' train]] preserved at the [[Halton County Radial Railway]].]]
[[File:The Red Rocket.jpg|thumb|The Gloucester ([[G series (Toronto subway)|G-series]]) trains were chosen to be the system's first rolling stock.]]
Service on the Yonge route would be handled by new rolling stock, and the TTC was particularly interested in the [[6000-series (CTA)|Chicago series 6000 cars]], which used trucks, wheels, motors, and drive control technologies that had been developed and perfected on [[PCC streetcar]]s. However, the United States was in the midst of the [[Korean War]] at the time, which had caused a substantial increase in metal prices, thus making the PCC cars too expensive for the TTC. Instead, in November 1951, an order was placed with the [[Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company]] in England for [[G series (Toronto subway)|104 cars]] for $7,800,000 (${{Formatprice|{{inflation|CA|7800000|1951}}}} in {{Inflation-year|CA}}) including spare parts.[[File:Toronto Transit Commission rapid transit logo 1946.svg|thumb|TTC rapid transit logo, 1946, used during the construction of the subway]]
The [[Toronto Subway (typeface)|Toronto Subway typeface]] and TTC logo were also designed during this period. The logo used during the subway's development was designed by mid-century architect [[John C. Parkin]] and chief architect Arthur Keith. Against the wishes of Walter Paterson, the chief engineer, TTC chairman William McBrien and general manager H.C. Patten rejected the design in favour of one that was more similar to the one previously used on TTC vehicles.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bateman |first1=Chris |title=TTC's subway station typeface a font of intrigue |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-ttcs-subway-station-typeface-a-font-of-intrigue/ |website=The Globe and Mail |date=April 13, 2018 |access-date=August 9, 2018 |archive-date=April 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418041403/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-ttcs-subway-station-typeface-a-font-of-intrigue/ |url-status=live }}</ref>