Photographs of streetcars are very good witnesses of how Quebec was in the 19th centurye and XXe centuries. By looking at it, we consider the main functions of this means of transport and its organization, but also the daily life, the shop-fronted buildings, the traffic rules and the communal services. Jean Breton, the specialist in the history of public transport, presents us today with 10 photographs of the old Quebec tramway.
1) The horse-drawn carriage nOh 7
City of Quebec Photo Archives, #10290, photographer unknown
Tank #7
The Quebec Street Railway inaugurated a series of horse-drawn wagons on August 18, 1865, connecting the Traverse de Lévis to the barrier (toll booth) at Rue Saint-Vallier on the Québec-Sauveur border. The first carriage accommodated 12 passengers and traveled at an average speed of 6 miles (10 kilometers) per hour. It costs $0.05 to travel the entire route. The second tank entered service on August 22, followed by the third and fourth on August 30.
After a few weeks, 6 carts, 25 employees and an unknown number of horses are meeting the needs of customers. The photo of tank number 7 may have been taken on rue Saint-Joseph, on the corner with rue Saint-Vallier.
In winter, carriages on sleighs are pulled by three horses, but since they are not heated, they are losing popularity. During the great fire in the Saint-Roch district in 1866, the fire destroyed a large part of the wooden rails, causing operations to cease until they were replaced.
2) THE sweeper notOh 4 on D’Auteuil street
Photo BAnQ, Fonds JE Livernois ltée, P560,S1,P760.
The No. 4 Sweeper on D’Auteuil Street
The official photo of the staff on board sweeper number 4 shows the pride of the team who just efficiently completed the snow removal.
The photograph, taken on rue D’Auteuil between Porte Kent and rue Saint-Louis, probably dates from the winter of 1897-1898, the first winter experienced by the company.
Before the advent of electric trams, the streets were not cleared of snow; Local residents cleared the sidewalks and dumped snow on the streets, which explains the amount of snow on the streets in old photos.
Children and even a few adults come to see this strange tank in action, capable of clearing an entire street by itself! It was used until 1928 and then scrapped.
3) The Tank Observatory
Photo archive Ville de Québec, 1935, photographer unknown
The Tank Observatory on the Côte de la Fabrique
The Tank Observatory descends the Côte de la Fabrique towards Rue Saint-Jean. Drivers and passengers appear to have been warned by their appearance of the presence of the photographer who was waiting for them on the City Hall grounds to immortalize their crossing. The car’s 1935 year plate gives us the year of the photo. On the right is the Simons store selling Dry Goods, Linen & Homespun which could be translated as Dry Goods, Woolens and Homemade; French speaking customers don’t need to know English to guess the contents of the store! One visit is enough. For a long time, many shop windows in Québec were only displayed in English.
The Simons store still exists in the same location and has multiple branches in Quebec and Canada. Its neighbor, the famous French restaurant Kerhulu, has an understated facade, the word restaurant is bilingual.
Finally, on the left, the Empire Cinema only shows English language films, including one starring Lionel Barrymore in “Should Ladies Behave” and a second film. Admission for both films is $0.15. The times have changed!
4) The tram noOh 201
BAnQ Photo and collection of the Réseau de transport de la Capitale
Tram number 201
Tram number 201 (Ottawa Car Company, 40 seats, 1898) travels slowly down Grande Allée to Château Frontenac; The cross and Maple Avenue sign indicate it travels the Upper Town Circuit. The Quebec District Railway became the Quebec Railway, Light & Power Company on June 18, 1899.
The passengers’ clothing could indicate that it was a business trip; the scene probably takes place on the first Sunday in the spring of 1898.
The presence of three employees at the same tank is extraordinary. The drunk-looking gentleman, who seems surprised by the photographer’s presence, may have simply gone to bed too late the previous day.
5) The tram noOh 520
Photo Thaddée Lebel, 1929, Quebec City Archives
Tram number 520
Streetcar #520 (Brill, 40 seats, 1908), purchased by Third Avenue Railway – 837 – (NY) in 1942, travels up Rue Saint-Jean towards Avenue des Érables. On the left, the Hôtel Montcalm, built in 1846; A floor was added in 1912, but in 1921 the floor disappeared and the building retained this appearance until its demolition in 1969 to enlarge the Place d’Youville.
The tall steeple of St. Matthew’s Church appears on the left and that of St. John the Baptist’s Church on the right. The organization YMCA occupies the building on the corner of Rue des Glacis, on the ground floor of which there is a pharmacy at reduced prices (medicines – reduced prices). The Diamant Theater completely renovated the building in 2019. Opposite the hotel, all the buildings in the square disappeared in 1930, replaced by a car park and, in 1992, by a bus station.
Among other things, the rails will be laid about two meters in the direction of the parking lot so that hotel guests can stop in front of the door on arrival and departure. At the west end of the hotel, the trams suddenly squeezed in, much to the customers’ discomfort!
6) The tram noOh 614
Photo EA Toohey, 29 February 1948, Canadian Railway Historical Association Documentation Center
Tram number 614
Tram number 614 (Ottawa Car Company, 40 seats, 1920) runs on the company’s private road where Rue de la Pointe-aux-Lièvres is today. circuit no. 4 connects Youville Square to the Provincial Exhibition, located at Commissioners Road (Wilfrid-Hamel Boulevard) via 1st Avenue and Lamontagne Avenue (Eugène-Lamontagne). Circulating in one direction, it forces customers to take the big tour at every exit, whether on the way there or back! This route was inaugurated on September 12, 1898 to connect the exhibition with the city center.
It was No. 206 tank, whose driver was E. Sylvain and motor driver G. Ross, who was first on duty. It also serves the parish of Stadacona. Due to the low use, however, it is not put into operation in the winter before 1904. Until 1923, the private road ran through Victoria Park. Note the bell tower of the Saint-Zéphirin-de-Stadacona church. The last tram ran on the evening of April 30, 1948.
7) The tram noOh 805
Photo collection Réseau de transport de la Capitale, photographer unknown
Tram number 805
Streetcar number 805 (Ottawa Car Company, 40 seats, 1928) descends the streetcar convoy on Charest Boulevard West, waiting for the end of a parade on Dorchester Street on a cold winter morning. The number 805 runs on circuit number 1 Champlain-Saint-Malo.
Ironically, a poster on the back of the carriage mentions that when there’s no traffic hold-up, the trams arrive on time! Not all of these swimmers circulate on circuit #1; There are also routes 3, 4, 7 and 8 which will bring back the unmatched crowd after the parade.
The streetlights were replaced by more modern models in the early 1960s, but new models were installed in 1996, very similar to the ones in this photo. On the right the Dominion Corset building, a huge women’s underwear factory, and on the left the JL Drolet Chevrolet Oldsmobile dealership, which is being replaced by Laporte Automobiles is long gone.
8th) tramsBone 810 and 808
Photo WB Edwards, June 23, 1938, Author’s Collection
Tram numbers 810 and 808
Streetcars #810 and 808 (Ottawa Car Company, 40 seats, 1928) trudge through crowded D’Youville Square during the Eucharistic Convention, June 23–26, 1938.
On opening night, a midnight mass for men was held in the Plains of Abraham, forcing the company to change the service in the upper town. Direct connection from Limoilou (nr. 3) and Saint-François-d’Assise (nr. 4) to Parc des Champs-de-Bataille on Grande Allée via Rue D’Auteuil.
The closing ceremony on Sunday 26 June 1938 included a very long procession, leaving the basilica at 3 p.m., walking along the Rue Saint-Jean, the Chemin Sainte-Foy and the Avenue des Braves, ending at the Parc des Champs. Battle.
One hundred Canadian cities contributed to the installation of large arches along the route, and the city of Quebec hung lights.
9) The tram noOh 905
Photo Canada Science and Technology Museum, CN Collection, CN003078, photographer unknown
Tram number 905
Streetcar #905 (Ottawa Car Company, 40 seats, 1929) travels up the Côte du Palais on route #8 to Saint-Sacrement. Since April 10, 1940, it no longer begins at Place Champlain, but only at Carré Parent, since the rails were removed by the city of Quebec to rebuild the aqueduct on Saint-Paul Street. The No. 16 trams have taken over.
The last tram runs on the Côte du Palais on the evening of July 31, 1940, completing the service that began on December 29, 1897. Note the cars on the rails driving without concern for the trams and the ‘Arrêt de Tramways Stop’ sign seen under the advertisement for Craven A-cigarettes.
The Hôtel Victoria is still operational, but the Victoria Theater and the Garage Côte du Palais are long gone. As for the Hôtel-Dieu (on the right), it will soon undergo a major change of vocation.
10) Place Jacques Cartier in 1946
Photo Library and Archives Canada, PA-149527/CL, photographer unknown
Place Jacques Cartier in 1946
The Place Jacques-Cartier was a bustling place in the autumn of 1946. The trams of circuit no. 3 (Château-Saint-François-d’Assise) shared the space with the buses from Limoilou, La Canardière and Boischatel.
On the left a bus picks up customers for Camp Valcartier or Lac-Saint-Charles. A large Robin Hood flour sign stands on the roof of an old shop building, while the Saint-Roch monastery stands between Place Jacques-Cartier and the Saint-Roch church.
It will be replaced by a large hotel in the 1970s and Place Jacques-Cartier will disappear to make way for the Gabrielle Roy Library. On October 15, 1947, District No. 3 became District No. 4, and the tram serving it was replaced by buses on the evening of April 30, 1948. Joseph until the evening of May 27, 1948.
A text by Jean Breton of the Historical Society of Quebec
For more information and even more photos, see Histoire des tramways de la region de Québec, a book by Jean Breton, published by Editions GID, 2023.
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