Halifax Transit

[Keith P.]

I always enjoyed getting one of those because they seemed so new and clean and bright inside. I recall they used a space-age style starburst pattern Formica on the ceiling. I have two distinct memories of them, The first, probably from not too long after they were put into service, was when we lived on Robie St near Young. One of them, unit number 310 (odd the things you remember) was on the hook of a big tow truck going back to the "car barn" further up Young St where NSLP had their trolley storage/maintenance facility, where the Young St Superstore is now. It had taken a hard hit to the nose in a crash somewhere and was pretty beat up. I think I eventually saw it back in service a long time later but I'm not sure.

The second memory was years later in the late '60s. I was in junior high and one afternoon a week we had "Industrial Arts" at a converted school building (Edgewood?) on the corner of Bayers and Connaught, now long gone. I don't know if that program still exists, but back then, one day a week the boys were sent to learn skills like woodworking, metalwork, etc., while the girls had Home Economics where they learned cooking, sewing and the like. How times have changed.

Anyway, a classmate had a major project where they had him build a large coffee table with a frame made from bar steel that he had to weld together, and then attach a wooden top onto, so it covered a lot of different skills. It was maybe 5 feet long and rather heavy but actually turned out nice when all the finishes were applied. At the end of term it was done and he had to get it home. Maybe there were other options, but he approached me to help him carry it over to the the bus stop on Connaught near the corner and get it to where he lived in the North End. We were wondering as we carried it over to the stop if we could even get on the bus with it. But it was mid-afternoon when the NSLP fishbowl arrived, and the driver gave us a long look before telling us to bring it aboard and take it all the way to the back since it was pretty empty at that time of day. We took it all the way to the rear and fit it in the aisle and succeeded in our task. Amazing to look back on now.