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From the North Shore News:

Wheels rolling on plan for Streetcar 153

Council ponders running heritage car on less expensive flat route
Heidi Castle and Joanna Habdank, North Shore News

Published: Sunday, August 19, 2007

There's plenty of desire to keep the wheels rolling on a piece of the City of North Vancouver's history.

City council is taking a look at re-enlisting the services of streetcar No. 153, a lovingly refurbished trolley that first saw service in 1908 on tracks that ran from the foot of Lonsdale Avenue to 23rd Street. Currently it's stationed underneath the Fen Burdett Stadium in Mahon Park.

A few years ago, the city completed a study at a price tag of $75,000 that found the initial investment to get the car zipping along its old Lonsdale route wound be $21 million. That didn't include the operational cost, which would be substantial and have to include professionally-trained engineers to manage the tricky North Shore hills, said Mayor Darrell Mussatto.

City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto and Coun. Craig Keating take a trip down memory lane inside the refurbished Streetcar 153, currently in storage while plans for its future are discussed.

But there is some hope the car could run as a vintage streetcar service on an east to west flat route from Park and Tilford Shopping Centre to Kings Mill Walk -- or some portion of that stretch.

Another possible route is running it from the foot of Lonsdale westward to the Automall site, said Mussatto. That would involve working with Squamish Nation and CN Rail since tracks would likely have to be laid close to or beside the occupied lands.

The cost of running the streetcar on a flat route is a considerably lower $4 million, but that still means the city couldn't take on the full cost. "It would probably be a combination of municipal and private sector and voluntary contributions," said Mussatto.

He acknowledged that the city has financial priorities other than the streetcar. "But," he said, "I still think that we can find a way to get the streetcar back in action."

While the car has been out of service since 1947, and was most recently used as a chicken coop in the Fraser Valley, it was the object of a four-year grand passion by Bob Booth, an engineer living in North Vancouver, to see it restored. He volunteered his time and restored the streetcar to its original condition. The cost of the restoration came at around $200,000.

"It's quite an amazing job he did," noted Mussatto. He added that the electric streetcar is important for the city as a reminder of its rich history and the idea of sustainable transportation.

Over the years many people including former mayors Jack Loucks and Barbara Sharpe pushed to see the streetcar put back into action. "It was a number of people's labour of love," said Mussatto.

Bringing No. 153 back to life fits in with the development in Lower Lonsdale and the time is right given that it will be the streetcar's centenary next year, he said.

Streetcar No. 153 has struck a chord with many people, said Mussatto.

"I put forward the motion, which passed unanimously, to get the streetcar as a static display or to get it working," he said.

"Whether or not it runs east or west it should come out of mothballs and be put where people can see it," said Coun. Barbara Perrault during a recent council discussion on the topic.

Council voted unanimously in favour of exploring options for streetcar No. 153.

© North Shore News 2007