The British Columbia Electric Railway provided electricity to and operated public transportation in southwestern British Columbia from its establishment in the mid 1890s. In 1961, the provincial government took the BC Electric over, and the company became BC Hydro.
The company operated streetcar systems in Vancouver, Victoria, New Westminster, and North Vancouver, British Columbia. BC Electric interurban trams ran along 3 lines between Vancouver and New Westminster, as well as between Vancouver and Richmond, New Westminster and Chilliwack, and Victoria and North Saanich. During and after the streetcar era, BC Electric also ran bus and trolleybus systems in Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria.
External links
Preserving BC Hydro's History (http://www.powerpioneers.com/BC_Hydro_History/)
A division of BC Electric, the BCER operated public transportation in southwestern BritishColumbia from its establishment in the mid-1890s, operating streetcar systems in Vancouver, Victoria, New Westminster, and North Vancouver.
BCER interurban trams ran along 3 lines between Vancouver and New Westminster, as well as between Vancouver and Richmond, New Westminster and Chilliwack, and Victoria and North Saanich.
In 1989, BC Hydro sold the railway to a new shortline operator and the railway is now known as the Southern Railway of BritishColumbia and is exclusively a freight railway.
In 1958, BritishColumbia Premier W.A.C. Bennett boasted that he would extend the railway to the Yukon and Alaska, and further extension of the railway was undertaken in the 1960s.
In 1973, the BritishColumbia government acquired and restored an ex-Canadian Pacific Railway 4-6-4 steam locomotive of the type known as "Royal Hudsons", a name that King George VI permitted the class to be called after the Canadian Pacific Railway used one on the royal train in 1939.
Looking to retire BC Rail's debt, on May 13, 2003, BritishColumbia Premier Gordon Campbell reneged on promises to the contrary and announced that the government would privatise BC Rail (by means of a 999 year lease), while retaining ownership of the right-of-way.
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