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| Established | May 3, 2013 |
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| Location | Richmond, BC, Canada |
| Coordinates | 49°07′31.8″N123°10′50.8″W / 49.125500°N 123.180778°W |
| Type | Railway Museum |
| Website | https://stevestonheritage.ca/visit/steveston-tram/ |
The Steveston Tram Museum is a rail museum in Steveston, BC. The museum houses one of seven remaining interurban streetcars that previously operated as part of the BC Electric Railway.
In the 1890s, the Canadian Pacific Railway sought to create a company to serve Lulu Island. In 1902 a light-rail line was created that ran from Vancouver to Steveston. The route proved to be unprofitable for CPR, as it was cheaper for the canneries of Steveston to ship directly via the ocean rather than moving them to and shipping from Vancouver. Thus, the line was leased to the B.C. Electric Railway in 1905. The BCER created a substation at Marpole to power the new electric line. Passenger service launched on July 4, 1905 and ran until February 28, 1958. [1]
Tram car 1220 was built in 1912 by the St. Louis Car Company. The train was brought to BC and used in the Marpole to Steveston line of the BCER.
Of the 28 1200-class trams created for the BCER by the St. Louis Car Company, 7 exist in various states of repair. Car number 1225 is operating as a heritage streetcar at the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society in Surrey, BC, and car number 1223 is on display at the Burnaby Village Museum. [2]
The museum opened on May 3, 2013. The museum was built around original tracks of the BCER, and stands across the street from the now gone Steveston station. After three years of restoration, costing $400,000 and funded by the city of Richmond, the restored tram was put on display in 2018. [3] [2]
A heritage railway or heritage railroad is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period in the history of rail transport.
The interurban is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms used outside it. They were very prevalent in many parts of the world before the Second World War and were used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities. Interurban as a term encompassed the companies, their infrastructure, their cars that ran on the rails, and their service. In the United States, the early 1900s interurban was a valuable economic institution, when most roads between towns, many town streets were unpaved, and transportation and haulage was by horse-drawn carriages and carts.
The Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) is a tram design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful domestically, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where PCC based cars were made. The PCC car has proved to be a long-lasting icon of streetcar design, and many remain in service around the world.
The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company, the BCER assumed control of existing streetcar and interurban lines in southwestern British Columbia in 1897, and operated the electric railway systems in the region until the last interurban service was discontinued in 1958. During and after the streetcar era, BC Electric also ran bus and trolleybus systems in Greater Vancouver and bus service in Greater Victoria; these systems subsequently became part of BC Transit, and the routes in Greater Vancouver eventually came under the control of TransLink. Trolley buses still run in the City of Vancouver with one line extending into Burnaby.
Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles. It may concern trains that have been removed from service and later restored to their past condition, or have never been removed from service, like UP 844, the only U.S. steam locomotive to never be retired. They are often operated in present-day service as moving examples of living history, as opposed to static exhibits. The majority of restored trains are operated at heritage railways and railway museums, although they can also be found on the main lines or branch lines of the commercial working railway, operated by specialist railtour companies or museum groups.
The settlement of Steveston, founded in the 1880s, is a neighbourhood of Richmond in Metro Vancouver. On the southwest tip of Lulu Island, the village is a historic port and salmon canning centre at the mouth of the South Arm of the Fraser River. The early 1900s style architecture attracts both the film and tourism industries.
A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered tram or streetcar.
The J. G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars, interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for nearly 90 years, hence the longest-lasting trolley and interurban manufacturer. At its height, Brill was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurban cars in the US and produced more streetcars, interurbans and gas-electric cars than any other manufacturer, building more than 45,000 streetcars alone.
The Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway was a heritage electric railway line that operated from 1998 to 2011 between Granville Island and Science World, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It operated only on weekends and holidays, usually from May to mid-October, and was aimed primarily at tourists. Two restored interurban trams were used on the line, which used a former freight railway right-of-way.
Johnstown Traction Company (JTC) was a public transit system in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States. For most of its existence it was primarily a street-railway system, but in later years also operated rubber-tired vehicles. JTC operated trolley (tram) service in Johnstown from February 23, 1910 to June 11, 1960. Johnstown was one of the last small cities to abandon trolley service in the United States. It was also the smallest city to acquire a fleet of PCC cars and acquired trackless trolleys at a late date compared to larger transit properties. Many of the 1920s-era cars went directly to museums; however, none of the 17 PCC streetcars were saved. Efforts to sell the 16 then-surviving PCC cars intact were unsuccessful, and in 1962 they were scrapped, but many of their components were salvaged and sold to the Brussels, Belgium tram system, reused in the last series of single PCC trams (7156–7171), which ran from 1970 until February 2010.
The Marpole CP Rail Bridge was a partially dismantled crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River, and River Dr., in Metro Vancouver.
Marpole Loop is a public transit exchange in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The exchange is a part of Metro Vancouver's TransLink transit network. It is the southernmost transit exchange located within the city of Vancouver.
Streetcars or trolley(car)s were once the chief mode of public transit in hundreds of North American cities and towns. Most of the original urban streetcar systems were either dismantled in the mid-20th century or converted to other modes of operation, such as light rail. Today, only Toronto still operates a streetcar network essentially unchanged in layout and mode of operation.
The Burnaby Village Museum, previously known as the Heritage Village, is an open-air museum in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, located at Deer Lake Park. It is open seasonally from May to September and opens for special events taking place September to March. The Burnaby Village Museum is a reconstructed 1920s village, containing 31 full scale buildings; its costumed staff demonstrate traditional trades. The museum spans 10 acres (4 ha) of land. Some of the buildings are original heritage buildings, moved from other locations in the community and restored. Others are replica buildings, created to house specific displays and artifacts, including a 1912 B.C. Electric Railway interurban tram. The museum is also known for the 1912 C. W. Parker Carousel, available for visitors to ride.
The Schomberg and Aurora Railway was a 36 km long railway in Ontario, Canada, running from the town of Schomberg to Oak Ridges, just south of Aurora. It connected Schomberg to the Metropolitan Line of the Toronto and York Radial Railway (T&YRR) tram service running along Yonge Street, and from there into the Toronto city proper. The service ran for 25 years between 1902 and 1927; the rails were pulled up shortly thereafter.
Brighouse is a neighbourhood that comprises most of the urban core of Richmond in Metro Vancouver. The area includes community facilities, civic offices, Richmond Centre, and the Canada Line Richmond–Brighouse station terminus.
The Nelson Electric Tramway is a heritage railway at Nelson in the Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. It is one of two operational historic tram systems in the province.
The Victoria and Sidney Railway Company (V&S) was one of three railways to operate on the Saanich Peninsula of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Opened in 1894 the route largely closed in 1919 but a section of track remained in use until 1935.
The Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society (FVHRS) restores and operates historic interurban streetcar in Surrey, British Columbia. The organization was formed in 2001 and the heritage streetcar system began in June 2013. It is one of two operating historical tramways in the province.
Toronto-gauge railways are tram and rapid transit lines built to Toronto gauge, a broad gauge of 4 ft 10+7⁄8 in. This is 2+3⁄8 in (60 mm) wider than standard gauge of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in which is by far the most common track gauge in Canada. The gauge is unique to the Greater Toronto Area and is currently used on the Toronto streetcar system and the Toronto subway, both operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. Several now-defunct interurban rail systems also once used this gauge. The Halton County Radial Railway, a transport museum, located on one of these former interurban line, uses the Toronto gauge.