VANCOUVER

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INSET: DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER

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ROUTES

Operator: British Columbia Electric Railway Company (BCER)

URBAN STREETCAR ROUTES (VANCOUVER)

1	Fairview	Granville - Broadway - Main - Hastings - Granville [Circular route; both directions]
2	Main / Davie	Denman - Robson (back: Davie) - Granville - Hastings - Main - 33rd Ave. & Main
3	Main Davie	Denman - Robson (back: Davie) - Granville - Hastings - Main - 50th Ave. & Main
4	Grandview - Fourth	Cedar Cottage - Commercial - Venables - Clark - Hastings - Richards Robson - Granville - 4th Ave. - 4th Ave. & Alma
5	Robson - Broadway East	Denman - Davie (back: Robson) - Granville - Hastings - Main - Broadway - Broadway & Commercial
6	East Blvd. - 49th Fraser	Hastings & Richards - Richards - Robson - Granville - 41st Ave. - Kerrisdale (East Boulevard) [In rush hour: 49th & Fraser - Fraser - Kingsway - Main - Cordova - Granville - 41st Ave. - Kerrisdale (East Boulevard)]
7	Fraser - Kerrisdale	Marine Drive & Fraser - Fraser - Kingsway - Main - Cordova - Granville - 41st Ave. - 41st & Dunbar
9	Post Office / 54th & Victoria	[Joyce Rd. & Kingsway] / [54th & Victoria - Victoria Rd.] - Kingsway - Main - Powell - Cordova - Post Office [back to 54th & Victoria only]
10	Stanley Park / 54th & Victoria	54th & Victoria - Victoria Rd. - Kingsway - Main - Powell - Cordova - Granville - Pender - Georgia - Stanley Park
11	Stanley Park / Joyce	Joyce Rd. & Kingsway - Kingsway - Main - Powell - Cordova - Granville - Pender - Georgia - Stanley Park
12	Kitsilano	Hastings & Richards - Hastings - Granville - False Creek Bridge - Kitsilano
13	Hastings & Renfrew / Alma	[Point Gray (Drummond Dr. & University Av.) - 10th Ave.] / [41st & Dunbar - Dunbar] - Broadway - Granville - Pacific - Richards - Hastings - Hastings & Renfrew [On return, to Alma & Broadway only]
14	Hastings East / Dunbar	[Point Gray (Drummond Dr. & University Av.) - 10th Ave.] / [41st & Dunbar - Dunbar] - Broadway - Granville - Pacific - Richards - Hastings - Hastings & Boundary][On return, to Dunbar - 41st & Dunbar only]
15	Point Grey	Boundary & Hastings - Hastings - Richards - Pacific - Granville - Broadway - Alma - 10th Ave. - Sasamat & 10th Av. [this direction only]
16	Tenth	Boundary & Hastings - Hastings - Richards - Pacific - Granville - Broadway - Alma - 10th Ave. - Sasamat - 4th Ave. - Drummond Dr. & University Av. [this direction only]
17	Oak - Marpole	Cambie & Hastings - Cambie - Broadway - Oak - Marpole
19	Sixteenth	Broadway & Oak - Oak - 16th Ave. - 16th & Main
20	Hastings Park / Post Office	Post Office - Cordova (back: Hastings) - Cordova - Powell - Hastings Park
H	Hastings Extension	Hastings & Boundary - Hastings - Hastings & Ellesmere (in Burnaby)
M	Main Street South	33rd Ave. & Main - Main - Main & River Road
N	Nanaimo	Nanaimo & Hastings - Nanaimo - Broadway - Broadway & Commercial

NB: The last three routes had only route name identifiers. The route names H, M and N are used for convenience only.

URBAN STREETCAR ROUTES (NORTH VANCOUVER)

1		North Vancouver Ferry Terminal - Lonsdale - Windsor Rd. & Lonsdale
2		North Vancouver Ferry Terminal - 1st Str. E.- Grand Blvd. - Lynn Valley Rd. - Dempsey Rd.
3		North Vancouver Ferry Terminal - 1st Str. W - Mahon - Marine Dr. - Fell Ave. - 20th. Str. - 22nd Str. - Capilano River

INTERURBAN ROUTES

A1	Central Park Line	Hastings & Carrall - Central Park (Burnaby) - New Westminster
A2	Burnaby Lake Line	Hastings & Carrall - Burnaby Lake - New Westminster
A3	Marpole Line	Vancouver (Pacific & Richards) - Granville - Arbutus - Marpole
A4	Lulu Island Line (to Steveston)	Vancouver (Pacific & Richards) - Granville - Arbutus - Marpole - Richmond - Steveston
A5	Lulu Island Line (to New Westminster)	Vancouver (Pacific & Richards) - Granville - Arbutus - Marpole - New Westminster

NB: The route numbers given above are those used in a later source. It is possible that in 1930 the interurban routes had only names, not numbers.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM

NETWORK LENGTH

• Vancouver streetcar lines: ? km.
• North Vancouver streetcar lines: 16.4 km.
• Interurban lines: ? km.



HISTORY

• Vancouver streetcars: (electric) 28 June 1890 - 21 Apr. 1955.
• North Vancouver streetcars: (electric) 1 Sept. 1906 - 23 Apr. 1947.
• Interurban trams: (electric) 3 June 1891 - 28 Feb. 1958.
• SkyTrain (automated LRT): 3 Jan. 1986 - today.
• Canada Line (Metro): 17 Aug. 2009 - today.

GAUGE

• Vancouver and North Vancouver streetcars: 1453 mm.
• SkyTrain / Canada Line: 1435 mm.

TRAM PRESERVATION

The Transit Museum Society runs vintage interurban streetcars between Granville Island and Science World on weekends and holidays during the summer months. A demonstration service by modern trams from Europe was run on the same line during the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver.

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SOURCES

PRINT

• Cockle, D. "Tram-train community rail for Fraser Valley", Tramways & Urban Transit, Dec. 2010 (73: 876), p.465-466.
• Conn, H. & Ewert, H. Vancouver's glory years: Public transit 1890-1915. North Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 2003.
• "End of city trams in Vancouver" (news item), The Modern Tramway, July 1955 (18:211), p.142.
• Ewert, H. The perfect little street car system. North Vancouver: North Vancouver Museum and Archives Commission, 2000.
• Ewert, H. The story of the B.C. Electric Railway Company. North Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 1986.
• Guide to Vancouver. Vancouver: British Columbia Electric Railway Company (BCER), 1930.
• Hyde, R. The Sockeye Special: The story of the Steveston tram and early Lulu Island. Richmond (B.C.): Author, 2011.
• Kelly, B. & Francis, D. Transit in British Columbia: The first hundred years. Madeira Park (B.C.): Harbour Publishing, 1990.
• Simons, V. "Vancouver prepares for the Winter Olympics", Tramways & Urban Transit, Jan. 2010 (73: 865), p.11-13.
• Till, H. Diary of significant events in the history of B.C. Electric's transportation system, 1889-1946. Vancouver: B.C. Electric Co., 1947 [?].
• Transit System Map of Vancouver, B.C. [Vancouver]: Challengers Cartographers, 1949, 1952 and 1954.

WIKIS

• British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER)
• Canada Line
• Evergreen Line
• SkyTrain (Vancouver)
• TransLink (Vancouver)
• Transportation in Vancouver
• Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway

WEB SITES

• A brief history of transit in Victoria and the Lower Mainland
• Canadian Street Railways
• City of Vancouver Downtown Streetcar Project
• The History of Metropolitan Vancouver
• History of the B.C. Electric Railway Company
• TransLink