Streetcar Systems in Canadian Cities
 

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the "Streetcar Systems in Canadian Cities" thread. This is a place for general discussion on the streetcar systems in Canada. Here you can share information on developed systems, u/c systems and upcoming/proposed systems.

Let's see what your city has and we can comparision :)

Enjoy!

Can we include street car systems that don't exist?

Well Toronto is currently the only city that I know of to have a full working (non tourist) transit streetcar system. Vancouver is building one for the Olympic Village which hopes to end up going to Stanley Park and maybe the UBC.

Edmonton has a nice historical touristy streetcar that goes across the High Level Bridge. It has 3 stops I believe, two downtown, and one in Strathcona. It crosses the river from what I heard is the highest point for a streetcar in the world - pretty amazing. There is also a touristy streetcar in Fort Edmonton that goes around the attraction - although I remember that more of a train - haven't been there in a while.

I really hope Edmonton seriously considers a full flung streetcar system. I just look at the Portland system in awe. We here have great potential for an awesome streetcar system and already have some existing infrastructure from the high level one. Plus they are so cool to look at and have way more appeal than just a bus. Edmonton's downtown, Oliver, High Street, and Old Strathcona areas would really benefit from one. I sort of envy Vancouver for getting one.

Sure, why not?

Montreal's been planning one for a while now, the mayor and pro-transit groups have been aggressively pushing for it but of course....

:hell: Skytrain all the way to UBC!!!

Ok, I don't want to see them ending the E-Line extension at Cambie and Broadway. Or even ending it at 4th.

A lot of people do support it all the way the way to UBC :yes: That's why the project is called "UBC extension line"

Hamilton: Ripped up in 1955. Transit system still retains the name: "Hamilton Street Railway".

Plans are being thrown together for 2 light rail lines within the city which would be constructed within the next 2 years.

We also had trolley buses which were taken away in the early 1990's (much like Toronto).

Perfect! Looks like major cities across Canada are planning these. We shall see how it all goes. Post your pics/maps here as well!

Edmonton probably won't get streetcars anytime soon. They just abandoned their trolley buses. :(

Some photos of Hamilton's stock:

http://www.trainweb.org/elso/images/hsr511.jpg
(From "Electric Lines in Southern Ontario" - http://www.trainweb.org/elso/hsr.htm)


http://www.trainweb.org/elso/images/hsr7801.jpg
(From "Electric Lines in Southern Ontario" - http://www.trainweb.org/elso/hsr-tc.htm)

Today:

http://www.jncorporation.ca/hsr/phot...de60lfr_02.jpg
(From "Hamilton Transit Photos" - http://www.jncorporation.ca/hsr/index.htm)

I should note that the above picture of the articulated diesel bus was taken in the exact same spot as trolley bus 7801 is sitting, about 30-40 years later. Note the completion of the buildings under construction in the first photo.

^^Very interesting you bring them up. Also they're still in service, but they will be gone in '10.

There has been discussion over at Connect2Edmonton about having a streetcar system replace the old trolley bus. There has been a bit of interest by Edmonton, mostly the urban enthusiasts/forumers but it has met controversy such as traffic issues, ROWs, etc. like any other city might have. I could seriously see Edmonton building a streetcar system if it's smart in the next 10 years. Maybe even Calgary too. Tomorrow I'll try and make up a map of how I'd plan a streetcar in Edmonton.

Fort Edmonton operates both the old steam loco, as well as several old streetcars that were restored and are operated by the Edmonton Radial Railway Society (who also operate the High Level Bridge streetcar). These guys do amazing work, and have a huge stock of historical streetcars both operational and undergoing restoration.

You definitely should go down to the park, EE, and take that new camera of yours. You'll have a great time. :tup:

ETA Photos!

The old loco:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/117/2...359c5d5a8f.jpg

TTC 4612:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/101/2...262a3011da.jpg

ETS 42:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/100/2...9b02d63868.jpg

ETS 80:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/106/2...b5afb00ffa.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/110/2...60a7e0b34b.jpg

All photos mine:
http://creativecommons.org/images/pu...merights20.gif http://l.yimg.com/g/images/cc_icon_attribution.gifhttp://l.yimg.com/g/images/cc_icon_noncomm.gifhttp://l.yimg.com/g/images/cc_icon_sharealike.gif

^I think the last time I was there was errr 2007 now, I used to go there all the time though. Anyways I'd love a modern streetcar system in Edmonton with modern cars like those in Vancouver and Portland.

^ You mean these in Vancouver:

http://i38.tinypic.com/2uti91w.jpg

http://www.bombardier.com/files/en/s...7-Brussels.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/2vu0bo0.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/71lg5l.jpg

^yes. SOOO hot! SOOO modern!

Calgary's tram system ran through most of what's now the inner city from 1909 to 1950. The map Gabor Sandi posted on his site shows how much the city expanded after the Second World War:

http://www.tundria.com/trams/CAN/Calgary-1945.gif

There hasn't been much talk of restoring trams to Calgary's inner city--yet.

has there been much interest by the city of calgary? even on the forum level?

on another note, here's the toronto streetcar:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3010/...bd20fbefe6.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3010/...bd20fbefe6.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3287/...77693e5eb2.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3287/...77693e5eb2.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/59/17...0e8852baa4.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/59/17...0e8852baa4.jpg

Good on Toronto for having a system!:tup:

Calgary's Centre City Plan has some mentions of possibly restoring a loop for the downtown and beltline. There hasn't been any concrete movement on it yet, but I think it's just a matter of time. The Calgary forum has had several discussions about potential routes to supplement the full LRT system.

No we didn't. We'll be abandoning them this weekend. But don't tell them or they'll get all hysterical when we leave.

Edmonton's recent decision to scrap the trolley buses doesn't reflect at all on the future of streetcars. Our trolley buses are about 30 years old and are about half of the remaining highfloor fleet, and were the only old vehicles that were never upgraded to power steering. The overhead infrastructure is even older and most of the trolley routes are short and windy, with lots of corners and switches that dewire especially in the dead of winter, and the routes are for the most part the Streetcar routes that made sense in 1930, with little change since then.

The city rebuilt part of, and extended the ERRS's track and added some nice landscaping and a bike path alongside about 5 years ago. The new north side stations are really nice. It's popular, too. The last time I was on it, on a weekday afternoon, it was full both ways.

There's also a proposal to expand the Fort Edmonton Park system out of the park proper, underneath the quesnel bridge to whitemud park. The ERRS has an old bridge in storage for the creek crossing.