Cool old pictures of Cowtown

[Pinner]

I looked from across the river and those 2 houses are fairly high up the hill, so it is higher than the pic looks.

I see they put a 2 meter height sign there for the rail bridge, people were always crushing campers and vans etc. there, I used to work there at transit.

[Arsenal14]

I don't think it's that the photographer was any higher up, just that the camera was tilted on a more downward angle. The modern photo easily fits the skyscrapers in the frame whereas they would have their tops cropped if they were in the original photo.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

I'd love to see a street cart system in Downtown Calgary, nothing major, just something touristy.

Do circle through Stephen Ave, up center street through Chinatown, go West down Riverfront through Eau Claire then back down 4th street Connecting with stephen Ave again.

No offense, but if we're bringing streetcars back (and I really really hope we do), we shouldn't adopt this philosophy. Streetcars can be an important cog in the transportation network and should be treated as a viable method for moving people going about their day-to-day lives, not as a theme park exhibit. Some American cities have made this mistake. Others mind you have went with the "tourist attraction" angle to some success. Just not what I'd like to see for Calgary.

Streetcars have seen a renaissance, especially in the last decade or so.

Anyway, kind of off-topic. Carry on with the pictures.

[Pinner]

Don't forget Alberta is using coal for 50% of the electricity, not good. Street cars use alot of electricity.

[Clarkey]

Isn't the C-Train just a glorified street car?

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Streetcars have seen a renaissance, especially in the last decade or so.

What are the perceived advantages to streetcars vs LRT or busses?

[Yeah_Baby]

Forget about street cars. Say it with me people, MONORAIL!!!!!!!!

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

Forget about street cars. Say it with me people, MONORAIL!!!!!!!!

I'd get the first job for sure. I'm the best moon-thingy guy there ever was!

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Pinner

Don't forget Alberta is using coal for 50% of the electricity, not good. Street cars use alot of electricity.

Well the C-Train is "wind powered." Technically what happens is that the same amount of power that it takes to run the C-Train is purchased in the form of wind power and that is fed into the grid. I would imagine any streetcar system would piggyback onto this program. Besides, any buses that streetcars would replace are diesel powered and produce more noise in addition to emissions.

Originally Posted by Clarkey

Isn't the C-Train just a glorified street car?

No. The two operate much differently. The biggest differences are the spacing between stops, top speeds, train lengths, overall capacity (persons per hour per direction). Much higher in all cases with the C-Train.

Some systems in other cities that have been dubbed 'LRT' (or mis-dubbed, as it were) do resemble streetcars more closely. Certainly not the case with the C-Train though.

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

What are the perceived advantages to streetcars vs LRT or busses?

Well to start, each one can fill a much different role in the transportation network. Local vs. regional, long distance service, circulation vs. collection and distribution, etc. Streetcar systems usually take a role closer to that of buses than to LRT systems like the C-Train, so they are more often compared to buses when looking at advantages/disadvantages.

A few key advantages are:

- Can run in-street in mixed traffic using existing infrastructure.

- Much less costly than LRT, but more than buses

- Less noisy than buses and less odorous emissions

- Streetcars offer a smoother ride than buses

- Streetcars often have more capacity than buses.

- Has been shown to attract nearby development much more effectively than buses due to the permanency. Developers see it as the municipality making a long-term "investment" in the area and the route

- Has been shown to attract more choice riders than buses with same capacity and speed on same routes. This is due to a concept called rail bias, whereby people are more willing to take rail public transit than bus public transit if they have the choice. It is seen as a more attractive travel option.

As is often the case, other people have said it better than myself. Here's some links:

In depth:

http://www.railwaypreservation.com/v...agetrolley.htm

http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009...r-renaissance/

Concise:

http://www.cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Streetcar

The streetcar (or tram) wikipedia page also gives a good synopsis:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram

[frinkprof]

Anyway, to get back to old pictures of Calgary:

Calgary Tower when it was dominant in the skyline


From 1910 - Back in the day, the CPR was a big driver of all facets of development, including selling lots and houses to people


First streetcar in 1909

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by Nammer403

ya some cbc article i got that off said the original location was right across the street
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/sto...-drive-in.html

Thanks. I knew it was close by. I had forgotten it had been across the street,

[HPLovecraft]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

I think this would be a little more accurate.

That's the oldest picture I've ever seen!

Almost . . .

I've gotten hold of probably the oldest picture ever taken of Calgary. Even older than that one.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

That's the oldest picture I've ever seen!

Almost . . .

I've gotten hold of probably the oldest picture ever taken of Calgary. Even older than that one.

Mine are even older.



And even older Calgary:

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Pinner

Fort Calgary 1880's

Good thing you captioned it. I would have thought it should be:

Edmonton, 2010.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Anyway, to get back to old pictures of Calgary:

Calgary Tower when it was dominant in the skyline

so what was the point of the Calgary Tower when they built it? looking at old photos of it, it just looks out of place

[Pinner]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Well the C-Train is "wind powered." Technically what happens is that the same amount of power that it takes to run the C-Train is purchased in the form of wind power and that is fed into the grid.

What a load of crap, LoL Thanks for the laugh.

Coal is a very dirty way to produce electricity, ever hear of acid rain?

Alberta has alot of natural gas and wind available for power generation, use it.


Here's a picture of the Hudson's Bay Co. 1917.

[Pinner]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

so what was the point of the Calgary Tower when they built it? looking at old photos of it, it just looks out of place

Originally named The Husky Tower, this Tower was constructed for the following reasons:

• As a joint venture between Marathon Realty Company Limited and Husky Oil who were both establishing Head Offices in Calgary.
• To encourage a return of business to the downtown core, as a part of a Calgary urban renewal program.
• To honour Canada's Centennial.

Finished in 1968

[Buzzard]

To encourage a return of business to the downtown core, as a part of a Calgary urban renewal program.

Well, it appears to have been success in that regard!

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Pinner

What a load of crap, LoL Thanks for the laugh.

Coal is a very dirty way to produce electricity, ever hear of acid rain?

Alberta has alot of natural gas and wind available for power generation, use it.

They do. The same amount of power needed to power the C-Train is purchased by the City and comes from wind generation sources. If there were no C-Train, the power from those sources does not get purchased and does not get added to the grid. The C-Train then gets replaced by diesel buses and you have more pollution.

In September 2001 the City of Calgary announced its decision to use commercial wind energy as the primary source of the C-train's electricity. The program is called Ride the Wind!TM because people using the C-Train would actually be traveling with the help of energy captured from the wind.

Before the switch to wind power, the C-Train's energy supply accounted for about 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases and other air pollution every year, less than 1/10 of the pollution that would have resulted if all C-Train passengers had driven in their own cars. Under the Ride the Wind!TM program, these emissions are reduced to practically zero. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from this change is like taking another 4,000 cars off the road for a year. This makes the C-train one of the most environmentally friendly forms of transportation you can use.

http://www.re-energy.ca/ridethewind/backgrounder.shtml

[Pinner]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

If there were no C-Train, the power from those sources does not get purchased and does not get added to the grid.

Where would it go ?

I could say air conditioners are environmentally friendly because all the electricity they use is from wind power, and the C Train is dirty because that electricity is produced by coal.

The wind power purchased for the C Train creates more demand for electricity from coal, right?