From the CBC archives: Winnipeg's last streetcars
CBC News | Posted: September 18, 2015 11:08 PM | Last Updated: September 18, 2015
Streetcars make way for new transit buses in 1955
Sixty years ago this weekend, Winnipeggers said farewell to the streetcar as the decades-old mode of transportation gave way to brand-new transit buses.
CBC cameras were there on Sept. 19, 1955, as families embarked on their last streetcar rides, and as city officials lifted a section of rail to mark the official end of the service.
"So long forever," reads a banner on one streetcar.
"My last run — I'm giving way to transit progress," says another.
According to local historian George Siamandas, horse-drawn streetcars debuted in Winnipeg in 1882. Within a decade, an electric system replaced the horses.
Click on the video player above to see the city's last streetcars … and its first buses.