The end of the streetcar in Montreal
Radio-Canada has a good feature on the end of the streetcar era – why and how it happened, and how it might have gone differently. Some nice (though short) video clips show the trams moving through our streets.
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Kate
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MarcG 09:51 on 2025-10-24 Permalink
Wow that ‘observation’ train is really something.
Kate 09:55 on 2025-10-24 Permalink
I’ve seen colour photos. It was open top and all the scrollwork was painted gold.
SMD 10:23 on 2025-10-24 Permalink
It is a well-conserved one at the ExpoRail museum in Saint-Constant. There also seems to be one still running at a trolley museum in Connecticut: https://www.facebook.com/montrealtramway4/.
Kate 10:32 on 2025-10-24 Permalink
SMD, you’re good at this. I’m not old enough to remember trams here, but I do remember seeing an open top bus that was made up to resemble that observation car, and I’ve since seen a photo of it to confirm my memory, but I don’t know where it is now.
CE 13:29 on 2025-10-24 Permalink
I remember once seeing an old photo of funeral tram which I assume took bodies up the mountain to one of the cemeteries.
patatrio 15:18 on 2025-10-24 Permalink
great scrollytelling piece. continuing on the cars per 100 residents figures they track from 1911-1851, the last figure I can find is from 2017 (39 per 100 residents). you can see why cars have strangled funding for other mobility options and why parking is so scarce in denser neighbourhoods.
MarcG 16:31 on 2025-10-24 Permalink
Holy shit those Connecticutians treat that streetcar like Jesus hisself rode in it – so loved and well-preserved.
SMD 22:48 on 2025-10-25 Permalink
@Kate, I can’t find anything online about that observation bus. Sorry. It sounds awesome!
Kate 09:57 on 2025-10-26 Permalink
SMD, this image is the closest I could find, but obviously this bus doesn’t have the kitschy grandeur of the tram, which I gather was called the Golden Chariot.
SMD 16:07 on 2025-10-26 Permalink
Oh wow, what a great find! A lot going on there. The Red Ensign and Stars and Stripes flying above the old Wax Museum, the sign (“Finest in America!”) and of course the open coaches. Compare to July 2022 (https://maps.app.goo.gl/JC6UHX32Rx39vs9H6). Does anybody recognize the flag on the left?