Preston & Berlin Street Railway

The Preston & Berlin Electric Railway was an interurban streetcar service offered covering the 12.68 kilometres (7.88 mi) between the cities of Preston, Ontario (now part of Cambridge, Ontario) and Berlin, Ontario (renamed Kitchener, Ontario during WW1).[1][2] The company was formed in 1894, but lay dormant, until 1900, when construction began.[3] The company began operation in 1904.[4]

Freeport Bridge, Preston & Berlin Electric Railway, Preston, Ontario, circa 1905.

The Preston & Berlin Street Railway was tied to the older Galt, Preston and Hespeler Street Railway, and the two shared directors.[3] They merged in January 1908 and incorporated as the Grand River Railway, in 1911.[5] Some sources also indicate that the Preston & Berlin Street Railway and the Galt, Preston & Hespeler Street Railway had initially been called the Berlin, Waterloo, Wellesley & Lake Huron Railway Company when they amalgamated in 1908.[6] [7]

The service required a truss bridge over the Grand River, at Freeport, Ontario, completed in 1903.[5]

References
  1. Bill Bean (2014-10-24). "LRT began in Galt and Preston in 1894". Kitchener-Waterloo Record. Retrieved 2017-03-14. Interest in electric street railways grew in the area, with the Preston and Berlin Street Railway and the Berlin and Waterloo Street Railway providing service across what is now Waterloo Region. And there were close links between these street railways and the Lake Erie and Northern Railway, which eventually led to 12 trips daily from Galt to Port Dover.
  2. Eric Model. "The Region's Original "Light Rail": A Journey into Waterloo". Klusster Media. Retrieved 2017-03-14. Interest in electric street railways grew in the area, with the Preston and Berlin Street Railway and the Berlin and Waterloo Street Railway providing service across what is now Waterloo Region. And there were also close links between these street railways and the Lake Erie and Northern Railway, which eventually led to 12 trips daily from Galt to Port Dover. The fare was $1.60 one way
  3. "History of electric rail transportation". Cambridge web. 2009. Retrieved 2017-03-15. In 1894 with the completion of the Galt-Preston line, a charter to build an electric rail line between Preston and Berlin (Kitchener) was granted to Thomas Todd of Galt (President of the G & P), Fred Clare of Preston and J.A. Fennel of Kitchener. For various reasons, the Preston and Berlin Street Railway lay dormant until 1900 when it was reorganized.
  4. "Style of car in use on our electric street railway and manufactured in Preston, Ontario". Kitchener Public Library. Retrieved 2017-03-14. According to the 1956 Waterloo Historical Society annual volume, Preston and Berlin Street Railway passenger service began on 6 October 1904.
  5. rych mills (2016-04-16). "Flash from the Past: Freeport rail bridge opened in 1903". Kitchener-Waterloo Record. Retrieved 2017-03-14. The GRR was the result of a 1911 amalgamation of the much earlier Galt, Preston and Hespeler Street Railway with the Preston and Berlin Street Railway Company.
  6. "PRESTON & BERLIN STREET RAILWAY COMPANY LIMITED PRESTON & BERLIN RAILWAY COMPANY LIMITED". Trainweb. Trainweb. 19 July 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  7. "GRAND RIVER RAILWAY". Trainweb. Trainweb. 19 July 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.