Not all of the transit vehicles in and around Hamilton were scrapped at the end of many years of service. Many had second lives as cabins or sheds, or were sold to other companies to work in additional service.
After the electrification of the H&D in 1898, H&D steam dummies #1-3 were sold to Charles Sturrock, the former H&D superintendent of motive power. #1 & 2 were scrapped in 1900, while #3 was sold to Beck Lumber of Penetanguishene, Ontario. The engine was rebuilt, and it worked until it was retired in 1924. It is currently on display at the Centennial Museum in Penetanguishene.
H&D #4 was sold in 1902 to assist with the construction of the Preston & Berlin radial line. It stayed with that railroad until late 1909 when it was sold to the Nipissing Central Railway. Eventually H&D #4 was bought by the William Milne & Sons Company. It was first used near North Bay at Trout Mills, and later on it went to their operation in Temagami in 1935. Its final fate is unknown.
Additional details on the H&D steam dummies can be found here
In 1921 the B&H built a Freight Station in Brantford near Alfred St. The freight station was actually constructed out of flat car HTC #148 and an old HRER boxcar.
In 1923 the B&H built a new radial car, B&H #240 using bits and pieces out of pre-existing radial cars that had been retired or damaged. Cars known to have contributed parts are:
The remains of B&H #210 after the fire at Cainsville. HG&B #171 has towed the remains back to the Sanford Yard, where the intact trucks will be salvaged for the construction of B&H #240. (From the Richard Vincent collection, used with permission)
Several HSR streetcars and buses have become part of the HCRR's collection over the years, the details can be found here
After the closure of the radials, several car bodies were purchased and converted into a campground called Radial Village at Hwy 8 & Durham Rd, on the border between Grimsby and Lincoln townships, just west of Beamsville. Seven radial cars were purchased, along with two diners that were built in the USA in the shape of old streetcars. Radial Village survived until the late 1960s, when most of the cars were demolished. Two radial cars remained, but were demolished around 1990.
Only two of the seven cars have been identified, primarily because few photos of Radial Village have come to light. These are:
Aerial photo of Radial Village, July 1934. Durham Rd is in the centre, Green Lane is in the lower right, Hwy 8 is on the left. The seven former Hamilton radial cars have been placed, but the two streetcar shaped diners are not present. (Photo courtesy of Google Earth)
A postcard of Radial Village. HTC #604 is the second 'sleeper' from the left, while B&H #240 is the rear of the two cars in use as the gas station office. No postmark on the card, but judging by the cars and trucks it's from the late 1940s or early 1950s.
The inside of the Radial Village Diner, shortly before its demolition on June 30 1967. (Photo Courtesy of the Grimsby Historical Society Archives, used with permission.)
A postcard of a Radial Village cabin. This is either a former B&H Brill-built, or a HRER/HTC Preston-built radial car. The sign next to the dog reads "Cabins with Running Water Twin Beds Moderate Prices"
The Canada Crushed Stone Company hauled gravel from a quarry in Flamborough to a rock crusher overlooking Dundas. Here the gravel was crushed and loaded into railway cars for transport. Due to the short distance between the quarry and the crusher, the CCS used electric equipment for its operations. When the radial lines shut down, the CCS purchased several cars for spare parts. However, the former radial self-propelled dump cars were also purchased, and set to work hauling gravel, a role they played until operations shut down in the 1970s. Cars purchased by the CCS are as follows:
Ex-HTC #147, now Canada Crushed Stone 14, in 1947. HTC #147 became CCS #14 with the replacement of its three smaller containers with one large flatbed, and a pantograph on top of the cab has replaced the electric trolley pole in the middle of the car. (From the Richard Vincent collection, used with permission)
Ex-HTC #606 at the Canada Crushed Stone Company near Dundas circa 1935. (From the Sirman collection, used with permission)
HTC #610 at the Canada Crushed Stone Company near Dundas sometime in the 1930s.
A number of old streetcars were turned into cabins, many of them near Cootes Drive in Dundas. These were virtually all wrecked by a severe rainstorm that caused Spencer Creek to burst its banks and flood the area in the early 1950s. Known cars in this area were:
Body of HSR #416 alongside Cootes Drive just east of Thorpe St in Dundas, 1947. Several streetcars were turned into cabins in this area, but most were wrecked when a severe storm in the early 1950s caused Spencer Creek to flood. (From the Richard Vincent collection, used with permission)
HSR #441 alongside Cootes Drive at East St in Dundas, having been literally put out to pasture. The date is uncertain, but as this car is still on rollers its then probably circa 1946. (From Dave’s Electric Railroads.)
Another shot of HSR #441 alongside Cootes Drive at East St in 1947. The rollers have been removed and some of the windows have been replaced with wood panels, so someone has been working on the old car. (From the Richard Vincent collection, used with permission)
Some streetcars and radial cars were turned into sheds by the HSR in their Sanford Yard. When the cars were scrapped is currently unknown.
Also, at least two of the HSR's Yellow Coach Model X buses were converted into maintenance vehicles after they were retired from regular service, working until at least 1950.
HG&B #173:2 in use as a storage shed at the HSR Sanford shops. The date is unknown, but the streetcar tracks in the foreground place it between the early 1930s and the early 1950s. (From the Richard Vincent collection, used with permission)
A former HSR Yellow Coach Model X, now maintenance vehicle T-38, at James St South and Hunter, date unknown. (From the Alan Gryfe collection)
Several streetcars and buses were purchased individually and spent many years in isolated locations. All are considered scrapped unless otherwise stated. These include:
One of the HSR's ex-horsecars was turned into a summer house somewhere on Main St West in Hamilton (Photo from the November 1902 issue of Canadian Horticulturist)
The remains of HSR #95, behind the Arkell Foods plant in Winona, off of Highway 8 in Oct 1946. (From the Richard Vincent collection)
HSR #425 in use as a cabin in Long Beach, Ontario, February 1982. (Photo by David Andrew, Halton County Radial Railway Collection)
HSR #536 on a farm near Beamsville, January 1975. (Photo by David Andrew, Halton County Radial Railway Collection)
The front end of HSR #775, in Quarters Bar & Grill at McMaster University, Sept 2, 2003.
HSR #7707 at the Hamilton Fire Department training centre, May 2008. After retirement, HSR 7707 was sold to the Hamilton Fire Department, who used it for training purposes. (Photo by David Gunn, used with permission.)
Ex HSR #8251 at Hamilton Airport in June 2004. (Photo by Kevin_N, used with permission)
I've heard of a few 'old streetcars' that used to be in places around Hamilton, now long gone. These may have been HSR or Radial cars, they may have been from other electric railways, old passenger cars, or even just sheds that were unusually long & narrow. But I'm putting them up here anyway in the hope that someone can clear up these mysteries. There's also at least one case that is confirmed not to be a streetcar, even though it really looks like one.
Fake streetcar at Hughson and Jackson, March 20, 1954. Opened about 1945 by Russell Williams as part of his Bright Spot restaurant chain, It was sold in June of 1970 to Hugh Walker who re-named it the Hamilton Dining Car. It was torn down in 1971 in order to expand the YMCA. (Photo courtesy of the Hamilton Public Library, Local History & Archives)
