Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
December 10, 1950 On a Sunday morning, regular operations began for a trolley bus system in the city of Hamilton in Canada’s province of Ontario. These vehicles became the latest form of public transportation launched by the Hamilton Street Railway (HSR), a company that had been serving the city for 77 years by that time.... Continue Reading →
November 14, 1938 After two days of being made available exclusively for pedestrians to cross, the newly completed Lions Gate Bridge in the Canadian province of British Columbia was first opened to vehicular traffic. This suspension bridge traverses the First Narrows of Burrard Inlet and links the city of Vancouver with the North Shore municipalities... Continue Reading →
November 4, 2023 A light rail line in Edmonton, the, capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, was officially opened. This route is called the Valley Line and it is part of Edmonton Light Rail Transit, which is widely known in that region as the LRT. Unlike the other trains used elsewhere within the LRT,... Continue Reading →
In the Canadian province of British Columbia, the paddle steamer sternwheeler Moyie was launched at Kootenay Lake in the city of Nelson. This vessel, which was built in prefabricated sections in Toronto, became the newest steamship acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The launch of Moyie was described by the Vancouver-based Daily News Advertiser... Continue Reading →
October 16, 1888 CGS (Canadian Government Ship) Stanley, which is widely considered to be Canada’s first fully functional icebreaker, was launched at the shipyard of Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited (Fairfields) in the burgh of Govan (now part of Glasgow) in Scotland. This steamship was named after Frederick Arthur Stanley (1841-1908), 16h Earl of Derby,... Continue Reading →
July 29, 1900 An inaugural ceremony was held for the White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&YR), a narrow-gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway in what was then the U.S. territory of Alaska with the community of White Horse (later officially changed to Whitehorse and incorporated as a city) in the Canadian territory of Yukon. ... Continue Reading →
September 22, 1986 The Alex Fraser Bridge was officially opened in Canada. This cable-stayed bridge carries British Columbia Highway 91 over the Fraser River and connects the cities of Richmond and New Westminster with the community of North Delta in the metropolitan region of Vancouver, British Columbia. The northern end of the bridge is on Annacis... Continue Reading →
May 11, 1927 An eight-wheeled motorbus that would earn both distinction and derision began its service as a transit vehicle in Montreal, Canada. The vehicle had been built by the New York-based Versare Car Company, a bus-and-trolley manufacturer established in 1925 to produce experimental heavy-duty motorbuses that were intended for city service. The founder of... Continue Reading →
August 6, 1889 Railroad promoter and builder George Laidlaw died at the age of 61 near the community of Coboconk in the south-central region of Ontario, Canada. Laidlaw, who was born in the Highlands of Scotland in 1828, had an irrepressibly adventurous approach to life. This was in large part the driving force for him to... Continue Reading →
June 24, 1918 Canada joined a small but ever-growing number of nations in a new method of postal delivery when that nation’s first official airmail service took place. At 10:12 a.m., Captain Brian Peck of the Royal Flying Corps departed for Toronto from the Bois Franc Polo Grounds near Montreal in a JN-Curtiss two-seater biplane... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 