Over the years there have been a number of charters held on the HSR and the Hamilton area Radials. Often done in the early years as tours of the transit system or of the city of Hamilton for visiting dignitaries and transit industry professionals, in later years these trips were mostly by transit and rail fans both local and foreign.
Author's Note: This page will not cover charters done by the Canada Coach Lines, as they were a much more regular event as part of their business model. Also this will not cover extra services put on by the HSR handling special events such as extra bus services run on TiCat game days.
Summer 1945, National Railway Historical Society, HSR #125, 128, 502, 521, 417
While this footage is labelled as 1942, the Ontario license plate style seen in it dates it to 1945. (Also I think wartime secrecy would have prevented filming this much railway equipment). Footage from this trip is also found in Hamilton Street Railway - The Electric Years - 1892 to 1994 by GPS video, but it is misdated as 1947.
A brief summary of what you're seeing
-10:00 HSR #125 & 128 at the TH&B station.
-10:10 HSR buses at TH&B roundhouse
-10:26 Onboard the buses
-10:30 Sanford shops at King
-10:44 Inside the shops
-11:20 Sanford shops at Wilson
-11:26 I have no idea what is up with this streetcar and why it's orange.
-11:37 East on King?
-12:01 Barton & Ferguson
-12:07 Barton & James
-12:13 King & James
-12:30 Sanford Yard
-12:45 Birch Ave
-12:50 Another orange streetcar. I don't know if this an old paintscheme I've never heard of, or an experiment, or an early version of an ad wrap.
-12:55 Turning onto Burlington
-13:01 Wying at Kenilworth & Barton
-13:10 The private right of way south of Burlington
-14:06 ?
-14:23 James & Burlington
-14:33 James south of Burlington
-14:43 CNR station
-15:03 Christ the King
-15:15 Westdale
-15:18 Westdale loop
May 7, 1972, North American Trackless Trolley Association, Brill T48A coach.
May 25, 1975, Toronto Transportation Society, HSR #748
Photo Gallery courtesy of Paul Bateson
July 1975, ?, HSR #750, 790
May 6, 1978, Toronto Transportation Society, HSR #85
June 13, 1998, Toronto Transportation Society, HSR #8201
Photo Gallery courtesy of the TTS
September 2, 2006, Toronto Transportation Society, HSR #518203 and #518206
Photo Gallery courtesy of the TTS
September 5, 2015, Toronto Transportation Society, HSR #1421
June 4 2016, Toronto Transportation Society, HSR #1503, 0301, 0320
Photo Gallery courtesy of Girardin71
Photo Gallery courtesy of 97SCT Transit Media
October 26 & 27, 2024, Toronto Transportation Society & Canadian Transit Heritage Foundation Anniversary Weekend 2024, HSR #1822
To celebrate the 150th birthday of the Hamilton Street Railway and the 75th anniversary of the Halton County Radial Railway, the TTS & CTHF ran two joint charters back to back on October 26 & 27, 2024
October 26 was a visit to the Halton County Radial Railway near Rockwood. The HCRR has a number of HSR artifacts
HSR #521 is the only surviving HSR streetcar, and is currently undergoing restoration.
Former TTC rail-grinder #W-30 in a safety yellow paint scheme that looks surprisingly close to the HSR's TiCat scheme, making it the closest we'll ever see to a HSR PCC (at least in real life)
The front of HSR #7802. #7802 was part of the HCRR's collection as an entire bus until November 2022 when continuing deterioration lead to the vehicle being scrapped with only the front section being saved.
Not every HSR artifact at the HCRR is large. This is a former HSR rollsign
On October 27 there was a chartered bus drive around Hamilton
HSR #1822 on James St next to the West Harbour GO station.
HSR #1822 with LIUNA station in the background.
The first stop for #1822 was Bayfront Park, comemmorating the Aquafest Shuttle
Also the 99 Waterfront Shuttle at Bayfront Park
Next was the site of the original HSR horsecar barn on Stuart St, now the site of the Tom Mahoney Maintenance Building for the Hamilton Catholic School Board
The next stop was Peir 8 to commemorate the A-Line
Then was a stop at the former HSR Wentworth Garage
And from the old garage to the new one, the Birch garage in the background scheduled to open in 2026
Melvin and Osbourne, the former on street looping of the 2 Barton trolley bus
Reid & Queenston, the former on street looping of the 1 King trolley bus
Roxborough & Strathearne, site of the former Strathearne loop
The site of the former HSR Sanford shops and car barn, now Cathedral High School
At the back of the Mountain Transit Centre is a gravelled area where the HSR stores buses that are awaiting repair or are awaiting scrapping. Hamilton transit fans know this area simply as 'The Hill'
