From the CBC archives: Winnipeg's last streetcars

Streetcars make way for new transit buses in 1955

Media | From the CBC archives: Winnipeg's last streetcars

Caption: Winnipeggers boarded the city's streetcars for the last time on Sept. 19, 1955, as the service was replaced by transit buses.

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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(external link), 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.