Saskatoon's forgotten streetcar system and a possible future for rail

More than 100 years ago, Saskatoon had streetcars running up and down its roads on tracks. Decades later, they were paved over and transit was never the same.

The streetcar system was eventually replaced by trolley buses, then diesel buses, but there's a new project being proposed to use old rail lines in the province for a passenger and goods train.

Before looking into the future, it's important to understand Saskatoon's past — back to the streetcars that ran down the city's main streets, powered by overhanging electrical lines.

It wasn't rare for cities to have streetcar systems like Saskatoon's back in the early 1900s. In fact, there were more than 80 cities with similar systems.

Now, Toronto is the last one standing, with lines being maintained to this day.

Jeff O'Brien, the City of Saskatoon's archivist, says the streetcar system was originally going to be a project built and owned by the British.

In 1911, Saskatoon was looking to outsource its rail transit and electrical utility to a British company, but after abandoning that idea, they did it all themselves starting in 1912. This is also the decision that ultimately led Saskatoon to operating its own light and power company. 

"They built the system quite confidently," said O'Brien. "This is a growth period, so there's an expectation that Saskatoon is going to grow, which it did."

"Saskatoon's population went from about 12,000-15,000 in 1911 to 28,000 in 1912 — the people were flooding in — and so they built the lines way out, way past the built-up area of Saskatoon out into the farms and fields."

Saskatoon was much more compact back then, O'Brien said, making rail lines more efficient, but this system only ran up until the 1940s, when trolley buses were introduced. 

O'Brien said in 1938, the street railway superintendent George Archibald went to a conference and when he came back, he was under the impression the streetcar's days were numbered.

"His suggestion was that we phase out streetcars entirely and phase in rubber-tired trolley buses," O'Brien said.

Streetcars had to stop in the middle of the road to pick up passengers, holding up traffic, whereas trolley buses could pull over to the side of the road. It was also cheaper to expand the transit network with trolley buses.

In 1951, the last streetcar made its final run. 

Holding a book on transit in Saskatoon, O'Brien read a quote about that very moment.

"With the official ceremony concluded, streetcars continued to operate on the Mayfair-University line until late that night, when the last streetcar to be seen on the streets of Saskatoon, clattered into the barn," read O'Brien.

By the 1950s and '60s, the age of the automobile and suburban neighbourhoods took over. In 1964, electric trolley buses were on the way out and diesel buses started to replace them.

Looking into the future

Henry Feldkamp, a retired engineer based in Saskatoon, is proposing a new idea for the province's old rail lines. It's called Sask Reconnect.

He wants to the government to make use of the already existing rail lines in the province to create a passenger train system that could also deliver goods and services.

"I have been observing this for decades and we have been losing whatever we had on public transportation," said Fledkamp.

"We were better connected 100 years ago than we are today. There's no Canada-wide bus service of significance anymore."

Feldkamp said the line could start in downtown Saskatoon, where it would be built above the roads, about 10 metres in the air. Then, using the rail running through the city, it could extend out to Warman, then Prince Albert.

The train wouldn't be a high-speed bullet train, but would travel at a similar speed to highway traffic.

Feldkamp said passenger rail would give rural residents better access to health care, programs and education services. Businesses could also use it to transport goods.

Currently, Saskatchewan has VIA Rail Canada as the only passenger train in the province. According to its website the train company operates "as the national passenger rail service on behalf of the Government of Canada."

However, the service only runs through a portion of the province — the lower third — connecting Melville, Watrous, Saskatoon and more.

In Saskatoon, the VIA Rail train stops about twice per week, allowing people to board and travel to one of the aforementioned destinations or beyond, but not north-bound.

For example, it doesn't visit Prince Albert, Regina, Swift Current or North Battleford.

Bold leadership required

Ehab Diab, an assistant professor in the department of geography and planning at the University of Saskatchewan, said the idea is realistic, but it would require bold political leadership.

"It always comes to the idea of change. People are afraid of change," said Diab.

"We have been used [to] certain lifestyles. We used the cars in certain ways, but to bring all this change, usually it's difficult."

Diab said from an equity and environmental standpoint, a transit system like the one Feldkamp is proposing would increase connectivity and give people better access to services. 

As for how a project like this could be funded, Feldkamp pointed to the $500 cheques issued to every adult in Saskatchewan late last year under the government's one-time Saskatchewan Affordability Tax Credit.

"Close to half a billion dollars that has been having no effect," Feldkamp said. "If you had put that into one fund, it would have gone a long, long way."