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P6075

Details

ID Number: P6075
Item Name: Image
Title: First trial run of the electric Streetcar Windsor to Walkerville
Date: 1886/05/24
Description: Black and white photograph of the official opening of the Electric Streetcar line in Windsor; the streetcar is stopped in the middle of the photograph; it has nine arched windows on its side and is filled with men in suits and hats; the motor box is visible on top of the car and there are flags (Union Jacks) on each end; boys and men are standing to the sides and behind the streetcar and the road in front of the car is unpaved; the British American Hotel is in behind the car; there is a closed awning to the right and detailing above the second-storey windows.
History: The Town of Windsor in 1886 had one of the earliest electric streetcar on the North American Continent which went in service between Windsor and Walkerville. The Windsor Electric Railway (WERy) originated with Richard Bangham, a Windsor street commissioner who was inspired while on a trip home to England. He contacted J.W. Tringham, an electrical enthusiast, to see if a line could be built from Windsor to Walkerville. Charles Van Depoele, an ex-Detroit electrical engineer and furniture builder, was hired to build the line. The Van Depoele Company supplied the traction motor, wire and power to supply and the WERy constructed the 25 foot car and trailer at the company shop. Like the typical horse car, bench seats were along two sides. A barn was built at the Walkerville end of the line. The car reached Walkerville about every 12 minutes and for the passengers waiting for it, benches were placed inside the car barn. To warn of an approaching car, a push button was installed on a pole at the end of the track. At the Windsor Terminus there was no need since the car was in sight of the British American Hotel. The motorman of the first Electric Car was Lindon Clark Brooks, an electrical engineer and inventor who was born in Shelbyville, Indiana in 1853. Brooks was appointed first official Lineman for the project and lived in Windsor 1880 - 1935 where he was a prominent black property owner.
Place made: Canada - Ontario - Windsor
Collection Name: Museum Windsor