The First Streetcar

On November 9, 1908, the Edmonton Radial Railway Service began operations. This streetcar service was established to serve an Edmonton population of 18,500. The fleet of 4 streetcars travelled along 21 km of track, connecting the 4 main neighbourhoods and it cost 5 cents to ride.

Each tramcar had 2 trolley poles so that they had double-ended operations, meaning that they did not have to turn around at the end of the line. Edmonton was the first prairie city with a public streetcar system and it was the most northerly electric streetcar line in North America.

By 1912 Edmonton’s population increased to about 60,000 and 47 cars were added to the system. They were made completely of wood and were painted green and red. Streetcars began to cross the High Level Bridge when it was completed in 1913. Passengers were originally required to pay a 5-cent fare in Strathcona, another 5 cents to cross the High Level bridge and a further 5 cents to travel to the downtown and northeast. Transfers were introduced the same year to avoid the high cost to passengers.

Streetcar travel was generally uneventful but on June 19, 1914, an expectant mother delivered her baby on a streetcar. In 1941 the Edmonton Public Library refurbished a 1909 streetcar and turned it into a travelling library. This streetcar library was the first of its kind in Canada. The last streetcar trip was on September 1, 1951, from Jasper Avenue, across the High Level Bridge, to 84 Avenue.

In 1980, the non-profit Edmonton Radial Railway Society was formed with the aim of restoring and operating former Edmonton Streetcars. In the summer of 1997, the Society began operating a vintage streetcar over the top of the High Level Bridge after electrifying the old CPR line from the north side (beside Grandin/Government Centre LRT Station) to Old Strathcona. Unfortunately because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Streetcar season has had to be cancelled.