Fonds RG-90 - City of Edmonton. Edmonton Transit System fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

City of Edmonton. Edmonton Transit System fonds

General material designation

  • Graphic material - photograph

Parallel title

Engineering and Transportation Department (1971-1977)

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on name of creator.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

CA EDM RG-90

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1950-[ca.1957], 1970-1975 (Creation)
    Creator
    Edmonton Transit System

Physical description area

Physical description

58 photographs

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Name of creator

(1946-1971)

Administrative history

The idea of local public transportation began in 1893 when the North West Territories Council approved “An Ordinance to Empower the Municipality of the Town of Edmonton to Construct and Operate a Tramway”. However, public transit was not established until 1908, when the City of Edmonton purchased the Strathcona Radial Tramway Company, a private venture that was slated to start a local railway before being bought out through Bylaw. A second bylaw ratified the establishment of the Edmonton Radial Railway shortly thereafter – Bylaw 185.

From 1904 until 1971 this department had a number of names. Until 1946 it was called variously the Edmonton Radial Railway or the Street Railway Department. On July 16, 1946 the name was changed to the Edmonton Transportation System, to reflect the changing nature of the department, specifically the large number buses that now made up the fleet. On April 29, 1947 the name was shortened to the Edmonton Transit System.

The Edmonton Transit System merged with the Engineer’s Department in 1971 to form the Engineering and Transportation Department. This was in reaction to the provincial City Transportation Act, passed in 1970, which required cities to undertake transportation studies to ensure transportation needs were met. In 1976 the independent Transit Department was formed from the Transit Branch of the Engineering and Transportation Department. However, the independence was short lived, and on January 1, 1984 the Transit Department, the Engineering Department, and the Transportation Management Department merged to form the Transportation Department. The former Transit Department was now the Edmonton Transit Branch of the Transportation Department. The Transportation Department was reorganized and renamed the Transportation and Streets Department in 1997. On June 1, 2011 as part of a large-scale reorganization within the City, the Transportation and Streets Department was renamed Transportation Services. In 2016, this department was reorganized again to become the City Operations Department.

Custodial history

Scope and content

This fonds contains photos of Edmonton Transit equipment and Luna Gas in the 1950s, and construction and tunneling related to the creation of the LRT downtown in the 1970s.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

This material was transferred to the City of Edmonton Archives by Edmonton Transit System in 1977 and 1979.

Arrangement

The photographs were assigned item numbers with the prefix EA-301.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

    Location of originals

    Availability of other formats

    Restrictions on access

    These records contain information that is protected in alignment with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act. There are no restrictions on access.

    Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

    Copyright may apply.
    Reproduction restrictions may apply.

    Finding aids

    Photographs have been described at the item level and are available in the Reference Room.

    Associated materials

    See also Ride of the Century: The Story of the Edmonton Transit System by Ken Tingley (2011). 338.409 TIN

    Accruals

    Further accruals are expected.

    General note

    Accession numbers: A77-19, A79-97

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Standard number

    Standard number

    Access points

    Subject access points

    Place access points

    Name access points

    Genre access points

    Control area

    Description record identifier

    Institution identifier

    City of Edmonton Archives

    Rules or conventions

    Rules for Archival Description (RAD)
    Archives Society of Alberta Subject Terms

    Status

    Final

    Level of detail

    Dates of creation, revision and deletion

    Language of description

      Script of description

        Sources

        Accession area