Transit

The Regina Municipal Railway got its start in 1911, when tracks were laid in Regina 's built-up areas to provide streetcar service for local residents. The first streetcar ran on July 28, 1911 . Not coincidentally, the streetcar lines all stopped directly in front of the R.H. Williams Department Store on 11 th Ave. . (Williams had been Mayor of Regina when City Council voted on where the streetcar lines should be placed.)

Having streetcar lines running in a neighbourhood made the area more appealing to new home buyers. Many developers were quite vocal in encouraging City Council to built streetcar lines into their new subdivisions. Some developers even took the additional step of offering to build their own streetcar lines in their new subdivisions and then turning the lines over to the city to operate. City Council liked this technique, especially since property within a three-block radius of a streetcar line could be taxed at the same rate as property in established areas (instead of on the sliding scale for taxation that had been implemented when Regina annexed new areas in 1911).

The Regina Municipal Railway was not necessarily a money-making operation in its early years. While it brought in more revenue in taxes for the city, the company itself ran deficits in the first few years of its existence. The wooden cars, which were extremely noisy, cost five cents for an adult to ride in 1911. By 1920 the fare had gone up to ten cents, and the price dropped again to five cents during the Great Depression. But the streetcars enabled residents to get more use out of the city's amenities, especially Wascana Park . Wascana Park had been on the outskirts of the city and was not well-utilized by the city's residents until it was made more accessible by the streetcar line. The streetcars also gave the city a modern feel that was seen as essential for attracting new residents.

   Title: Street railway construction
Date: ca. 1910
Retrieval Number: CORA-RPL-B-170
  Title: Inaugural streetcar run
Date: 1911
Retrieval Number: CORA-B-702
  Title: Pedestrians and streetcars in downtown Regina
Date: ca. 1911
Retrieval Number: CORA-B-741
  Title: Streetcar inaugural run
Date: 1911
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-165
  Title: Regina 's first streetcar
Date: 1911
Retrieval Number: CORA-RPL-A-268
  Title: Streetcar sweeper
Date: ca. 1912
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-1823
  Title: Albert and Broad Street streetcar
Date: ca. 1912
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-1824
  Title: Broad and Dewdney streetcar
Date: ca.1912
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-1825
  Title: Broad and Dewdney streetcar
Date: ca. 1912
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-1826
  Title: Pedestrians, cars and streetcar
Date: ca. 1913
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-1571
  Title: Regina streetcar
Date: 1914
Retrieval Number: CORA-RPL-A-964
  Title: Post Office with streetcar out front
Date: ca. 1915
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-981
  Title: Regina streetcar
Date: c.1915 
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-1233
  Title: Streetcar near a snowbank
Date: 1916
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-150
  Title: Streetcar #17 in a snowbank
Date: 1917
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-149
  Title: Regina Streetcar #26
Date: 1918
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-148
  Title: Streetcars leaving the car barns
Date: ca. 1918
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-156
  Title: Farm Boys Camp streetcar
Date: 1918
Retrieval Number: CORA-RPL-A-963
  Title: Clearing snow
Date: ca. 191?
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-154
  Title: Clearing snow from tracks
Date: ca. 191?
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-155
  Title: Regina Municipal Railway Car #101
Date: ca. 191?
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-166
  Title: Regina Street Railway tokens
Date(s) of Creation/Date of Publication: ca. 1920
  Title: Broad and Dewdney streetcar
Date: pre-1921
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-1827
  Title: Regina streetcar barn
Date: 1922
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-147
  Title: Trolley clearing snow
Date: ca. 1930
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-152
  Title: Street railway snow plow
Date: 1931
Retrieval Number: CORA-A-164
  Title: Work crew repairing overhead streetcar power lines
Date: 1931
Retrieval Number: CORA-B-2
  Title: Streetcar on Albert Street bridge
Date: ca. 1935
Retrieval Number: CORA-RPL-A-961

 

 

Home | Contact Us

Visit the City of Regina Archives Web site

© Copyright - All photos are public domain unless otherwise indicated.

Acknowledgements: