An anniversary for today: Sept 19, 1955, was the last Streetcar run in the city.  An ad in the Winnipeg Free Press proclaimed “Winnipeg Runs on Rubber” by Goodyear of course.  With an aging Streetcar fleet, the decision was made to go with a modern bus fleet.  Trolley and Diesel buses were the choice, and Trolley Buses used the overhead electrical lines, lasting another 15 years to 1970.

I was informed of an obituary in the Free Press over the weekend, for Grace Cameron Chamberlain (nee McMurdy) and I quote from the FP “During the Second World War she drove a streetcar and was the first woman driver to achieve a one year safety record. She was proud of that accomplishment”.

Another reason to restore 356 I’m sure in those 2 sentences, there is a lifetime of stories, and more. The picture below is from the Winnipeg Tribune Archives, U of M Collection.  Looking West on Portage Ave, Trolley Buses on the right.

http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/archives/tribune/photographs/display_photo.php?id=3977

Thanks Grace.