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link is dead. you mean this streetcar, right? It looks to be in rough shape. The news articles online make it sound like a restoration gone sideways. I can't find an article confirming this, but it looks to be a European PCC, like this 1956 model. ERRS currently has 1 PCC in operation and 2 more in storage; all three are of the original North American body style. The PCC design was brought to Europe around WW2, where it long outlived the original model. Cars like the Brussels model I linked to use the same frame design and mechanicals (later models being more heavily modified, of course) with a different, squarer body. PCCs are pretty common in NA heritage railways. They are easy to operate, relatively easy to maintain, and parts are very easy to come by, as thousands were produced over the period of a couple decades. that being said, this Vancouver car is a European version, so that compatibility may be limited (the fact they rebuilt the controller rather than sourcing a replacement seems odd).
In the archives, I found a newsletter article that Palmer co-authored after his visit. He has quite a lot of praise for the system, despite how much it had shrunk by the time he arrived. He also quotes ETS Superintendent Ferrier about why we most likely would not keep the system for much longer (we came closer to keeping it than you might think). I put the article here if you want to read it. Some of it is hard to read because the ink is faded, and I had to take pictures with my phone since we don't have a scanner there; let me know if you want me to clarify what something says. Another thing I found, and put online, is a rule book for ERR motormen and conductors that was published in July 1914. You can access it here.
www.forgottenedmonton.com
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Nothing is finalized or confirmed yet, but the board is considering options for doing some service or charters in the Christmas season! We'll also be doing some holiday service at Fort Edmonton Park
Membership a big constraint for sure. Covid took a huge bite out of the number of active volunteers, and it's no wonder why considering a lot of the membership is elderly and most of their operations shut down for at least a year. Things are getting better, but we still couldn't go to five day/week operations this year (in 2019 we were at 7 days/week, now we're at 4).
As an aside, there's no pressure at all folks but their new website (https://edmontonstreetcars.ca) has a donation function and I encourage anyone who is able and willing to consider donating. Each contribution goes a long way. For example, there are 2,000 bridge timbers on the High Level Bridge (similar to rail ties but carved to the specific contour of where they're placed) and a lot will need to be replaced in the coming years. The urgent cases, somewhere between 50-200 (I forget the exact number) need to be replaced this coming spring. Each one costs more than $3,100 to replace, so they're facing tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses for this one maintenence issue alone.
