Kitchener and Waterloo Street Railway

The Kitchener and Waterloo Street Railway was a street railway in Berlin (renamed Kitchener in 1916) and Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Horsecar service began in 1888 under the original Berlin and Waterloo Street Railway name and continued until the system was electrified in 1895, when the existing horsecars were converted for electric service. This proved ineffective, and the company suffered from under-investment. In 1896, a local consortium bought out the company and purchased a new fleet of purpose-built electric trams. The system was municipalized in 1907 and was run by the Town (later City) of Berlin/Kitchener until the end of service. The railway was renamed in 1919 to reflect the name change of the City of Kitchener, which had occurred in 1916. In 1927, it was reorganized under the Kitchener Public Utilities Commission, which continued operations until 1946, when tram service was discontinued and replaced with trolleybus service.[1][2]

Kitchener and Waterloo Street Railway
Streetcar photographed on King Street at King and Ontario in front of the Canadian Block building.
Operation
LocaleKitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Open1888
Close1946 (replaced by trolleybus service)
StatusClosed
Lines1
Horsecar era: 1888–1895
Owner(s) Berlin and Waterloo Street Railway Company
Propulsion system(s) Horse-drawn
Depot(s) Corner of King Street and Cedar (now Bridgeport) Street, Waterloo
Stock 2 horsecars
Route length Cedar Street in Waterloo to Scott Street in Kitchener
Early electrification era: 1895–1906
Owner(s) Berlin and Waterloo Street Railway Company
Propulsion system(s) Electricity
Depot(s) Corner of Albert (now Madison) Street and King Street in Berlin starting in 1900
Route length Extended to Albert (now Madison) Street and King Street in Berlin starting in 1900
Municipalization era: 1906–1946
Owner(s) 1906–12: Town of Berlin
1912–16: City of Berlin
1916–46: City of Kitchener
Operator(s) Kitchener Public Utilities Commission
Propulsion system(s) Electricity
Depot(s) 1923–46: Car barns at Kitchener Junction station
Stock 1906: 8 electric trams, 8 trailers

Legacy

Though the tracks were largely removed in the 1950s, some physical remnants of the streetcar line survived until the 2010s, when wooden ties were discovered during excavations on King Street to prepare for the construction of the ION light rail system.[3]

References
  1. "Kitchener & Waterloo Street Railway". TrainWeb. 4 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  2. "A History of Kitchener Transit". 1 October 2001. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  3. Swayze, Kevin (27 March 2015). "Century-old streetcar line found under LRT construction". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
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