Calgary, Alberta Trolleybus Scenes - 1970s

[@Bigwheel-g5j]

My Dad drove all them trolley buses and my Grandfathers work on them all. Cool slide show thanks 👌🏻

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Tim, Thanks for watching and for sharing your memories. Cheers, tassiebaz. 😄

[@Classicrocker6119]

I can still remember the noise they made on acceleration. Always fun taking the #3 from Centre St. to downtown.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Classicrocker6119, Yes, there were some great memories associated with that time period. Thanks for watching and stay well. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@pistolpat19]

Just saw this for the first time. I moved to Calgary in 1977 and trolley buses were no longer. I lived on 17th Ave SW and 12 St SW so in the video where you show 17th Ave SW and 14th St SW looking east I am sure I can see the old apartment building where I lived and it’s still there!

[@tassiebaz]

Hi pistolpat19, Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment. I hope this provided some enjoyable memories for you. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@CrissyRed]

A wonderful trip down memory lane

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Crissy, Yeah, the good old days. Thanks for watching and for your kind words. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Stay well. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@69Hurst442]

I looked at the 17th ave loop for a long time. I grew up just west of the loop. I even remember the cars in the pic. I must’ve ridden the #2 bus over a couple of hundred times. The loop is still there but if you took a pic today it is completely different. Hundreds of houses, shopping centres, restaurants etc. at least in this pic you can clearly see Sarcee Trail and and the 17th Avenue intersection. You wouldn’t be able to see it today from the vantage point the photographer chose to take this picture. Thanks for sharing this. I do miss the old days. The pic must be pre 1970 because the green Oldsmobile in the foreground is a 1966 and looks fairly new. I remember seeing that car all the time.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Enigma883, Thanks for watching and for sharing your memories. I'm glad you enjoyed the presentation and appreciate you taking the time to let me know. I think anyone who was around at that time misses the good old days. I'm sure, like many other places, the area is unrecognizable from what it was. My first ever visit to Calgary was in 1971, and many of these pictures were taken at that time. I also visited two or three more times before 1975. I also visited in 2006 but, of course, the trolleybuses were long gone by then. Cheers, tassiebaz.😁

[@billdang3953]

A couple of the photos look like they were taken at the north end of Centre Street of 4th St. N.W. Back then it was mostly farm land but soon became all houses and just another residential sub division.

[@69Hurst442]

@@billdang3953 Absolutely. It’s amazing how fast the city grew. I remember my folks having friends at the corner of Centre & 64 ave and there was nothing beyond.

[@SHERRY0010]

I grew up along Elbow Dr in Kingsland . Route #3. One day , there were the overhead wires along Elbow Dr, the next time I paid attention, they were all gone . Thanks for the trip down memory lane 😊

[@tassiebaz]

Hi SHERRY0010, Thanks for watching and for your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the presentation and appreciate you taking the time to let me know. Sometimes in the good old days things changed in the blink of an eye. Some called it progress. Cheers, tassiebaz. 😄

[@oliver4524]

Thanks for the effort to put this slideshow together! I enjoyed it

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Oliver, Thanks for watching and for your comment. I'm glad you liked the presentation and appreciate you taking the time to let me know. Cheers, tassiebaz. 😃

[@paulwestenberger3710]

One of the busses had Oakridge on the side, I assume it’s an add for the community of Oakridge. My parents had a house built in Oakridge in the late 70’s. Definitely a better time to be alive. Great vid.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Paul, Thanks for watching and for your comment. I'm glad you liked the video and appreciate you taking the time to let me know. You are absolutely correct; the good old days were a much better time to be around and I'm glad I was there to experience it. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@KyloWick]

I love the cars from this time

[@tassiebaz]

Hi sant yyc, Thanks for watching and for your comment. Sometimes the backgrounds and streetscapes are as interesting as the main subject. Stay well. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@roderickb6278]

Loved this - Watched many times

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Roderick, Thanks for watching and for your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it and appreciate you taking the time to let me know. Stay well. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@louisehans9771]

We lived on 17th Ave at 49th street. We were the last community in Westgate before Sarcee Trail, then it was just hills beyond (1962 to 1968). During winter months, the trolley buses would spark from the wet lines (light shows for us kids). Those streets are all gone to make way for the LRT. Alas....but for the good old days.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Louise, Thanks for watching and for sharing your memories of the good old days, which we all wish were still here. Cheers. tassiebaz. 😄

[@DavidBale-vn4op]

Rode them many times. The number 2 west loop was edge of town just as you pictured it. The Bridgeland trolley to the Zoo was a very short line . Hats off to the drivers from one of the kids in the back bench. Thanks. ETS too

[@DavidBale-vn4op]

No pictures of the Killarney 26 avenue trolley which is pre 1968 pre crowchild trail. A driver got stabbed at West end loop late one night even back then. One could buy tickets from drivers and they made change too.

[@tassiebaz]

@@DavidBale-vn4op Thanks for watching and for your comments. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@katemdegrood4580]

Howdy and Great Vid,..Second time watching, I had hoped to see the end of line loop which my house now stands! Nope, I can hear the noise the brakes made, almost a song, when released.I rode late one evening and talking to the driver, commented the bus could lay rubber when the majority of busses were off line.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Kate, Thanks for watching and for your kind words. I'm glad you liked the video and appreciate you taking the time to let me know. All the best for 2023. Cheers, tassiebaz.😄

[@bobvanwegen6216]

There is an advertisement on one of the buses for a "show home parade" in Sept 7 - October 6, 1974.

[@captainmorgan1107]

Cool video! Life was great in the 70's, all of the classic Detroit iron, less traffic, the best music, guys hair was longer than the women's skirts...….

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Captain, Thanks for watching and for your comment. Yes, these were the "good old days" for sure. Regards, tassiebaz.

[@dariovozila2767]

I grew up on 54th ave s.w and the South Calgary route went right past my house, as a matter of fact there was a stop practicly right out front, brings back memories....

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Dario, Thanks for watching and sharing your memories. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@lovelacetunes]

Thanks so much!

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Lovelace Tunes, Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment. I appreciate you letting me know you enjoyed the video. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@ReelLifeCanada]

Well done slide show.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi CanadaMotorSports, Thanks for watching and for your comment. I'm glad you liked the presentation. Regards, tassiebaz.

[@RogerStuart-s9g]

Peter Petrasuk “The man who really cares” on the side of one of the trolleys. I remember that crook who robbed his own mother. I rode the number 3 north on Elbow then switched to the number 7 on my way to work at Frank’s TV on 17th Ave. S.W.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi user-mm7li8il5d, Thanks for watching and for talking the time to comment. I note that the infamous Mr. Petrasuk changed his name to Peter Peterson following his criminal conviction. Cheers, tassiebaz. 😃

[@johnwang9914]

Oh, do one on the Flxible minibuses used as part of the Blue Arrow program during the mid 70's to early 80's. Nothing like point to point on demand public transit.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi John, Wish I had the pictures to do it but, unfortunately, I don't. Maybe there is one somewhere on KZbin. Stay well. Regards, tassiebaz.

[@ReelLifeCanada]

correction (5:20) 1st St and 9th Ave SW, Palliser Hotel to left.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi CanadaMotorSports, Thanks for spotting that and letting me know. I've put a correction in the description. Regards, tassiebaz.

[@ReelLifeCanada]

@@tassiebaz You are most welcome, meant in a positive light. I really enjoyed your slide show. I recognized so many places from my youth.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi CanadaMotorSports, I really appreciated your correction. I am working with notes that are over 40 years old and there are bound to be mistakes and I am not intimately familiar with the area. I would like the presentations to be as correct as possible. Thanks again. Regards, tassiebaz.

[@GregClarkAB]

Very cool video, thanks for sharing. Some of these must have been from 1977...at 6:17 there's a bus ad for Peter Petrasuk running for mayor (he ran in 1977 and 1980). He finished third to Ralph Klein in the 1980 mayor's race, then went to jail in 1983 for stealing $2.3 million from his legal clients. Including his blind 80 year-old mother! He lived two doors down from me on Riverdale near Stanley Park and we stayed in touch with his (ex) wife and family for years.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Greg, Thanks for watching and for sharing those interesting memories. I'm glad you liked the video and appreciate you taking the time to let me know. I'm sure my last visit to Calgary to see the trolleybuses was in 1974. They actually stopped running on 8 March,1975. I believe Petrasuk also unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 1974, so that might explain the ad on the trolleybus. Cheers, tassiebaz. 😄

[@billdang3953]

I too liked seeing the ad from Peter Petrasuk, an old name from the past.

[@MichaelSmith-c6k]

I remember these buses however they were restricted to the busiest roads in Calgary at the time (17 ave,Centre Street 1 6 Avenue)

[@tassiebaz]

Hi MichaelSmith-c6k, Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment. Cheers, tassiebaz. 😄

[@randy1997]

The end of the trolley cars was followed by the beginning c-train being built on 7 th ave to Anderson rd.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Randy, Thanks for watching and for that bit of information. Cheers, tassiebaz. 😄

[@johnbolt665]

Did a trolley bus ever make the corner in front of the Bay store without the driver having to get out and re attache to the cable?

[@tassiebaz]

Hi John, Thanks for watching and for your comment. I only visited, so never saw the problem to which you refer. However, if it was bad enough, I hope that would have they fixed it (all those years ago). Stay well. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@mikewoods8565]

LOL.. !! . I remember so much when the trolleys would turn the corner and the driver would have to get the pole out and get it back on The Wire...

[@craigusselman546]

cool cowtown looks different now only thing that is the same is the bus routes bay and tower.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Craig, Thanks for watching and for your comment. Much of the backgrounds in my presentations are as nostalgic and enjoyable to see as the vehicles themselves. Regards, tassiebaz.

[@entropybentwhistle]

It’s funny to think that the route went out as far as Simon’s Valley. There must have been an enormous amount of investment in the infrastructure to install that extensive a system. It’s a shame it was all dismantled in the name of “progress” and cheap petroleum, because if it had been kept and maintained the city would now be considered very forward thinking to have all electric buses and a few of the old buses would be a retro novelty for visiting tourists.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi entropybentwhistle, Thanks for watching and for your comment. Yes, Calgary was very progressive with regard to trolleybuses until they weren't. Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones. There were trolleybuses in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, Cornwall, Thunder Bay, Saskatoon, Toronto, Kitchener, Hamilton, Montreal, Regina, Saskatoon, and Ottawa. The only Canadian to retain their trolleybuses is Vancouver. Cheers, tassiebaz. 😄

[@jvcpaints]

78th Ave Bus Loop. Huntington Hills, baby.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi JvC Paints, Thanks for watching!!😀Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@billdang3953]

Back in those days, if you kept going north on Center Street, you got onto Symon's Valley Road (before that, you used to have to go north on 4th St. N.W.)

[@goldenhourkodak]

Are these your photos?

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Connor, Yes, every one of them. Regards, tassiebaz.

[@francoisarseneault8671]

Early 1970s 71-72, license plates are the clues. :-)

[@djkrazay7791]

I remember those days.. wish we had Sony walkman them days so we can hear our favourite disco track.... but no... no Walkmen then.. use your imagination .... lol...

[@billdang3953]

Just don't let Steve Dahl catch you doing that.

[@shaunandjodydearing3159]

We own bus 477 I was hoping to see pictures but I didn’t

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Shaun and jody Dearing, Thanks for watching. I tried to photograph as many different coaches as I could during my visits, but I guess I missed 477 or it wasn't running. Sorry. Cheers, tassiebaz. 😄

[@shaunandjodydearing3159]

@@tassiebaz it was listed in the beginning so I got some info about it that my dad didn’t even know what year it was. So thank u I did find a picture of 478 online so that was close enough

[@tassiebaz]

@@shaunandjodydearing3159 Hi, The list at the beginning was information about the fleet, not necessarily the ones I had pictures of. Glad you found what you wanted. Cheers, tassiebaz.

[@barbward2956]

When it was 30 below, they had trouble moving faster than 5 MPH. and back then it was very COLD... maybe that is why they switched to diesel.

[@barbward2956]

However, I did love those buses.

[@barbward2956]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Loved it.

[@tassiebaz]

Hi Barb, Thanks for watching and for your comments. I'm glad you enjoyed the presentation. To my knowledge, the trolleybuses should have preformed better that diesels in very cold weather. The only problem normally occurred when there was ice on the overhead wires which interfered with contact. Vancouver is the only Canadian city that decided to keep their trolleybuses, but there are lots of cities in Europe and Asia with extreme cold that still operate them. Regards, tassiebaz.

[@billdang3953]

I think part of the reason for the abandonment of the trolley buses were similar to Toronto's and Hamilton's, namely ageing of the buses, overhead wiring and electrical switching as well as the associated scarcity of spare parts for buses that date back to 1947 (some of Calgary Transits regular motor buses, namely the GM "Old Look" and similar looking Canadian Car And Foundry models also date back to the same era).

[@DavidBale-vn4op]

Yeah but they could go like stink up big hills. Odd

[@oliver4524]

6:14 "Peter Petrasuk, a man who REALLY cares" 😂😂😂

[@tassiebaz]

I note that Peter Petrasuk unsuccessfully contested the office of Mayor of Calgary in 1974, 1977 and 1980. 😒

[@oliver4524]

@tassiebaz more interesting are his later legal troubles and extensive time in prison.

[@tassiebaz]

@@oliver4524 Hi, yes I saw that on Wikipedia but didn't include it in my comment. Didn't know anything about him until your comment. Then I got curious. Cheers, tassiebaz.