INSET: DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER
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.
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.
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. 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
- Canadian Street Railways
- The History of Metropolitan Vancouver
- History of the B.C. Electric Railway Company
- TransLink
Copyright Gabor Sandi 1998-2024
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