01979

A b r i e f l o o k a t 67 y e a r s o f e l e c t r i c tramway o p e r a t i o n i n M o n t r e a l , on the o c c a s i o n o f M o n t r e a l T r a n s p o r t a t i o n Commission's h i s t o r i c a l pageant m a r k i n g the end o f tramway s e r v i c e ,

Sunday, August 3 0 t h , 1959.

P r e p a r e d by CANADIAN RAILROAD HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION, Box 22, S t a t i o n "B" , M o n t r e a l .

COVER PICTURES : Genesis of Montreal streetcars

is shown by comparing open car No.123, built in Belleville, Ontario, by the St. Charles Omnibus Company in 1893, in the upper photo, with No. 2222, a Canadian Car & Foundry product of 1929, pictured by Paul McGee in the lower picture. Though built thirty years before the demise of trolleys in Montreal, No. 2222 represents the f i n a l local development of the streetcar in

Canada's metropolis.

1222 Montreal

CAR 596, shown at upper l e f t , built by the MSR in 1899, was one of a class which introduced the typically "Montreal" streetcar design, a pattern which was f o l ­lowed with l i t t l e modification up to and including the 1200 class. Car 655, shown at St.Henri in 1912, was a serai-convertible built originally in 1901 as an open-bench car. The observation car at l e f t i s No.l, then unnumbered, as i t appeared new in 1905. Another orig­inal Montreal design, i t was the forerunner of other similar cars in Montreal, Quebec, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Car 890, shown at the bottom, at Viauville when new in May, 1905, was the f i r s t "Pay-as-you-enter" car in the world, this system of fare collection hav­ing been f i r s t introduced in that year in Montreal.

MONTREAL'S STREETCARS 1892-1959 September 2 1 , 1892 — August 3 0 , 1 9 5 9 .

The pageant of t r a n s p o r t a t i o n which was sponsored "by the Montreal T r a n s p o r t a t i o n Commission on Sunday, August 30th, 1 9 5 9 , to mark the end of the s t r e e t c a r i n the s t r e e t s of Montreal, presented a d i s p l a y of r o l l i n g stock ranging "back to the very f i r s t car, No 0 3 5 0 , "Rocket", which "began s e r v i c e i n 1 8 9 2 . Other cars i n the proces­s i o n showed the development of the s t r o o t c a r i n the ensuing s i x t y - s e v e n years as i t took place under three a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s , the Montreal S t r e e t Railway u n t i l 1 9 1 1 » the Montreal Tramways Company u n t i l 1 9 5 1 t and f i n a l l y , the Montreal T r a n s p o r t a t i o n Comm­i s s i o n .

But i f many of the types f a m i l i a r to Montrealers. such as the s i n g l o - t r u c k e r s , the 9 0 l s , 1 2 0 0 s , 1 3 2 5 s , 1 9 0 0 s and 22oo c l a s s e s were "bodily present i n the pageant, we may "be sure t h a t the s p i r i t s of the other c l a s s i c types, the Klondykes, the Scotch Cars and the Windsor A i r s rode alongside, f o r i f Montreal once had the l a r g e s t e l e c ­t r i c r a i l w a y network i n Canada, i t a l s o possessed the nation's most d i s t i n c t i v e equip­ment, as unique, i n i t s own f i e l d , as the Ming vase or the Chippendale c h a i r .

In the three years f o l l o w i n g the i n a u g u r a t i o n of e l e c t r i c t r a c t i o n i n Montreal on September 21st, 1 8 9 2 , the Montreal S t r e e t Railway was f a r too "busy c a r r y i n g i t s e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n forward to worry about t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of c a r s . So great an impact d i d the e l e c t r i c car create i n Montreal t h a t , f o l l o w i n g the "Rocket"'s epochal f i r s t run, orders wore placed w i t h every car "builder w i t h i n p r a c t i c a l s h i p p i n g range of Montreal, f o r e l e c t r i c car bodies. Even as the "Rocket" was n e g o t i a t i n g the s t r e e t s f o r the f i r s t time, cars were being equipped i n tho MSR shops f o r f u r t h e r s e r v i c e . Some of the b u i l d e r s of t h i s equipment are as f o l l o w s :

St . C h a r l e s Omnibus Company, B e l l e v i l l e , O n t a r i o , Crossen Car Company, Cobourg, Ont a r i o . Ahearn &.Soper, ( l a t e r Ottawa Car Manufacturing Co.), Ottawa, Ont. N, & A.C. L a r i v i e r e , Montreal, Quebec. Toronto Railway Company, Toronto, O n t a r i o , Newburyport Car Manufacturing Co., Newburyport, Mass., U.S.A. Bri g g s C a r r i a g e Company, Amesbury, Mass., U.S.A.

Beginning i n 1 8 9 2 , and u n t i l I 8 9 5 , approximately one hundred and t h i r t y - f i v e c l o s e d c a r s , and seventy-five open summer cars were b u i l t new by these b u i l d e r s f o r the Montreal S t r e e t Railway. No e f f o r t was spared to complete the e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n and t r a c k r e l a y i n g as e a r l y as p o s s i b l e ; most of the now cars r e c e i v e d were painted i n the maroon and cream pa i n t scheme which the MSR had used on i t s horse cars j u s t p r i o r to e l e c t r i f i c a t i o n , but some c a r s , i t i s r e l a t e d , were even allowed to operate, p a i n t e d o n l y i n ground c o l o u r as s u p p l i e d by the b u i l d e r s . C e r t a i n l y i n the monochromatic p i c t u r e s we possess of the p e r i o d , there i s a great v a r i e t y i n the p a i n t schemes.

In the summer of 1895, the l a s t horse car bowed before the wave of e l e c t r i c c a r s . At an end was a f r u s t r a t i n g three-year p e r i o d of changeover which saw e l e c t r i c c a r s a l t e r n a t i n g , on some routes, w i t h horse c a r s . Many of the b e t t e r horsecars, of both open and c l o s e d types, were pressed i n t o s e r v i c e as t r a i l e r s behind tho e l e c t r i c c a r s , and t h i s i n t e r e s t i n g p r a c t i c e continued u n t i l the advent of double-truck cars at the t u r n of the contury. With t r a n s i t i o n completed, the S t r e e t Railway turned to the con­s t r u c t i o n of i t s own cars i n i t s shops. Concurrently, a standard l i v e r y of l i g h t chrome yellow, w i t h s i l v e r and black s t r i p i n g and l e t t e r i n g was adopted f o r the passen­ger equipment, and the Street Railway continued on i t s course towards i t s P e r i c l e a n Age, the f i r s t decade of the Twentieth Century, Car No.27^ i n the H i s t o r i c a l C o l l e c ­t i o n i s p a i n t e d i n the MSR's chrome yellow paint scheme,

Tho MSR continued to b u i l d s i n g l e - t r u c k open and c l o s e d cars up to the year 1900, u n t i l n e a r l y s i x hundred cars of both typos were i n o p e r a t i o n . The p r o g r e s s i v e t r e n d was punctuated b r i e f l y but t r a g i c a l l y i n September, 1 8 9 8 , when tho Hochelaga carbarn

Montreal's S t r e e t c a r s . 1892-1959 2

caught f i r e and destroyed about seventy open and cl o s e d c a r s . This was the Montreal t r a n s i t system's only major f i r e , and a l l of the missing u n i t s were replaced "by new c a r s "built "by the MSR i n 1899. The MSR f o l l o w e d a numbering scheme common a t ' t h i s p e r i o d on many North American s t r e e t r a i l w a y systems; c l o s e d cars c a r r i e d even numbers w h i l e open cars c a r r i e d odd numbers; t h i s p r a c t i c e was continued up to the advent of the Montreal Tramways Company i n 1911, though i n l a t e r years, a f t e r open cars ceased , to be b u i l t , c l o s e d cars were assigned odd s e r i e s numbers (such as No.997 i n the H i s t ­o r i c a l C o l l e c t i o n , which i s a member of the 901 c l a s s . )

While Montreal open cars were never p a r t i c u l a r l y d i s t i n c t i v e , i t s c l o s e d cars were c l a s s i c s . The f a m i l i a r "Montreal" f a m i l y resemblance was f i r s t introduced w i t h c a r 4 5 8 , b u i l t by the MSR i n I 8 9 6 . Car 5 9 6 , i l l u s t r a t e d w i t h t h i s t e x t , i s an example of t h i s type; i t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s were c a r r i e d r i g h t through to the 1200 c l a s s , b u i l t by the MTC i n 1 9 1 2 , and i l l u s t r a t e d by c a r 1 2 0 2 . Only one c l a s s of "Montreal" c l o s e d s i n g l e - t r u c k c a r was b u i l t before the advent of the l a r g e r and more e f f i c i e n t double-t r u c k types i n 1 9 0 0 , The f i r s t Montreal S t r e e t Railway double-truck c a r was the so-c a l l e d "Klondyke" type of 1 9 0 0 , merely an e l o n g a t i o n o f the s i n g l e - t r u c k 458 c l a s s . The nickname f o r t h i s type d e r i v e d from the s i z e of the c a r , and Montrealers drew a p a r a l l e l between the famed Yukon g o l d rush of 1 8 9 8 , and the MSR's evident i n t e n t t o " s t r i k e i t r i c h " i n urban t r a n s p o r t a t i o n by i n t r o d u c i n g cars which would produce much more revenue per u n i t .

A concurrent development w i t h the "Klondyko" was the "Scotch Car", so c a l l e d because of the a d a p t a t i o n of the design from one used i n the c i t y o f Glasgow, Scotl a n d . T h i s neat and d i s t i n c t i v e type featured a centre-entrance door, which was l a t e r c l o s e d i n , and the r o a r p l a t f o r m lengthened; these cars were b u i l t between 1900 and 1 9 0 2 . In 1 9 0 3 and 1 9 0 4 , a r e v e r s i o n to the "Klondyko" type of c a r was seen i n the sor-called 1 ,Wlndsor A i r s " , which, as t h e i r name i m p l i e d , ran on the Windsor & St.Denis route, and were the f i r s t Montreal S t r e e t Railway cars to bo equipped w i t h a i r brakes. A l l of these cars types, as w e l l as the 790 c l a s s of 1904-5, wore b u i l t by the MSR i n i t s own shops. I n 1 9 0 5 , the MSR went back to outside b u i l d e r s f o r the u n i t s of the 840 to 8 8 6 even s e r i e s . I n a d d i t i o n to B r i l l and Ottawa, which had p r e v i o u s l y b u i l t cars f o r the MSR, some u n i t s were obtained from N i l c s , Stephenson and Rhodes, Curry,

Up to t h i s time, the method of f a r o c o l l e c t i o n i n c i t y t r a n s i t v e h i c l e s was the same as that o b t a i n i n g i n t r a i n s ; that i s , the conductor would wait u n t i l the passenger had boarded a c a r and was seated before c o l l e c t i n g h i s f a r e . This was an exceedingly cumbersome arrangement f o r m e t r o p o l i t a n t r a n s i t , and the f a c t o r of f a r e non-payment was very high, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n rush hours. A c c o r d i n g l y , i n 1 9 0 5 , two ingenious MSR o f f i c e r s , Messrs. Ross and McDonald, invented and patented the "Pay-as~you~enter" system of f a r e c o l l e c t i o n , l a t e r adopted throughout the w o r l d , A concomitant of t h i s system was an enlarged r e a r car p l a t f o r m which could accomodate a normal car-stop crowd, enabling the c a r to move o f f while the passengers p a i d t h e i r faros and passed i n t o the car. T h i s almost f o o l - p r o o f method of f a r e c o l l e c t i o n , or v a r i a t i o n s of i t , can be seen everywhere today, yet MSR c a r N 0 . 8 9 0 , b u i l t i n tho MSR shops i n 1905 and i l l u s t r a t e d i n t h i s b o o k l e t , was the f i r s t c a r i n the world so equipped.

A v a r i a t i o n of the s i n g l e - t r u c k open c a r was tho c o n v e r t i b l e open car, whose s i d e s c o u l d be c l o s e d up and seats rearranged f o r w i n t e r s e r v i c e . A l l of them were s i n g l e t r u c k except f o r one, Car No.701, a B r i l l - b u i l t s emi-convertible bought as an e x p e r i ­ment. No, 701 was permanently closed s h o r t l y a f t e r i t was purchased i n 1904, and was the f i r s t Montreal c i t y c a r equipped w i t h cross seats.

I t being evident, by 1 9 0 7 , that no f u r t h e r open cars wo\ild be b u i l t , and the c l o s ­ed cars having reached 9 5 0 i n the even number s e r i e s , i t was decided to u t i l i z e vacant numbers i n the odd s e r i e s f o r c l o s e d cars, s t a r t i n g at No,.703» I n c i d e n t a l l y , i t might be added that numbers i n the 1000 s e r i e s were a l r e a d y assigned to cars of the former Montreal Park & I s l a n d Railway, acquired i n 1 9 0 1 , and of tho Montreal Terminal Railway, which came under c o n t r o l of the MSR i n 1907»

Montreal's S t r e e t c a r s . 1892-1959 3

The 7 0 3 c l a s s of n i n e t y cars, "built i n 190? and 1908 by s e v e r a l "builders, and i n c l u d i n g n i n e t y cars, represented the peak i n s i z e and c a p a c i t y of the Montreal s t r ­e e t c a r . So w e l l d i d the 7 0 3 c l a s s car serve the s t r e e t r a i l w a y t h a t u n i t s were i n ser­v i c e f o r f o r t y - f i v e years, the l a s t one, Ho.859, "being r e t i r e d i n 1 9 5 2 . Though t h i s c a r type was not represented i n the parade, the A s s o c i a t i o n has preserved No,859 at Y o u v i l l e Shops, not, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , "before i t s d i s m a n t l i n g had s t a r t e d . U l t i m a t e l y , when i t i s r e s t o r e d , t h i s w i l l prove to "be one of the most i n t e r e s t i n g e x h i b i t s i n the c o l l e c t i o n . The l a s t ten u n i t s of the 7 0 3 c l a s s , Nos.863 to 881, were "built "by the Pressed S t e e l Car Company of P i t t s b u r g h , Pa., U.S.A., and are claimod to havo "been the f i r s t steel-framed s t r e e t c a r s i n the world. U n i t s of the 703 c l a s s , w i t h f u l l "PAIE" p l a t f o r m , were n e a r l y s i x t y 'feet long.

The l a s t c a r s ordered "by the Montreal S t r e e t Railway were the f i f t y cars of the 9 0 1 s e r i e s , "built "by the Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company i n 1 9 1 0 . B u i l t l a r g e l y of metal, f o l l o w i n g the success of the 8 é l s e r i e s , the 9 0 1 s were a l s o very heavy. I n c i d e n t a l l y , though a l a r g e p o r t i o n of the MSR's r o l l i n g stock was converted to "Pay-as-you-enter", some equipment, no t a b l y the open and s i n g l e - t r u c k semi-convertible cars were not. I t thus became necessary to d i s t i n g u i s h between cars of the two payment cystems f o r the b e n e f i t of passengers w a i t i n g at stops. At t h i s t i m e , about 1 9 0 6 , the "Pay-as-you-cnter" cars were marked by a l a r g e crimson rectangle! on the f r o n t dash, c a r r y i n g the car numbers i n s i l v e r , Nos . 5 9 6 and 1202 i l l u s t r a t e d i n t h i s booklet show t h i s feature c l e a r l y . No.997 i n the H i s t o r i c a l C o l l e c t i o n bears t h i s panel as w e l l .

•In 1 9 1 1 , the Montreal Tramways Company was incorporated to take over the Montreal S t r e e t Railway, the Montreal Park & I s l a n d Railway and the Montreal Terminal Railway, a l s o a "paper" company, the P u b l i c S e r v i c e Corporation, and operate then as a u n i f i e d system. The Tramways Company continued the MSR's p o l i c y of a c q u i r i n g newer and l a r g ­e r eouipment and i n 1912 , introduced the 1200 c l a s s of one hundred and twenty-five c a r s . With the 1 2 0 0 s , consecutive numbering was introduced, and the p l a c i n g i n s e r v i c e of these c a r s marked the beginning of the end f o r the s i n g l e - t r u c k e r s . The l i t t l e c a r s , l a r g e l y relegated to secondary and rush hour routes w i t h the advent of the l a r ­ger cars, now became obso l e t e . I t was at t h i s t i n e at the "Rocket" f i n a l l y endod i t s twenty-year a c t i v e caroer. Others, l i k e the A s s o c i a t i o n ' s No.274, were converted i n t o s a l t cars or other work c a r s . Close on theheels of the 1 2 0 0 s camo the 1325 c l a s s of two hundred u n i t s , the l a r g e s t c l a s s , n u m erically, ever to run i n Montreal. A f t e r the f i r s t u n i t s of the 1325 c l a s s wore r e c e i v e d , the MTC r e v i s e d the MSR's yellow p a i n t scheme, and adopted a new l i v e r y of greeaand croam f o r i t s c i t y equipment. Cars of the 1000 s c r i e s of the former suburban companies, and s t i l l i n o p e r a t i o n on the sub­urban l i n e s , were painted orange and cream. The green used on the c i t y cars was a very s e r v i c e a b l e and s a t i s f a c t o r y c o l o u r , a d i s t i n c t c o n t r a s t to tho v a r i o u s shades of red used i n other Canadian c i t i e s , and i t l a s t e d u n t i l tho 2.650 c l a s s were f i n a l l y r e t i r e d and scrapped i n 1 9 5 $ .

I n 1 9 1 4 , while u n i t s of the 1325 c l a s s wore s t i l l i n d e l i v e r y , the MTC ordered twenty-five motor cars (Nos . 1 5 2 5 to 1549) and twenty-five t r a i l e r s (Nos.lôOO to 1 6 2 4 ) from the J . G . B r i l l Company, P h i l a d e l p h i a , Tho double-truck s t r e e t c a r had reached the l i m i t a t i o n i n s i z e p r a c t i c a b l e f o r c i t y operation, and thus the t r o l l e y " t r a i n " made i t a appearance i n Montreal. One hundred f u r t h e r u n i t s were ordered from B r i l l i n 1917 , f i f t y motors and f i f t y second u n i t s — not t r a i l e r s , these, but t r a i l i n g u n i t s powered by two motors on tho f r o n t t r u c k and operated i n m u l t i p l e u n i t w i t h the motor ca r . Twenty f i v e f u r t h e r motors, and a s i m i l a r number of t r a i l e r s , were b u i l t by Canadian Car & Foundry i n 1 9 2 4 , b r i n g i n g the t o t a l to one hundred t r a i n p a i r s .

About t h i s time, fourteen B i r n e y cars were purchased second-hand from the D e t r o i t United Railways, e s p e c i a l l y f o r s e r v i c e on l i g h t - t r a f f i c suburban l i n e s l i k e V i l l e S t , M i c h e l , Graham B l v d . , Chapelle, Broadway, Lachine Rapids and Lachine E x t e n s i o n . The f i r s t one-man cars brought to the c i t y , they paved the way f o r the conversion of s i x "Windsor A i r s " of the 740 c l a s s , to one-man cars, i n 1 9 2 5 , These cars were Nos, 740, 746, 748, 7 5 8 , 768 and 7 8 8 , The experiment proving s u c c e s s f u l , an order was placed

Montreal's S t r e e t c a r s . 1892-1959 4"

w i t h the Canadian Car & Foundry Company i n 1926 f o r f i f t y small one-man l i g h t w e i g h t c a r s , Nos. 1900 to 1949, which, however, wei-e equipped w i t h conductors' p o s i t i o n s i n s i d o the r e a r centre window, and w i t h f o u r - u n i t f o l d i n g doors at the r e a r , i n the event that two-man operation was found necessary. I n the f o l l o w i n g year, f i f t y two-man cars were purchased (Nos,2 1 0 0 -2149), Both c l a s s e s were followed "by a d d i t i o n a l u n i t s b r i n g i n g the 1900s to a t o t a l of 105 c a r s , and the 2 1 0 0 s to a t o t a l of 140 cars l>y 1929. T h i s enabled the Company to r e t i r e a l l wooden cars up to tho 900 even c l a s s , hut r e t a i n i n g the 7 0 3 and l a t e r c l a s s e s . With the i n t r o d u c t i o n of the 1900s, i n c i d ­e n t a l l y , the Company readopted the cream p a i n t scheme f o r front-entrance cars only, the trimming "being i n Ohio Red, C u r i o u s l y enough, the B i r n e y cars, which f i t t e d t h i s s p e c i f i c a t i o n , remained p a i n t e d green during t h e i r e n t i r e career on tho MTC.

Once again, experimentation was i n order, and 1928 saw tho MTC purchase two a r t ­i c u l a t e d c a r s , Nos.2500 and 2 5 0 1 , which were never very s u c c e s s f u l and saw use only a t rush hours f o r the greater p a r t of t h e i r e x i s t e n c e . T a l k even embraced a " T r i p l e x " c a r , presumably a t h r e e - u n i t a r t i c u l a t e d c a r , but t h i s never progressed beyond the paper stage.

I n 1 9 3 0 , tho MTC made i t s l a s t purchase of d i s t i n c t i v e Montreal equipment, w i t h the c o n s t r u c t i o n of twenty-five m u l t i p l e - u n i t t r a i n sets of the 2 6 5 0 - 7 4 and 2 8 5 0 - 7 4 s e r i e s . Those c a r s were equipped w i t h pne\xmatic c o n t r o l l e r s and other refinements, but d i d not see use as t r a i n s f o r more than a very short p e r i o d . The trend away from t r a i n s continued; i n the e a r l y T h i r t i e s , twenty-five of the 1525 c l a s s motors, and 50 of the 1600 c l a s s t r a i l e r s and second u n i t s , wore r e b u i l t i n t o one-man c a r s .

A f t e r the major r a i l abandonments of the m i d - T h i r t i e s , which saw the Bout d e 1 l ' I l e and P i e IX l i n e s changed over to bus, a s t a r t was made on the scrapping of cars of the 7 0 3 c l a s s , but the outbreak of war i n 1939 saw more than h a l f of these cars taken back i n t o tho shops, r e p a i r e d and p l a c e d back i n s e r v i c e , f o r another f i f t e e n years. The same war emergency saw tho MTC purchase f i f t y second-hand cars from the T r a n s i t Equip­ment C o r p o r a t i o n i n the U.S.A., c o n s i s t i n g of t h i r t y - n i n e S p r i n g f i e l d (Mass,) c a r s , s i x from Schenoctady, and f i v e (the complete r o s t e r ) from the Alabama Power Company at Tuscaloosa. To meet a c o n t i n u i n g acute shortage of cars, the MTC i n 1943 b u i l t f o u r w i n t e r u n i t s , Nos.1175-78, which u t i l i z e d tho t r u c k s and c o n t r o l equipment of the obser­v a t i o n c a r s , during the w i n t e r months. One observation car, No.3, was temporarily f i t t e d w i t h a r o o f f o r t r a n s p o r t of war workers but t h i s d i d not continue f o r l o n g . L a s t s t r e e t c a r s to be acquired by Montreal were eighteen PCC c a r s , p a r t of an order f o r Vancouver, d i v e r t e d to Montreal i n 1 9 4 4 .

I n a d d i t i o n to the passenger c a r s , many s p e c i a l i z e d cars were developed i n Mont­r e a l over the years, the world-famed ob s e r v a t i o n cars being perhaps the most s i g n i f i c ­a n t . This type was f i r s t introduced i n 1 9 0 5 . Uniquely, there were two p r i s o n c a r s , which c a r r i e d passengers from Montreal's courthouse to the Bordeaux J a i l , L i k e many other c i t i e s , there was a l s o a f u n e r a l c a r , and a s i n g l e - t r u c k v e r s i o n of the observ­a t i o n , a band c a r . Work cars included locomotives, f l a t c a r s , dump cars and cranes, of many d e s c r i p t i o n s . Snow f i g h t i n g was c a r r i e d on by s i n g l e - and double—truck sweep­e r s , plows and even f i v e r o t a r y plows.

Si x t y - s e v e n years saw n e a r l y two thousand one hundred passenger cars p o l i s h the r a i l s of Canada's me t r o p o l i s ; they served the c i t y w e l l , and i f at times they were maligned and deprecated by the c i t i z e n s duo to a s t e a d i l y - d e t e r i o r a t i n g t r a f f i c s i t u a t ­i o n , Montroalers redeemed themselves by t u r n i n g out generously, on masse, i n September 1 9 5 6 ,at the time of the St.Catherine S t r e e t pageant, when n e a r l y 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 c i t i z e n s watched the cars parade i n s i n g l e f i l e along St.Catherine S t r e e t , An even l a r g e r d e l e ­g a t i o n of c i t i z e n r y watched them make the l a s t run on Sunday, August 3 0 t h , 1 9 5 9 , Just a l i t t l o over o i g h t years a f t e r the MTC announced a p o l i c y of complete bus s u b s t i t u t i o n , A piece of tho cosmopolitan character of Montreal has vanished w i t h the s t r e e t c a r s , but i f t h e i r demise serves to hasten the reappearance of r a i l s e r v i c e i n tho c i t y i n the form of r a p i d t r a n s i t , the c i t i z e n s w i l l b e n e f i t , and t h a t , a f t e r a l l , i s the purpose of p u b l i c mass t r a n s p o r t a t i o n ,

Mc-ntreal' s. S t r e e t c a r s. 1892-1959 5

ELECTRIC PASSENGER CARS OF MONTREAL - Abbreviated Roster

ODD SERIES (Odd numbers only)

1- 187 187- ZC7 209- 307 3C9- &f9 651- £99

701 7 0 3 - 801 8 0 3 - 821 823- 8 6 1 8 6 3 - 881

9 0 1 - 9 9 9 1 0 0 1 - 1 0 2 3

1 0 2 5 - 1 0 3 1 1 0 3 3 - 1 0 3 9 l o 4 i , i c 4 3 1045-1047 1051-1055 1 0 5 7 , 1 0 5 9 1 5 0 1 - 1 5 1 3

ST Open 11

11

11

DT O-oen

Va r i o u s b u i l d e r s , I 8 9 J . . 9 5 M.S.R. 1B99-1900 M.S.R. & L a r i v i e r e 1897-1900

7 0 1 - 7 0 7 ST Opeii

DT Semi-Con. DT Closed

11

11

n

n

DT Closed

n

11

n

11

n

11

11

M.S.R. M.S.R.

Crossen

B r i l l Ottawa C.C.& F. B r i l l P ressed S t e e l

Ottawa L a r i v i e r e

M.P.& I.R. Ottawa L a c o n i a Ottawa

11

P r e s t o n Ottawa & Laconia

1897-1900 1901

1898

1 9 0 4 1907-08 1907 190? 1907-08

1910-11 1 6 9 8 - 1 9 0 0

1900 1896-1900 1 9 0 3 1 8 9 6 - 1 9 0 0 1911 1911 1 8 9 6 - 1 9 0 3

EVEN SERIES (Even numbers only)

Some d u p l i c a t i o n .

1 0 -bench. RB c l o s e d 1 9 1 2 - 1 3 . 10 s o l d QRL&TCo. i n 1 9 2 2 . 1901 ex MP&IR. Re 1 -18?

s e r i e s . L a t e r RB c l o s e d .

No.859 preserved. S a i d to be f i r s t s t e o l - f r a n e d s t r e e t c a r s i n world.

No.997 preserved. 1901 ex MP&IR. Formerly-open but RB to c l o s e d .

ti 11 11 ti tt 11 11 it

) ) Ex 1 5 0 1 - 1 3 c l a s s , 1 9 1 0 . )

Ex MTR 1 9 0 7 . Re 1033 c l a s s i n 1 9 1 3 . Formerly open.

2 - 456 ST Closed Various I 8 9 2 - 9 5

N03 . 2 7 4 ,

Includes some ST cars reed, 1901 from MP&IR. A l s o two DT cars converted to ST,

226 350 preeerved. Some d u p l i c a t i o n .

2 0 0 - 226 ST Bi r n e y B r i l l 1919 1924 from D e t r o i t U n i t e d Ry, No.200 i i i e«er«ed.

4 5 8 - 636 ST Closed M.S.It. 1 8 9 6 - 1 9 0 0

638 DT 11 11 1900 "Scotch Car" 64o- 688 n 11 i i "Klondykes" Some r e W, 1920s 6 9 0 - 738 n 11 1901-02 "Scotch Cars" 7 4 o - 788 i t 11 1 9 0 3 - 0 4 "Windsor A i r s " Some re DE, 7 9 0 - 8 3 8 11 11 1 9 0 4 - 0 5 1 9 0 5 : 828 re# 9 5 0 . 840, 844-

842 n B r i l l 1905 840, 844- 862 t i N i l e s 11

864, 866 11 Stephenson 11

8 6 8 - 876 11 Rhodes, Curry 11

8 7 8 - 886 11 Ottawa 11

8 8 8 - 892 i t M.S.R. 11 No.890 f i r s t PAYE car i n world. Rc# 948, 9 0 0 , 946.

9 0 0 n 11 11 Ex 8 9 0 . 9 0 2 - 916 11 11 i t

9 1 8 - 9 4 4 11 11 1906

946- 950 11 11 1905 Ex 892, 8 8 8 , 828. 1002-1022 1024-1030

1032-1050 IO52-IO56

ST Closed DT »

DT Closed it

Eathbun M

M.S.R. Ottawa

1896 1897

1902 I 8 9 6

1901 ex MP&IR. " No.1024 r e b u i l t to

O f f i c i a l Car i n 1 9 1 0 . No,1046 preserved, 1907 ex MTR.

Montreal's S t r e e t c a r s . 1892-1959 6

CONSECUTIVE SERIES

1-2 3- 4

1100-1101 1102-1104 1175-U7B 1200-1209 1210-1269 1270-1299 1300-132**. 1325-1424 142Ç-1524 1525-1549

I550-I.599 1600-1624

1625-1674

1675-1699

ieoc-1824

1850-1874

1900-1949 1950-1964 1965-2004 2030-2035 2036-2037 2038-2040 2050-2088

2100-2149 2150-2179 2180-2239 2500-2501 2600-2605 2650-2674 2850-2874

3500-3517

EMB-OSAL 8/59.

DT Observation 11

DT Closed ti

11

it

ti

11

it

ti

n

ti

n

M.S.E. 11

M.T.C. M.S.E. Ottawa M.T.C. C.C. & F. Ottawa C.C. & F. Ottawa

ti

C.C. & F.

1905. 1906 1924 19C8 1911 1943 1911- 12 1912- 13 1913 1913 1913- 14 1913-17

Preserved. 11

No.3 preserved.

B r i l l 1914

11 1917 11 1914

11 1917

C.C. & F, 1924

11 1924

11 1930 11 1926 11 1928 11 1929

B r i l l 1924 e Southern cl927

B r i l l 1926 Wason 1927

C.C.& 5". 1926 11 1928 ti 1929 n 1928 11 1929 11 1930 11 1930

11 1944

No,1317 preserved. No,1339 preserved.

F i r s t u n i t s f o r t r a i n s , 1935-36 EB one-nan.

F i r s t u n i t s f o r t r a i n s . Unpowered t r a i l e r s f o r t r a i n s ,

1934 EB one-nan. Second u n i t s f o r t r a i n s ,

1954 BB one-man. Second u n i t s f o r t r a i n s ,

1935 EB one-nan. F i r s t u n i t s f o r t r a i n s . No,1801 preserved,

1953 ex 2850-2874,

No.1959 preserved, 1933 Nos.2001-2004 SB DE, 1942 ex Schenectady Eys.

" ex Alabama Power Co, " " " (DT B i r n e y s )

1941 ex S p r i n g f i e l d (Mass.) S t a r t i n g i n 1948, many EB to EE.

No,2222 proserved. "Duplex" a r t i c u l a t e d c a r s . B u i l t DE. 1956 re 2005-2010, F i r s t u n i t s f o r t r a i n s . Second u n i t s f o r t r a i n s ,

1953 re 1850-1874. PCC c a r s .

E x p l a n a t i o n of a b b r e v i a t i o n s : MSE - Montreal S t r e e t Eailway MP&IE - Montreal Park & I s l a n d E ailway MTE - Montreal Terminal Eailway MTC - Montreal Tramways Company CC&F - Canadian Car & Foundry Co., L t d . QEL&PCo. - Quebec Eai l w a y , L i g h t & Power Co. ( C i t a d e l D i v i s i o n ) EB - E e b u i l t r e - renumbered DE - Double end. DT - Double t r u c k ST- Si n g l e t r u c k PAYE - "Pay-as-you-enter" « - B u i l t as one-man ca r s ; a l l others two-man.

- 0 - 0 — 0 - 0 - 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 - 0 - 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 - 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 — 0 —

S t . O e n l s - W l n d t o r S U N <f Q OCT I C 7 9

DEEEEE QEŒEEE OEEEEE • E E E E E OEEEEE • E E E E 3 OEEEEE • E E E E E • E E E E E E E E E E E ŒEEEEE E E E E E E

06965

THE "SCOTCH" CAR, a type familiar to older Montreal-ers, was adapted from a similar car type in Glasgow, Scotland, hence its unofficial but popular nickname. These cars were later rebuilt to PAYE with extended rear platform; at this time the centre door was closed.

LEFT shows No.S69, one of ten cars which were built in 1907 and 190Ô in Pittsburgh and are claimed to be the f i r s t steel-framed streetcars in the world.

THE LAST DEVELOPMENT of the "Montreal" type was the clean-lined 1200 class, represented in the MTC Histori­cal collection by Car No. 1317. No. 1202 carries the typical large numbers on crimson background, which identified the "Pay-as-you-enter" car to the public.

P A P I N E A U

OCT 1 9« IN r u u m r m si • E E E E E Q E E E * E OEEEEE • E E E E E • E E E E E • E E E E E QEEEEE • E E E E E • E E E E E E E E E E E [DEEEEE1

E E E E E E

03707

TOP: Car No. IA.63 was one of two hundred cars of the 1325 class which introduced the arch-roof closed car desiga to Montreal. This picture was taken in the days before indirect dash lighting and route number signs. CENTRE: Riders on St. Denis and St. Lawrence streets w i l l rem­ember the two-car "trains" which were once a familiar sight along those thorough­fares. BOTTOM: The one-man 1900 class car was f i r s t intro­duced in 1926, and the last units ran u n t i l the cessat­ion of streetcar service in Montreal. Symbolically, No. 1959 w i l l be kept to comm­emorate the class and the f i n a l year of operation

STRANGELY, Montreal's f i r s t streetcar, the famed "Rocket", and i t s last, streamlined PCC car No. 3517, are not typical of Montreal, and hence are not i l l ­ustrated in this book­le t . The "Rocket" is the only car of i t s manufacture to have come to Canada, while the PCC represents a standardized transit type never popular in Montreal due princip­a l l y to climatic cond­itions, but used exten­sively elsewhere, not­ably in Toronto.