VIDEOS
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| Above: YouTubeCA video – Downtown Vancouver Streetcar Ride, 1936 – Length: 2:05 mins. | Above: YouTubeCA video – Streetcars and Vancouver: Development History Part I 1886 - 1928 – Length: 12:30 mins. | Above: YouTubeCA video – BCER Interurban - Downtown Vancouver to Marpole – Length: 10:53 mins. |
PHOTOS
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MAPS
VANCOUVER AND THE LOWER FRASER VALLEY
VANCOUVER - MAIN MAP
INSET: CENTRAL VANCOUVER
I created the above maps by overlaying OpenStreetMap (OSM) maps with my own data. Copyright on the OSM maps is © OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under a CC-BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licence).
Please note that the OSM maps used as templates for these maps correspond to the situation at the time the maps were downloaded and may show features that did not exist at the time the GS Tram Site is supposed to show. In particular, they may show bridges and highways that were built later.
ROUTES
Operator: British Columbia Electric Railway Company (BCER)
URBAN STREETCAR ROUTES (VANCOUVER)
| 14 | Robson St. - Richards St. (back: Granville St.) - Hastings St. - Kootenay Loop |
The last day of operation of streetcars in Vancouver was 21 April 1955.
INTERURBAN ROUTES
| A4 | Marpole - Richmond - Steveston |
| A5 | Marpole - New Westminster |
The last days of operation of interurbans in the Vancouver area were:
- A4: 28 February 1958.
- A5: 17 Nov. 1956.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM
NETWORK LENGTH
- Vancouver streetcar lines: ? 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.
SOURCES
- 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. "British Columbia Electric Railway Company Limited", Canadian Rail, Jan.-Feb. 2010 (No.534), p.3-9.
- 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.
- Twenty nine years of public service. Vancouver: British Columbia Electric Railway Company Limited, 1926 (?).
WIKIS
- British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER)
- Canada Line
- Evergreen Line
- SkyTrain (Vancouver)
- TransLink (Vancouver)
- Transportation in Vancouver
- Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway
WEB SITES
- Canadian Street Railways
- History of the B.C. Electric Railway Company
- Steveston tram
- TransLink
- Vancouver Once Had Streetcars & Interurbans (on Rail for the Valley)
Copyright Gabor Sandi 1998-2025
Disclaimer: Everything on this site was written and/or prepared at the author's discretion. The author has tried to be accurate where facts are presented, but this does not mean that these facts are necessarily accurate. People needing more reliable information should refer to appropriate sources presented, on the Internet or elsewhere, by authoritative professional or academic bodies.
To get in touch with the webmaster, send an e-mail to g_sandi at hotmail.com.
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