If so, then you'll know Edmonton used to have as much as 77 KM of streetcar lines before they were "Roger Rabbited" out of existence by the same Big 3 interests of the day... GM, Exxon and Goodyear if I am not mistaken...
Interestingly enough, unlike many systems there were no underhanded shenanigans in the closure of Edmonton's street railway. The process was incredibly slow. The first line to be abandoned was the Green Line, a branch into Glenora down 102nd, in 1932. It was a case where low ridership and redundancy made it more economical to run buses.
From there, things just gradually evolved. A report to better optimize the network, conducted by Toronto consultants, suggested that the City look at “Trackless Trollies” for quieter, quicker, and less cumbersome travel. In 1939 six trolleybuses were ordered, all using the same basic body, from British manufacturers: three came from the English Equipment Company/Associated Equipment Company, and another three came from Leyland. Implementation was slow, but the ultimate goal was to eventually replace all rail routes with the new technology. The three major route changes undertaken by the end of the year were Jasper East, heading towards 82nd Street, 95th Street between Jasper and 111th Avenue, and the Low Level/ Scona Road/ 99th Street route.
The big kicker to the street railway came with the Second World War. Rubber shortages and gasoline rationing forced many to take public transit and it just became
too popular. Edmonton was one of Canada’s poorest cities during the Depression and we really couldn't spend as much as we should’ve to keep up or modernize the aging fleet. During the War then, track and rolling stock alike was pushed to its literal breaking point and was simply worn thin. Come September 1945, the return of normalcy and the proliferation of the private automobile made the complete abandonment of the aged system in favour for new trollies the best decision. Busses were soon purchased to make up the slack where needed.
Whatever the cause, it's still a sad, sad end to a system with so much potential. What's fascinating is that sections of the railway were built and never used. A long stretch was built down Kingsway (then Portage) Avenue to connect 101st Street and 124th Street directly, yet no cables were ever put up and no Streetcars run.
Local historian Lawrence Herzog has written a great piece on the trollies introduction to Edmonton:
For 70 years, electric trolleybuses travelled the streets of Edmonton. Between 1939 and 2009, they provided the city with an …
citymuseumedmonton.ca
There was also a line that went all the way to St. Albert, I believe
Yes, the Edmonton Interurban Railway! Honestly, it was a pretty abject failure. It wasn’t even “public” transit. Raymond Brutinel, a local businessman, built it as a for-profit venture. The line opened in 1912 and had closed by April 1914. A massive fire, coming from the company’s workshops, destroyed their only two cars. The Great War put a halt to any rebuilding efforts.
The LostYEG Blog has compiled a bunch of period clippings about if anyone’s interested in further reading:
Raymond Brutinel and the Montreal Syndicate’s Edmonton Interurban Railway Meanwhile, Brutinel looks to Prince Rupert, B.C. Interurban to Lake Wabamun considered… Criticism hits the news…
lostyeg.wordpress.com
P.S. I think we may need a
thread merge. That is unless we keep this one strictly to the history of the original system and the other to the present volunteer one.
