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Friday 11am - 4:09pm Saturday 9am - 4:09pm Sunday 11am - 4:09pm

https://www.edmontonstreetcars.ca/

Edmonton Radial Railway Society, 8408 Gateway Boulevard NW, Edmonton, AB (2024)

11/26/2024

Christmas Market Starts this week!
is hosting their Christmas Market again this year, running Thursdays through Sundays at the park. ERRS will be operating 2 streetcars for the event, Toronto 4612 and Edmonton 80 (both with working heat!). Stop by and check out the vendors in Blatchford Hangar and elsewhere on 1920 street, and of course ride the streetcar!
Please note that the car gets very full at times, so we do not allow any food or drink on the car to avoid spills. As well, we cannot accommodate strollers, wagons, or other equipment on the car, please just bring yourself.
We'll be there every week of the market, check out yegxmasmarket.com for full details on the market, market starts this Thursday. Happy Holidays!

11/21/2024

Join ERRS and at the 2024 Winter Whyte Light Up as we get into the holiday spirit!
Winter Whyte Light Up is November 30th, from 4-8pm, with events centred on McIntyre Park and 83 Ave. Winter Whyte Light Up will feature live performers, a variety show, art displays, a festive market, and more; most importantly, it will have a streetcar!
We will be running free short-turn service for the evening, until 7:30 pm. Come take a ride on Edmonton 33, our original 1912 streetcar, all decorated for the holidays! Follow the signs to our Strathcona Platform to catch the streetcar!
Please note: rides are first come, first served. Capacity is limited, we will turn people away if the car is already full for its run. Strollers, walkers, baggage, dogs/pets, and other items cannot be accommodated. Runs are approximately 15 minutes, and not scheduled, runs will leave as the car fills. Edmonton 33 has minimal heat, please dress appropriately for the outdoor temperature.
Check out oldstrathcona.ca/holidays for more information on Winter Whyte Light Up and everything else happening in Old Strathcona this holiday season!

11/15/2024

Happy first day of snow!
ERRS is feeling extra festive with today's weather, and we have good news! Tickets to our public rides for our special High Level Bridge Christmas Car service are still available! Check out our website (edmontonstreetcars.ca) for tickets.
Speaking of frosty weather, do you know how streetcars were kept warm back in the day? While some streetcars had electric heat as well (including Edmonton #33 (pic 1 on our High Level Bridge line) and Edmonton #80 (pic 2 at Fort Edmonton Park)), all of Edmonton's fleet were equipped with coal stoves (pic 3) to provide heat. These stoves were up by the front door, and tended by motormen as they drove. They were equipped with a small electric fan to blow warm air back into the passenger area. These stoves were needed because the electric heaters drew too much power, at a time when electricity was many times more expensive than it is today. Edmonton #33 was delivered without a stove in 1912 (which is why it doesn't have one now) but a stove was added in 1913 to reduce electricity consumption. The coal stoves were a nuisance to run and maintain, as well as a huge fire hazard (ERR even lost a car to a fire started by an intended stove left burning overnight), but provided heat more cheaply than electric could at the time.
Nowadays the stoves are just for show, and we use the electric heat to keep our cars toasty warm. Come check us out at both the High Level Bridge and Fort Edmonton Park this winter. Schedules and tickets at edmontonstreetcars.ca

10/31/2024

Happy Halloween from ERRS! 🎃

In case you hadn’t heard, there was an incident on our High Level Bridge line! 😱 The evil Doctor Trolleybus tried to sabatoge one of our streetcars so that they could replace our system with buses! Luckily, Spider-Man showed up to help Motorman Harv bring the tram to a stop safely! Thank you Spider-Man!

(For legal reasons obviously this didn’t actually happen and there’s no such villain named Doctor Trolleybus even if it does seem totally plausible and if someone decides to take up that mantle they owe us royalties)

Also, Spider-Man got special permission from our society to stand on the front of the tram while it was idle. Please refrain from standing on or near railway equipment and property without permission! 🚋

10/09/2024

Christmas Car is back this year!
ERRS is excited to announce we will be running Christmas Car service on the High Level Bridge this holiday season (weather dependant), as well as providing two-car service for 's Christmas Market. This is the most festive way to ride the streetcar!
Christmas Car service on the High Level Bridge will consist of both private charters and pre-ticketed public service. We will also be doing short-turn service for 's Winter Whyte Light Up. Charters can be booked via our website starting October 15th, and public service tickets will be available starting November 1st.
Christmas Market service at Fort Edmonton Park will be complimentary as part of the event.
Please check out edmontonstreetcars.ca for full details regarding tickets, schedules, and passenger information.

08/15/2024

It's Fringe!
ERRS is excited to be running our special Fringe streetcar service this year for . Starting today until the end of Fringe, ERRS will be offering service between Jasper Plaza and Fringe HQ in Old Strathcona. Service starts at 11am every day, (9am Saturdays) and continues until 9pm, with cars running every 40 minutes. Please see the full schedule on edmontonstreetcars.ca for more details. Regular fares apply.
Please note: our service will be stopping at Fringe and will not be running to Whyte Ave or our regular Strathcona stop. This means our wheelchair ramp is also inaccessible. Fringe can be very busy, seats/space is first-come, first-serve. please do not bring wagons, strollers, or other large items on the car.
Did you know that Streetcar service on the High Level Bridge started with the Fringe? For Fringe 1995, ERRS brought Osaka 247 (pic 2) up to the bridge to ferry people to a play staged in the tunnel. This service was the start of HLB service, which first crossed the bridge as it does today in 1997. Osaka 247 is being repaired right now and won't be running this Fringe, but our other 2 cars will be out to carry on this tradition!

08/06/2024

Marigold Infrastructure Partners - Valley Line West uncovered something amazing a couple of weeks ago near the 142 Street Stop on the Valley Line West at 102 Avenue. They uncovered, in-situ, the 102 Ave streetcar line!
The 102 Ave stub line opened in the fall of 1913 to provide streetcar service to the planned neighbourhood of Glenora. Masterminded by financier James Carruthers, the neighbourhood was to be the finest in the city, with streetcar service secured by Carruthers via the bridge he paid to build over Groat Ravine. The line is identified as “A” on the 1930 map.
Unlike the popular line on nearby 124 Street, the 102 Ave stub was never well-ridden. Thanks to the economic strife brought on by WW1 and the local doldrums of the 1920’s, Glenora had not been built out to its full extent. Even by the end of the 1920’s, most of the land was still uncleared brush and forest, interspersed with grand houses facing the trees. This was not an ideal place for a streetcar, with long distances on rough track serving few local riders. In 1932, streetcar service on the 102 Ave line ended, replaced by Edmonton’s first (rather small) gas bus.
102 Ave would become key for transit later on, however. After WW2, the little gas bus was replaced by a trolleybus, running out to the then- city limit of 149 Street. This bus would provide service to Jasper Place, and was very well-used. This is the “trolley” most people now associate with 102 Ave.
The Valley Line arriving at 142 Street is special - aside from Jasper Ave, this is the only place where Edmonton’s modern LRT runs along an old streetcar route, (124 Street, Quarters, etc. are just crossings). Ironically, it’s running along ERR’s least used stub! We know VLW will be a lot more successful.
ERRS would like to thank Marigold Infrastructure Partners and City of Edmonton - Local Government for donating 7 rail spikes to our archive, the only verified ERR rail spikes in our collection, as well as their crews for putting up with us taking photos! Please note the area is an active construction site, and the ties are now gone; there is no need to trespass to see the tracks.

07/25/2024

With only four days left at this year, now is your chance to visit the display in Hall B of the EXPO Centre. The folks at ETS put together a wonderful display that takes you through the history of public transit in Edmonton. Among the artifacts displayed, you’ll find a few items, pictures, and maps that were borrowed from our own archives! We also have an ERRS volunteer onsite to help answer any history questions from the days of streetcars in Edmonton, so be sure to stop by! 🚋

06/27/2024

It's almost Canada Day! We hope to see you on one of our streetcars this weekend. Below is some info for anyone planning to ride!
Fort Edmonton Park line: ERRS will be operating regular service all weekend, with our Edmonton cars. Stop by the park for Dominion Day July 1st!
High Level Bridge line: we will be providing 2-car service on Saturday and Monday, following our regular 2-car service schedule (Monday service will begin at 11:00). Please note the last run of the day departs Whyte Ave Northbound at 3:30pm both days. There will be no streetcar service on the bridge during the fireworks display, as the bridge is closed during the show. ERRS will be running Edmonton 33 in regular passenger service on Canada Day, alongside Melbourne 930.
Please note none of our cars on either line can accommodate strollers, walkers, or wagons. ERRS has to adhere to passenger capacities and will turn away passengers if the car is too full; arrive at your stop early to ensure you get a seat. Bridge only: Fares are cash only, tickets purchased at the car before boarding.
For more info, check out edmontonstreetcars.ca or message us here. It's going to be a great weekend!

06/26/2024

ERRS is so proud of the Edmonton Oilers for the journey that they took us all on. Our city had the worldwide spotlight, and we showed what a strong community we have. It was fun to have our streetcars displaying Oilers pride on both of our lines, and we look forward to next season!

Historically, the Edmonton Radial Railway employees had a hockey team of their own! While not much is known about the team or how long it lasted, featured is a picture courtesy of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local-569 that shows the players of the 1944-45 season posing for a picture.

06/15/2024

ERRS was honoured last Friday to receive and Award from Explore Edmonton at their 2024 Edmonton Tourism Awards. ERRS was acknowledged for our sustainable operations, being 100% electrically powered. We're also proud to be a part of an Old Strathcona Hat Trick, with
and winning awards alongside us.
ERRS moved almost 60,000 people across the High Level Bridge last season, sharing the views from the bridge as well as local history to thousands of Edmontonians and visitors. All of our cars are electric, with 600 Volts DC coming off the wire and powering the traction system, as well as the compressors for our air brakes.
ERRS is operating across the High Level Bridge all summer, until Thanksgiving. Check our website for schedules and fares.
Thank you Edmonton for joining us on the bridge!

06/02/2024

One of our secrets to success on the High Level Bridge line is our outreach and ticketseller team. Working at both our Whyte Ave and Strathcona stops on most Saturdays and during busy weekends, our ticketsellers are a huge part of the ERRS HLB passenger experience, and a huge help in getting us through busy days. Every motorperson who’s driven on a Saturday has had a late run been saved by our wonderful ticketseller and outreach teams having passengers all ticketed and ready to board. They’re a lifesaver on a busy day!
Although we appreciate our ticketsellers, pre-selling tickets to the car before passengers board is not historically accurate; the Edmonton Radial Railway originally only sold tickets while on the cars. Conductors moved through the cars, collecting coin fares and tickets from passengers after they had boarded. ERR experimented with a variety of boarding and ticketing setups, notably including rear entry Pay-As-You-Enter, where the conductor would wait in the rear vestibule and collect tickets from people as they boarded; passengers would then exit the car at the front at the motorman’s door. Edmonton 33`131 is set up to be operated like this. Entering at the front and paying your fare to the driver (like on a modern bus) didn’t become normal until ERR transitioned to one-man cars in the late 1920s. All that being said, we think having our ticketsellers at the platform to help people before the car arrives is a much better modern option!
Tickets can be purchased both from our ticketsellers and from motorpersons on the car. Tickets are cash only; 8$ round trip and 5$ one way. You can check our website for full fares and schedules; or, better option, stop by and talk to one of our friendly ticketsellers the next time you’re in Old Strathcona!

05/16/2024

ARE YOU READY FOR STREETCAR?!
(Sorry for the bad grammar, we’re just really excited)
Streetcar service starts on the High Level Bridge tomorrow, and at Fort Edmonton on Saturday.
Our maintenance volunteers have been working overtime to get all our cars ready, (930 is ready right in the nick of time!) Volunteers doing car cleaning and ROW maintenance have been working hard to get ready; and our outreach & ticket seller teams are ready for a busy weekend. It’s going to be great!
To Help Fort Edmonton Celebrate 50 years, ERRS will be running a special second car service on May 18, with Edmonton 42 running all day, and Edmonton 80 from 10:00-12:00, Edmonton 1 from 12:30 -14:30, and Toronto 24 from 15:00-17:00.
Important notes for the High Level Bridge line:
Space on the car is first-come, first serve. We have strict passenger limits on our cars and will have people wait for the next run if we are full. Ticketholders on a return trip do not get priority over people already on the car. Get to your stop early to ensure you can ride.
Times on our schedule are departure times, meaning that is when the car pulls away from the stop. Please be at least 5 minutes early to your stop to ensure you catch us.
Strollers, bikes, walkers, etc do not fit safely on the cars and won’t be permitted. Storage is available at our Whyte Ave platform for those doing a round trip.
Tickets can be bought from ticketsellers and motorpersons on the car, CASH ONLY. For fares please see our website.
Fort Edmonton Park:
Due to their age and design, our cars cannot fit strollers, wagons, walkers, etc. These items will not be permitted on the car.
Come on down and see us this weekend, the best part of a streetcar ride is the passengers! Happy Summer!

05/12/2024

It's recertification weekend at the High Level Bridge line! Today and tomorrow, all of our HLB-trained motorpersons will be recertifying on all 3 of our streetcars at the bridge. It's an exciting time for ERRS, one of the rare times all 3 cars at the bridge are running at the same time! The cars will be out again tomorrow for the rest of the certs that need to happen. Please watch out for the streetcars if your in the Strathcona area.
We have 3 streetcars on the HLB line, each from a different country (and continent!).
Melbourne 930 is a SW6 class tram from Melbourne, Australia. Built in 1947, 930 served on Melbourne's spectacular tram network for 50 years before being donated by the State of Victoria to ERRS in 2004. This car is the biggest in the HLB fleet, and our main workhorse car. With a relay-based controller and roller bearing trucks, 930 is a gentle car to drive, capable of coasting incredible distances (some motorpersons can get almost the entire length of the bridge northbound off just a few seconds of powered running) this car drives like a cloud.
Osaka 247 is a Japanese streetcar originally built in 1921. After serving in Osaka for over 70 years, the car was sold to ERRS. Originally intended for parts, Osaka Hankai took such care maintaining the car that ERRS was able to run the car as-delivered, providing inaugural service on the HLB line in 1997. Too small for modern crowds, Osaka is instead used for charters and outreach, although it still runs beautifully.
Edmonton 33 is ERRS' flagship at HLB, an original Edmonton car from 1912, restored to original condition. Mechanically simpler than the other cars, 33 is a lively car to drive, with more noises and a bumpier ride that are very accurate to what street railways in Edmonton and across the prairies felt like before WW1. 33 was an epic restoration; even the trucks it runs on are modern replicas of the Brill 27Gs ERR used to run, recreated down to the last bolt.
Streetcar service starts at HLB May 17 with regular Friday service; please visit Edmontonstreetcars.ca for schedules. Fort Edmonton service starts May 18 with FEP's opening weekend.

05/04/2024

DING DING!
It's recertification day at our Fort Edmonton Park line! Over the course of today and tomorrow, all of our motorpersons will be completing driving tests on Edmonton 42, Edmonton 80, and Toronto 4612; our three main cars in the park. Motorpersons drive the park loop in the car, demonstrating correct procedures in both driving the car, as well as startup and shutdown. Motorpersons have to recertify on every year on every car they drive, as all the cars are very different in how they work, and how they need to be driven safely. That means even our most experienced motorman (35 years!) has to do this test too! Motorpersons also complete written tests yearly to ensure everyone is up to speed on the rules.
Recert day means we have all three main cars driving the park loop behind each other. It's a rare event to see 3 cars running at the same time! Although we have 5 operational cars at FEP, we usually only run 1. The Rectifier (the special electrical transformer that supplies the 600V DC to the overhead wire) is capable of powering all 5 operational cars at once. Yes, we've tested that!
Our Fort Edmonton Park fleet has 5 active cars: Edmonton 42, Edmonton 80, Toronto 4612, and Edmonton 1 and Toronto Suburban 24, which are used on special occasions. Over the course of this coming season, all 5 cars will make appearances.
Service on both our Fort Edmonton Park and High Level Bridge lines starts May long weekend (May 17th on the High Level Bridge line, May 18th at Fort Edmonton Park)! Check out our website edmontonstreetcars.ca for schedules.

04/28/2024

Work on the High Level Bridge timber replacement has started! It's weird to see machines this big on the top deck. Work will continue nightly for the next week or so. There are road closures associated with this work, please follow all construction signage.
This timber replacement will have us ready for season start on May 17. Please see our website for schedules for both our Fort Edmonton and High Level Bridge services.

04/23/2024

The ‘rail ties’ (actually called Bridge Timbers) on the High Level Bridge are special.
The timber support the rails; there’s no structure directly beneath the tracks. The timbers bridge the ~10’ gap between the beams of the upper deck, carrying the streetcar tracks down the middle of the bridge. This is intentional, and how all 3 original tracks on the bridge were built; in fact, some of the ties on the High Level Bridge are original, dating to 1913. The last of these will be replaced this month, before they deteriorate.
The bridge timbers on the High Level bridge are massive 10”x15” solid timbers treated to survive in the weather. The timbers are not attached to the bridge individually; they are bolted together into frames, supporting short lengths of track. These frames are attached as units to the bridge. To replace an individual timber, the whole frame must be detached, the bad timber removed, new one attached, and the whole frame reinstalled on the bridge. This very labour-intensive task was originally performed by ERRS volunteers, but we were quick to contract it out once we could afford to do so!
Another thing in these photos is the bridge rail, the second set of rails inside the running rails. These rails do not carry any weight, but are there to catch the inside of the train wheel in the event of a derailment, to prevent the truck/bogey from rolling off the running rails. These rails are a common and effective safety feature on tracks on bridges and curves. The bridge rails on the High level bridge are old stock from CPR’s ownership; much of it was originally manufactured in 1913, although installed on the bridge much later.
Over the next 2 weeks (look out for signage for exact days) ERRS will be replacing almost 100 ties on the High Level Bridge, with work happening overnight. This will take the last of the aging original (1913!) ties off the bridge, and replace them with new wooden ties with an expected lifespan of over 50 years, at a cost of $340,000. If you want to help us in this project, you can donate via our website; or come take a ride. Service on HLB starts May Long Weekend!

04/18/2024

ERRS is having some very important maintenance done on the High Level Bridge this week. PNR railworks is replacing almost 100 Bridge Timbers. In honour of the last of the original 1913 Bridge Timbers coming off the High Level Bridge, here’s some photos of the Bridge, and a bit of history.

The High level Bridge opened in phases during the second half of 1913, after 3 years of construction. As originally built, the lower deck featured two driving lanes and sidewalks on each side; the top deck featured a streetcar track on each side, and a heavily-built track in the middle for CPR’s trains running into downtown. This middle track is what the streetcar runs on today.

These photos show the bridge being built, streetcars crossing on the original outside track, the bridge from the dome of the Legislature, a CPR train passing a streetcar at the south end of the bridge (right at the bike path), the ‘Budd Car’ service running between Downtown Edmonton and Calgary, and lastly our volunteers installing our overhead while the waterfall drenches the sidewalk.

Nowadays we have qualified contractors maintain our infrastructure, but money was tight in the 90’s when ERRS was getting onto the bridge. A major task was stringing new overhead wires off the original 1913 poles, electrifying the centre (last remaining) track. The penultimate photo shows our crew at work on the bridge, using a zoom boom driven on the ties across the top of the bridge to access the poles. At the time, the waterfall was still active. It put out enough spray to soak our guys working on the top of the bridge!

ERRS is proud to be on the High Level Bridge. The work happening this week will cost $340,000. We successfully got grants to cover about a third of the cost; the rest is money we had to save in anticipation of this project. This is where a good chunk of your of your fares go when you ride; all of our operations are 100% volunteer. If you want to support us, you can donate via our website, or join us for a ride! A ticket to ride is also a way to help us keep streetcars on the bridge for years to come!
edmontonstreetcars.ca

Edmonton Radial Railway Society

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