Presenting another BIGDoer.com Then and Now historic comparison (in this case with a Calgary Transit theme). In these, we revisit a location seen in an old photo, shoot a now image similarly composed and then post about it here. We’ll babble on and on about what’s seen, what’s changed and what’s stayed the same. It’s always interesting and to line up the shot well, it’s a really fun challenge for us.
This is an old post from 2014, long forgotten, but brought back from the archives and dusted off. It uses the original photos (explained below), but the write up is new. We don’t know the date of the Then photo, but it’s most likely from the late 1960s or early 1970s…maybe. A car seen in back behind the trolleybus hints at the year, but otherwise, there’s no solid visual clues to help us along.
Calgary Transit South Calgary #7 33rd Ave SW: on the same corner 40-45 years apart. Transit history obsessed with Chris Doering & Connie Biggart (BIGDoer/Synd)
Thanks to “Jeff Neels” for sponsoring this and many other posts at BIGDoer.com. Be like Jeff…
Then: a trolleybus on the South Calgary (#7) route turns north onto 14th Street Southwest off 33rd Avenue and that house in back is white. It’s what connects the two eras. 2014: the scene is similar (it’s a green house now, however), the route is the same, but it’s no longer under wire. The electric trolleybus system is history, but lives on in memories like in this post.
Scroll down for photos and to comment.
Bus #447 dates to 1948 and was retired in 1975, with the closing of Calgary’s trolleybus network. At the end date it was listed as out of service, but for how long is unknown, and later sold for parts to Vancouver (BC) Transit to keep their fleet of similar buses in service.
It’s a model T44 and the most common trolleybus on the CTS roster. It’s one of 77, built in the years 1947 to 1950. They acquired an additional eight, otherwise similar looking but slightly larger T48A models in the years 1950-53. These came from the Canadian Car and Foundry plant in Fort William (now Thunder Bay) Ontario. CTS also rostered some electric buses bought second-hand from US transit agencies.
The trolleybus network was an offshoot of the city’s streetcar system and followed many of the same routes. After World War Two, the whole thing was worn out and Calgary Transit (named the Calgary Municipal Railway at the time), needed a solution.
Upgrade or replace?
A trolleybus network would allow them reuse of some in-place infrastructure – lines, poles, substations – while getting rid of higher-maintenance parts. So the streetcars themselves and the track. This was the option chosen and it worked well. Streetcars were old-fashioned anyway, and this gave the transit system a modern look with an economical approach.
The technology was familiar and understood by everyone involved. It just made good sense…at least in the 1940s when many cities in Canada, some dozen, adopted trolleybuses just like Calgary. It was a big thing, for a time.
There are and were many more trolleybus networks in US, plus more across the world (former Soviet-block countries in particular).
In Canada most trolleybus networks closed by the 1970s, and since many were never upgraded, they became odd anachronisms at the end. Today, in Canada, only Vancouver’s remains, but it’s modern and efficient, so it appears to have a solid future. Edmonton’s lasted until 2009 and it became the second last system in use in this country.
With the advancement of diesel technology in the early 1950s, trolleys soon fell out of favour. Still, most cities typically kept them running until they wore out. Near the end, many system were in rough shape, and beyond saving. The trolley bus boom in Canada was brief.
You might hear trolleybuses referred to as trolley coaches or trackless trolleys. A couple former Calgary Transit trolleybuses are on display in the ghost town of Sandon BC – a great place to visit if you love history.
The bus in our now photo, #7750, is from 2001 and was made in Winnipeg Manitoba by New Flyer Industries. It’s a model D40LF and one of hundreds of this type on the roster at the time. They were the most commonly seen bus model in Calgary not that long ago and were hugely popular with many other North American transit agencies.
Calgary Transit is retiring the older DL40Fs and this one has been gone for a few years now. Newer ones soldier on, but time for them is ticking too. The last were delivered in 2008 and they’ve accumulated a gazillion miles.
Both buses are on the #7 route (often called the South Calgary run in the old days, or Marda Loop run now) and presently, it’s much the same today as it was back then. Streetcars on the South Calgary run earlier used a slightly different route.
One house in back helps connect the two eras. It dates to 1920 and we’re sure it has some stories to tell. Otherwise, most of what’s seen has changed, even if the street kind of feels the same. Lots of greenery and a nice little place to call home.
The South Calgary neighbourhood dates to around 1910, although for many decades it remained largely undeveloped. Today, they’re demolishing many old houses to make way for newer, larger, digs. The yellow house seen in the older photos behind the white/green one has vanished since 2014.
Notice how much the spruce trees in back have grown in the ensuing years.
The bushes in front of our target house have grown up a lot since our first visit, and views are more limited now. Even in winter, without leaves, they still partly obscure the place. As such, any attempts to reshoot this piece (and we’ve tried) have not produced results as good as ten years ago.
Oh, and the car turning in front of the bus…an accident about to happen? No, both vehicles were turning left from their respective directions, so it just looks like a close call.
The Then image was sourced by us and appears in the public domain. Some images used in this series are thanks to readers and if you have an old family photo showing a street scene like this, please reach out. We’ll shoot something like it, chat about it and give you credit too.
Something to say and no one to say it to? Go here: Contact Us!
Date of adventure: 1960s/1970s and April 2014. Location: South Calgary (neighbourhood). Article references and thanks: The Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board & Wiki and the City of Calgary.
Comments are (OFF)