Canadian Railroads > Calgary Transit ala '86

Back in 1986 my friend, fellow Kansan & TO member John Wegner (“ChiefBuilder”) did some exploring in western Canada, trains & transit style. Below I have 6 images showcasing John’s time spent around Calgary’s transit system. Top-notch photography all, but I know little else about them. Never having gone to visit our good neighbors to the north I have to confess to not knowing much at all about Canadian rail passenger subjects of any type. So those of you who are keen on the subject please feel free to add commentary…

1. CTrains 2053

2. CTrains 2072

3. CTrains 2069

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4. & 5. CTrains 2046. I’m not sure I’ve got these in the correct order…

6. CTrains 2016
(All photos taken by John Wegner on August 2, 1986 in Calgary, AB)

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
John Wegner (chiefbuilder)

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Calgary opted for a tried and true transit system, as did the City of Edmonton to the north. I believe the cars in these images were of the same design as San Diego and some other US transit systems. The signal system is similar to that on heavy rail.  From the initial network, the network has expanded both north and south.

The cars in these images, I believe are Siemens/Duwag cars designed (and built?) in Germany. Only in recent years have these cars been replaced by newer Siemens designed transit cars.

The photo of 2053 looks quite different today as the new public library was constructed at this location, creating a tunnel. About half the fleet has been retired and replaced by newer vehicles, with about three of the retired LRVs going to Edmonton Transit for parts. The Edmonton fleet is similar with the main difference being in wheel profile, Edmonton had to cross a CN yard lead initially to access their garage, which meant they built their system with standard North American turnouts, and had a larger flange on the wheel. Calgary which runs down the street downtown uses a smaller flange.

Hi there!

The Siemans Dueway U2 cars are the same equipment that Edmonton had.  This order was similar to what San Diego got for the "Trolley".  The differences being that both Edmonton/Calgar opted for the high level platform arrangement. 

The photos locations (to the best of my knowledge are)

1. Interlocking on 9th Street & 7th Ave NW. Train coming from the NW line onto the 7th Avenue 'Transit Mall'.  This photo would have been likley 1987..as the line to the NW part of the city opened in the summer of 1987, just proior to the Winter Olympics of 1988. 

2.  Whitehorn Train leaving City Hall for the North East.  Interlocking and a crossover is here for the Anderson line, which veers off to the right of the equipment. 

3. Train arriving from Whitehorn at 3rd Street SE.  This is where the interlocking for the Anderson is as well, and effectivily where the street running begins.

7th Ave was converted from a regular street to transit only when the CTrain was developed.  Both busses and Light Rail trains operate the 13 horozontal blocks (about a 1.8 miles) from end to end. 

Paul O'Neil
Edmonton, AB

Photos 4, 5  and 6 appear to be:

4. Heading Westbound along 7th Ave, arriving at Olympic Plaza

5. The 7th Ave Transit corridor.. probably near 1St W. 

6. Interlocking at City Hall.  

Paul O'Neil
Edmonton, AB

Pictures 5 and 6 are both at what was the western end of both lines before the Northwest Line (Red) was put in and the west line (Blue) was extended. The station is now Kirby but I cannot remember what it was before the extention. There used to be a Denny's where the junction for the Blue and Red joined on the west end of 7th Ave. I liked eating there and watching LRVs. After the Red Line was extened to Brentwood the Blue Line still terminated at the station in the pictures 5 and 6. These are as close I have to those posted.

1) 2008
2) 2018

Edit: I almost forgot, I really enjoyed seeing these as I spent a lot of time in and around Calgary while on Sperry Rail Service. Everything looks so new in these pictures compared to even what I saw in the 1990's.

Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/30/20 20:42 by tq-07fan.

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Thanks guys, for the updated info & scenes. It's amazing how a given location changes. But we don't actually see the liitle day to day changes as they happen...

Lance/199