Après avoir transporté des générations de gens à Montréal dans toutes les directions et pour une multitude d’occasions et évènements, beau temps mauvais temps, le tramway fen vint à faire figure de fossile dans une métropole qui se modernisait de plus en plus. Il fit un ultime tour de piste le 30 août 1959 avec toutes les cérémonies d’usages et ce fut le tramway *PCC #3517 (circuit #45 Papineau-Bélanger) qui eu l’honneur d’avoir été le dernier à rouler. Après son passage on referma des portes symboliques derrière lui et le transport urbain entra dans une nouvelle ère; celle de l’autobus et du métro.
Question-Quizz: Si l’omnibus (véhicule tiré par des chevaux) existait à Montréal depuis 1864 avec la Montreal City Passenger Railway, en quelle année vit-on apparaître le premier tramway électrique dans les rues de la ville? (Réponse dans l’article de demain)
* PCC veut dire President Conference Comittee, une réunion qui réunit dans les années 30 les constructeurs de tramways afin de repenser ce mode de transport et de le rendre plus moderne et plus attrayant face à l’autobus. Montréal en reçut 6 dont un seul a survécu et se trouve présentement au Musée Ferroviaire Canadien, attendant une sérieuse restauration.
Ou Cé que t’a trouvé ca?
Comment par DAVE ID — 11 août 2009 @ 22:11 |
Ca c’est le tramway 1959 qui a récemment été remis en état de marche au Musée Ferroviaire Canadien. Une vraie merveille!
Comment par Pluche — 11 août 2009 @ 22:49 |
The photo of MTC 1959 is taken at Exporail at Delson/St Constant, Quebec.
Creme/Red One-man/Solotrams rarely, if ever, operated on the Lachine 91 route, as there were no turning loops at the Lachine end, just Wyes.
However, just before the end of service to Lachine, a PCC car was operated to Lachine on an excursion.
http://www.amistramwaysmontreal.org/articles.php?lng=fr&pg=219
One-man streetcars WERE operated on the 92 Lachine Extension out to Dixie which was removed from service April 29, 1951.
Both the 4-wheel Birney cars and Double-end 8-wheel cars in the 2001 series were utilized. At Dixie, the Motorman had to change ends, as the track at that location just ended with a stub, no Wye nor Loop.
Recently, Google Maps introduced their new street level imaging and I immediately went to Lachine via Google and discovered the remnants of the rails where the 91 Lachine turned back to Montreal in front of Dominion Bridge at Notre Dame and 6th.
Streetcar rails are curving out, left to right, from parking lot by bicycle, tree and fence post.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Montreal,+Communaut%C3%A9-Urbaine-de-Montr%C3%A9al,+Quebec,+Canada&sll=37.09024,-112.412109&sspn=52.020054,147.304688&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=Fef3tgIdXFuc-w&split=0&hq=&hnear=Montreal,+Communaut%C3%A9-Urbaine-de-Montr%C3%A9al,+Quebec,+Canada&ll=45.438342,-73.666971&spn=0.001381,0.004495&z=19&layer=c&cbll=45.434846,-73.668729&panoid=gJQf9pnWaTIUc24bc-o5nw&cbp=12,220.62,,0,19.55
Streetcar rails at William Mac Donald and 6th in Lachine.
http://rogerkenner.ca/Bike/West_Island_Tours_Lite/03_Ste_Anne_May31_03/bk_ste_anne_030531_48.jpg
Comment par Cdnlococo — 10 novembre 2009 @ 17:22 |
Yup. MTC 1959 was taken at Exporail where I work as a volunteer. Thank you for the additional and most valuable information that you have provided here.
Comment par Pluche — 12 novembre 2009 @ 00:19 |
Years ago I too worked as a volunteer at the CRHA at Delson. We used to take the CPR Dayliner and descend at the the-then still extant St Constant station.
We had much work to do in Old Building 1 to get the track in, all clay, as the MTC was tearing down Youville Shops in preparation for the Metro and shipped the historic streetcar collection to Delson. Mud everywhere.
The Sans Pareil No 9 Plymouth was the operating locomotive and derailments the order of the day. We acquired the air horns now on No 9 from CNR 9422 being scrapped at St Lawrence Iron and Metal in the East End on the waterfront across from-then Montreal Locomotive Works.
( St LI&M also scrapped the remaining MTC PCC cars.
St LI&M later moved to the South Shore, scrapping alot of the CNR CLC diesels and some of the Cornwall Street Railway steeple cab electric locomotives.
CN 46 was their lawn ornament before it moving to Valee Jonction. )
The BIG steam engines such as CN 4100 CN 5702 CN 6153 CP 5935 and such made the ground ooze as they passed over the new-laid track.
My father was very interested in Montreal Tramways, visited Youville Shops in the Thirties, and we travelled all over by streetcar as routes were to be bussed.
I was Motorman/Garde Moteur on 1959 when we took his ashes around the museum site, stopping frequently to dispense them. I also put a small quantity of his ashes in MTC 1046, a car he used to ride to work on in the Twenties.
Delson is a great place to visit our history and they have done well.
A beautiful building filled with all types of treasures.
Thank You.
Comment par Cdnlococo — 12 novembre 2009 @ 18:18 |
This is very interesting info you wrote there. When you talk of the BIG steamers I can certainly related because in september 2004 we took out CNR 6153 and CPR 5935 out of hangar 5 using CN switcher 30. It was quite a blast!
Comment par Pluche — 13 novembre 2009 @ 21:36 |