Historical Society

End of the Street Car Era, 1947

8 September 1947 A day that will live in infamy… Well, maybe not, but 75 years ago, it was the day the last street car operated in Lethbridge. The street car system started in 1912. The system was in place for the Dry Farming Congress that October and during the Congress, 5000 visitors came to Lethbridge over the week-long event. The street-car system had an initial cost of over $250,000 and began with 17 km or 11 miles of track. The city purchased five double track streetcars, followed by five smaller single track cars. The cars were amber and cream in colour and displayed the sign “Lethbridge Municipal Railway.” Initially there were five lines serving north Lethbridge, Henderson Lake Park, the south-side residential district and a small downtown area. The various lines were known by a mixture of names and colours. They were downtown, orange, white, red and blue.

The system as originally built wasn’t sustainable. The downtown line was discontinued soon after. Staff numbers were cut and then staff were dismissed and hired back at a lower wage. In 1917, all cars were reduced to single operators. That same year, one of the south-side residential lines was discontinued.

In 1939, buses were added to the transit fleet and in 1947 the city moved entirely to buses.

Lethbridge Historical Society

facebook.com/LethbridgeHistoricalSociety/ Photograph: compliments of Galt Museum & Archives shows a streetcar on 5 Street South Did You Know?