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Today's Throwback Thursday fondly remembers a beloved Edmonton oddity: The ÜSTRA - Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe 601, also known as the UHV 601 or just "Car 601".
This unusual streetcar was operated by the Edmonton Radial Railway Society between 2005 and 2016, as part of the fleet of historical streetcars operating on the top deck of the High Level Bridge between May and October, often seen during the Fringe Festival shuttling passengers between Old Strathcona and Downtown on the highest streetcar deck in the world.
The six-axle, 60-foot-long light-rail vehicle was originally one of two prototypes built in 1970 for the city of Hannover, Germany, produced jointly by Siemens and Düwag - two names that might be familiar to Edmontonians as the companies that built the original "U2" LRT cars that have operated in the city since 1978. UHV 601, built to operate as a hybrid streetcar and subway car, is considered to be a precursor to the U2 models which share many design aspects.
The 601 operated in Hannover until 1975 when it was replaced by eight-axle cars of a similar design which was also produced by Siemens-Düwag. Shortly thereafter, it was purchased by the government of British Columbia, refurbished in Düsseldorf, and shipped to Vancouver in 1980. The plan at the time was to use it as a demonstration vehicle for a light-rail system to be built for Expo '86.
Unfortunately for Car 601, a change in plans saw Vancouver's future rapid transit system adopt the newer Linear Induction Motor technology for what would become the SkyTrain system, and UHV 601 was left to languish in a transit shed for several years.
The Edmonton Radial Railway Society - created to restore and operate historical streetcars to operate in Fort Edmonton Park and over the High Level Bridge - entered negotiations to lease the car from the B.C. Transit authority in 1987. B.C. Transit decided instead to sell the car to the Society outright, and the car was trucked from Vancouver to Edmonton in January of 1988.
ERRS worked to make the vehicle operational again over the next year; when word of the project reached some engineers at Edmonton Transit Systems, an offer was made to move the car to the D.L. McDonald LRT Garage, where the ETS engineers could add their volunteer time and expertise to overhaul the car back to an operational state, which they did between 1989 and 1998.
Despite the years of hard work making the vehicle operational again, the UHV 601 still could not be tested outside of the LRT yard, due to the narrower wheels being incompatible with the switches on the LRT mainline.
Siemens' Canadian operations took an interest in the history of the car, however, and the work being done to restore it. The company sponsored a replacement of the wheels and a new pantograph that would allow the car to operate on the LRT mainline.
The UHV 601 took its longest drive in 23 years in September 1998, making two trips between Clareview to University stations while interlined with regular LRT cars and service.
Car 601 returned to the ERRS bus barns in Old Strathcona in 2005, where it entered service between Old Strathcona and Downtown via the High Level Bridge, and continued to operate until September 2016.
Strassenbahn Hannover had expressed an interest in purchasing the vehicle back in 2013, hoping to return it to Hannover to complete the city's historical collection. ERRS sold it to them for just $1 CAD.
UHV 601 was shipped back overseas in October 2016, finally returning home to Hannover after 36 years.
It may have always seemed just a little out-of-place here, but UHV 601 was beloved by many who worked on, operated, or just enjoyed a ride across the High Level Bridge. Edmonton is now and forever part of the German light rail car's history, just as it will remain part of Edmonton's.
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