Quote:
Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
Here's a neat photo from the Chronicle Herald Archives showing the new trolleybuses at the corner of Spring Garden and Barrington on March 1, 1949.
I find it interesting that all the cobblestones and rails are still in place, I imagine due to the rail system having just been taken out of service, or still running with some overlap. Definitely a photo which illustrates some transition between services, in any case.
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The last day of service for the street railway was 26 March, 1949. I certainly wouldn't want to suggest something in the Herald was -- gasp -- in error, but when I saw that image in the paper this week I was puzzled by the claimed publication date of March 1. According to an article in the April 1954 edition of
Canadian Rail (published just five years after the trolley coaches were introduced), tram service on downtown routes (1, 2, 7 and 8) ended on 26 March. Further, it says there was no overlap; the catenary system for the trams (one wire) was different than for the trolleys (two wires) so it had to be removed before the new lines went up, with rented buses providing service during the transition.
So I can't say for certain the Herald information is wrong but it doesn't seem to be consistent with other sources. And, speaking generally, I am frequently irritated by the limited information and obvious lack of basic research that often accompanies those archival shots in the Herald.
Source:
Canadian Rail 17