Calgary municipal railway

The Calgary municipal railway operated a system of streetcar routes in Calgary, Alberta, from 1909, until 1950.[1][2][3][4] From 1909 to 1910 the system was named the "Calgary Electric Railway". [5][6][7] In 1909, and early 1910, the system was known as the "Calgary electric railway". In 1946, the system was renamed the "Calgary Transit System", to reflect the decision that all the streetcars routes were to be replaced with electric trolley buses.

The Calgary municipal railway, in 1946, when streetcars fell from favour.
This 1947 photo shows a soon to be retired streetcar passing a new electric trolley bus, the kind of vehicle that would replace it.
Looking east, at a streetcar, on 8th Avenue W, at Centre Street, Calgary, 1912.

The Calgary Stampede grounds were the terminus of the first streetcar route.[8][9][10]

According to Maxwell Foran and Charles Reasons, streetcars were built to working-class neighbourhoods, enabling workers to get to their workplaces, while those neighbourhoods were underserved by water and electric utilities.[11]

Routes
  • 14th Street SW

References
  1. Robert M. Stamp (2004). Suburban Modern: Postwar Dreams in Calgary. TouchWood Editions. pp. 50, 54. ISBN 9781894898256. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  2. "Calgary Municipal Railway". Community heritage and family history. Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  3. Colin K. Hatcher (1975). "Stampede City Streetcars: The Story of the Calgary Municipal Railway". Railfare. ISBN 9780919130258. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  4. Colin Hatcher, Tom Schwarzkopf (2010). Calgary's electric transit: an illustrated history of electrified public transportation in Canada's oil capital : streetcars, trolley buses, and light rail vehicles. Railfare DC Books. ISBN 9781897190562. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  5. David A. Wyatt. "Calgary, Alberta: Principal System". University of Manitoba. Retrieved 2013-12-29. Calgary Electric Railway (05 July 1909 - early 1910) Municipal operation. When efforts to lease the system to a private operator failed, name usage was altered to CMR.
  6. "About Calgary Transit". Calgary Transit. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  7. Colin Hatcher, Tom Schwarzkopf (2010). "Calgary's electric transit: an illustrated history of electrified public transportation in Canada's oil capital : streetcars, trolley buses, and light rail vehicles". Railfare DC Books. ISBN 9781897190562. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  8. Maxwell Foran (2008). "Icon, Brand, Myth: The Calgary Stampede". Athabasca University Press. ISBN 9781897425053. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  9. Donald B. Smith (2005). Calgary's Grand Story: The Making of a Prairie Metropolis from the Viewpoint of Two Heritage Buildings. University of Calgary Press. p. 86. ISBN 9781552381748. Retrieved 2013-12-29. On 5 July 1909, the City of Calgary inaugurated its street railway system just in time for the Alberta Fair. The corner of 8th Avenue and 1st Street West became the focal point of streetcar convergence, and subsequently the centre of retail activity. Streetcars operated under newly-erected overhead wiring from the convergence to the fair grounds at Victoria Park, and soon elsewhere in the city as well. New trackage proceeded at a rapid pace and soon additional lines were built throughout the downtown area and then expanded to residential areas to the east, west and south.
  10. Wendy Bryden (2011). "The First Stampede of Flores LaDue: The True Love Story of Florence and Guy Weadick and the Beginning of the Calgary Stampede". Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781451609349. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  11. Charles E. Reasons (1984). "Stampede City: power and politics in the West". Between the Lines. ISBN 9780919946460. Retrieved 2013-12-29. Foran points out that while poorer residential areas were given streetcar routes (to get workers to the job), they lacked full utility services or building restrictions. Two such communities, Bowness and Forest Lawn, were outside the city limits but part of urban Calgary.
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