Editing Edmonton Transit Service (section)

==== Streetcars ====
{{Main|Edmonton Radial Railway}}
[[File:Jasper Ave 1930.png|thumb|Jasper Avenue, looking east from 101st Street, circa 1930; this was where all streetcar lines radiated from.]]
The ''Edmonton Radial Railway'' (ERR) began operations in 1908, both in the City of Edmonton and the neighbouring [[Strathcona, Alberta|City of Strathcona]], with four streetcars serving {{Convert|21|km|mi}} of track.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=History of ETS – City of Edmonton |url=https://www.edmonton.ca/ets/ets-history-statistics |access-date=2021-08-22 |website=www.edmonton.ca}}</ref> Over ten million riders used the system annually by 1912, and the city purchased 47 additional streetcars.<ref name=":1" /> The radial railway reached its peak in 1930, with six lines serving almost all parts of the city, and totaling {{Convert|77|km|mi}} of track.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |date=2019-10-30 |title=Tracks Through Time |url=https://www.ecfoundation.org/blog/tracks-through-time/ |access-date=2021-08-22 |website=Edmonton Community Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> The city purchased five modern streetcars in 1930, which featured innovations such as steel bodies and leather seats; these were the last streetcars that Edmonton purchased.<ref name=":72">{{Cite book |last=Tingley |first=Kenneth W. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/648388316 |title=Ride of the century : the story of the Edmonton Transit System |date=2011 |publisher=Edmonton Transit System |others=Edmonton Transit System |isbn=978-0-9809275-0-4 |location=Edmonton |pages=107–130 |oclc=648388316}}</ref> The city significantly neglected its streetcar system during the [[Great Depression in Canada|Great Depression]], and it suffered from poor maintenance and outdated streetcars.<ref name=":72" /> In the late 1930s, Edmonton began to replace streetcar lines with [[electric trolleybus]] routes, supplemented by gas and diesel buses, instead of buying new streetcars and repairing or replacing the tracks and overhead lines that had deteriorated during the Depression.<ref name=":72" />

The transition to buses was slowed significantly during the Second World War, and Edmonton had to build additional trackage for its streetcars to meet the spike in transit usage during the war.<ref name=":72" /> It was also forced to reintroduce conductors on busy routes, to help operators with selling tickets and issuing transfers; conductors were originally phased out in the 1930s, when streetcars were converted from double-ended to single-ended operations.<ref name=":72" /> The ''Edmonton Radial Railway'' was renamed to ''Edmonton Transportation Service'' in 1946, to signify the decline of Edmonton's streetcar network; it was renamed again just one year later, to ''Edmonton Transit System''.<ref name=":72" />

After some initial postwar hiccups, which necessitated even more streetcar tracks being built as late as in 1946 in order to avoid service gaps, the transition to trolleybuses picked up steam.<ref name=":72" /> By 1949, only two streetcar routes remained in service: The Blue Route, and the Blue & White Route, which totaled {{Convert|27|km|mi}} in length.<ref name=":72" /> In its final configuration, the service went between a turning loop at 109 Street and 84 Avenue, and another loop at 66 Street and 124 Avenue, via the High Level Bridge.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |title=Edmonton Radial Railway Society |url=http://www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca/streetcarhistory/trackmaps/ |access-date=2021-08-22 |website=www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca}}</ref>

On September 1, 1951, Edmonton streetcar No.{{nbsp}}1 – the first streetcar ordered by Edmonton – performed a ceremonial 'last run' across the [[High Level Bridge (Edmonton)|High Level Bridge]] while carrying special dignitaries; over 1000 spectators lined its route.<ref name="ERRS timeline">{{cite web |title=Edmonton Streetcar System |url=http://www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca/streetcarhistory/streetcarsystem/ |publisher=[[ERRS]] |accessdate=2010-03-10}}</ref> Early the next morning, the dignitaries rode streetcar #52 back to the ETS Cromdale shop, which marked the final time that a streetcar was operated by ETS.<ref name=":72" />

All of Edmonton's streetcars, except for #1, were stripped of their valuable materials like steel and electric wiring, and the bodies were sold for scrap.<ref name="ERRS timeline" /> The [[Edmonton Radial Railway Society]] (ERRS) has recovered and restored three former Edmonton streetcars, and has another six awaiting restoration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Edmonton Radial Railway Society |url=http://www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca/streetcars/ |access-date=2022-06-22 |website=www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca}}</ref> Aside from the three which it recovered and restored, it also operates Edmonton #1, which sat outside in a city yard for over ten years before being restored by volunteers – many of whom who later founded the ERRS.<ref name=":72" />