Condensing the long and rich history of the first 100 years of public transit in Edmonton into a single volume is no easy undertaking, but Ken Tingley has the job just about complete. After months of research and months more writing, Tingley is putting the finishing touches on Journey of the Century, his history of the Edmonton Transit System.

The book is slated to be released in early November to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the first run of the Edmonton Radial Railway, the venture that became today’s Edmonton Transit. “It’s a fascinating story, with a lot of interesting characters, and a treasure trove of great photographs,” Tingley says. “Anybody who grew up in Edmonton, or has lived here has a connection to the transit system, and so it’s a topic that touches a lot of lives.”

Tingley’s book begins in 1908, when the Edmonton Radial Railway clattered down the tracks for the first time, The first test run, on October 29th, was met by cheering crowds, bundled up in the first snow of the season, who lined up along Sutherland Avenue (106th Avenue) and Namayo Avenue (97th Street) to watch Streetcar No. 2.

“Carrying a group of boisterous young women, No. 2 encountered another problem when a disconnected trolley pole threw the car into darkness, but the festivities again continued undaunted,” Tingley writes. “Thus did a new city take its first hesitating steps into the urban transit of the new century.”

When the system began scheduled operations in early November 1908 it became the only urban railway in Canada between Winnipeg and Vancouver, and the most northerly radial railway in North America. Passenger fares were set at five cents. In its early days, the service was hampered by frequent power shortages and challenged by the steep escarpments into and out of the river valley and severe snow and ice.

The network initially comprised 21 kilometres of “out-and-back” lines that radiated outward from the urban centre into outlying districts, where the cars reversed direction and returned to the centre. The main line extended along Jasper Avenue westward from Namayo Avenue (97th Street) to 121st Street), connecting the new city’s principal commercial centre with the long strip of businesses and rapidly growing residential districts.

Another line connected Namayo Avenue's important commercial strip with Sutherland Street (106th Avenue), and then jogged east to connect with Syndicate Avenue (95th Street). The route then followed Syndicate to Norwood Boulevard, part of 111th Avenue, before moving up the part of 95th Street (known as Kirkness Street at the time) to Alberta Avenue (118th Avenue). A third major line to Strathcona followed 109th Street from Jasper Avenue to Saskatchewan Avenue (97th Avenue), where it turned towards Curry Street (100th Street), dropped to the Low Level Bridge and into Strathcona.

As Tingley notes, the initial network of radial routes played a significant role in the expansion of the city in its early days. Even today, the patterns of growth the first lines kick-started are still evident, as they fostered and encouraged development around them.

To connect the downtown with the west end, the river flats and Strathcona, the Edmonton Radial Railway purchased seven dual-control, reversible cars made by the Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company Ltd. The cars were wood construction reinforced by steel and had controls and trolley poles located at each end.

“When an Ottawa car reached the end of its line, the motorman fastened down the rear trolley pole, attached the fore pole and moved to the other end of the car with the reverse key and controller handle,” Tingley writes. “The cars had a fixed single-tread step, which many women, wearing the fashionable long dresses of the time, found quite difficult to manage.”

In 1909, the Edmonton Radial Railway on Alberta Avenue was extended to reach Packingtown by travelling east to Norton Avenue (66th Street) and then north to the J.Y. Griffith Packing Plant near 124th Avenue. As the city boomed, new lines were added, including one on Strathcona's Main Street (104th Street), completed south to McKernan Lake on November 9th, 1913. Edmontonians adored this sparsely populated route to a beloved skating and recreation destination the edge of town and began calling it the Toonerville Trolley, after a popular comic strip of the day called Toonerville Folks.

The city’s notoriously difficult winter weather made for some interesting mishaps over the years. On January 16th, 1916, car No. 23 was “breaking the rail,” as the first car over the track without the benefit of a sweeper. Dropping down the slick incline towards the Low Level Bridge, it couldn’t supply enough sand to control the speed of descent.

“As the speed picked up, Motorman William Johnson, an 18-year veteran, did his best. Conductor Warmington quickly warned the three passengers to lie on the floor and hold onto the seat legs,” Tingley writes. “No. 23 plowed into the sharpest turn on the Low Level Belt, rushing down 97th Avenue (Saskatchewan) and hitting 100th Street (Currie), one of the sharpest turns in the city. The car jumped the track, snapped off a telephone pole and rolled 20 feet into a garden, where it landed on its side. Motorman Johnson was pinned under the heater, where spilled coals set his uniform afire. Passengers soon put out the fire with snow.”

On the early morning of October 22nd, 1919, car No. 21 hit a snow-filled dip along 102nd Avenue while crossing the bridge between 130th and 132nd streets, jumped the tracks and crashed into Groat Ravine 12 metres below. The streetcar was shattered to splinters by the impact, and several of the six passengers were injured.

“When the motorman and his passengers arrived at the General Hospital, they realized one passenger was missing,” Tingley writes. “As it turned out, A.J. Adams has crawled out of the damaged hulk, helped rescue other victims and then set out for work afoot, simply saying, ‘Goodbye, I have to get to work.’”

Journey of the Century, the history of the first 100 years of the Edmonton Transit System, will be available in local bookstores after its release in early November.

Next week: The coming of the electric trolleys.