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Zoom RegistrationAcclaimed traction video producer and editor Harvey Laner returns to present a program covering one of Canada’s most famous interurban railways. Harvey grew up in Chicago, where he was able to ride the North Shore, South Shore, and Aurora and Elgin, along with Chicago’s trolleys and els. In 1953 his family moved to Los Angeles and his Southern California railfanning adventure began. In mid-1954, Harvey joined the Southern California Division of the Electric Railroaders Association (SC/ERA). He was also one of the 14 founding members of the Orange Empire Traction Company in Perris, California, today’s Southern California Railway Museum.
This program was produced with movie films taken in the early 1950s by Canadian railfan Ken Hodgins. Forty years later in 1990, Ken’s films were edited and narrated to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of interurban and streetcar services in southwestern British Columbia. Retired British Columbia Electric Railway interurban motorman Frank Horne narrated the BC Electric Interurban Lines portion of the video. Vic Sharman, former BC Electric Railway streetcar motorman narrated the streetcar portions.
The first part of the program covers the close-in-to-Vancouver interurban lines, Burnaby Lake and Central Park. The program then shifts to BC Electric’s streetcar operations focusing on the Oak Street Line to Marpole, the Fairview Belt Lines and the famous sightseeing observation streetcar. Then, we follow the separate movement of the baggage and the passenger sections of a Chilliwack train from Vancouver to New Westminster. There the two sections are joined to continue the remaining 63.8-mile trip to Chilliwack.
This is the most comprehensive film coverage of the British Columbia Electric Railway in the later years of streetcar and interurban passenger operations in the early 1950s.
As tonight’s presentation will not be recorded, you will not want to miss this!