Trading Card Project

Historical Hamilton Transit Cars

Authors

  • Esther Kok McMaster University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15353/acmla.n175.6395

Keywords:

Public transportation, Trains, Transit History, Hamilton, Industrialization, Instrumental Distribution

Abstract

Hamilton Street Railway, the city of Hamilton, Ontario’s public transportation system, has a long history. The system was first run by horse-drawn cars, but was electrified in 1892 — around the same time that innovation surrounding electricity transmission came to Hamilton. It consisted of various routes around the city, including the “Belt Line,” which connected the east and west ends of the city. The system, along with four interurban lines that went to Burlington, Beamsville, Dundas, and Brantford, were eventually purchased by the utility company, Dominion Power and Transmission. The street railway lasted until 1951, when it was no longer financially responsible to maintain. The author turned images of street cars that were used by Dominion Power and Transmission into trading cards that can be printed, cut out, shared, and traded, with the hope that they will spark excitement for public transportation! The cards can be used as a tool to learn about the history of public transportation in Hamilton, and invite investigation into its future.  

Author Biography

Esther Kok, McMaster University

Student Library Assistant

References

“Amtrak Rail Bonder.” Lionel.com, 2015, https://www.lionel.com/products/amtrak-rail-bonder-6-28400/

“Beltline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beltline

“Combine car.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combine_car Accessed 23 July 2024

Hamilton Street Railway: Burlington Route Abandoned and End of Belt Line Near. 61 ed., February 1951. Charles Cooper's Railway Pages, Upper Canadian Railway Society Newsletter, https://railwaypages.com/upper-canada-railway-society-ucrs-and-its-publications

Luton, Tom. “Hamilton Transit History.” TrainWebs, 2001-2024, http://www.trainweb.org/hamtransithist/

Metrolinx. “What is LRT? Light rail transit explained.” Metrolinx, 3 June 2022, https://www.metrolinx.com/en/discover/what-is-lrt-light-rail-transit-explained

Mills, John M. Cataract Traction. vol. 2, Canadian Traction Publications, 1971.

“Passenger railroad car.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_railroad_car. Accessed 23 July 2024.

“Rotary Snowplough | The Channel.” Ingenium, 12 November 2015, https://ingeniumcanada.org/channel/innovation/rotary-snowplough Accessed 23 July 2024.

“Railroad Dictionary.” Railroad Dictionary - CSX.com, https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-us/company-overview/railroad-dictionary/?i=W Accessed 23 July 2024.

Stahl, Randy. “Trolley Snow Sleepers - Trains Magazine - Trains News Wire, Railroad News, Railroad Industry News, Web Cams, and Forms.” Trains.com, https://cs.trains.com/trn/f/742/t/286435.aspx Accessed 23 July 2024.

Van Dongen, Matthew. “LRT route dig unearths Hamilton’s street railway past.” Hamilton Spectator, 24 October 2023.

Wertsch, James V. Voices of collective remembering. Cambridge University Press, 2002.

zugmann. “Air dump valve on every car?” Trains, 2002, https://cs.trains.co

Published

2025-03-13

How to Cite

Kok, E. (2025). Trading Card Project: Historical Hamilton Transit Cars. Bulletin - Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (ACMLA), (175), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.15353/acmla.n175.6395

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.