12 Double-End, Single Truck cars were built by the Preston Car & Coach Company in late 1912 for the HSR. These were the last single truck cars built for the HSR. Six of these cars (#404-410, 416, 420) were rebuilt to one-man operation between 1929 and 1934. The rest were scrapped in 1932, while the rebuilt cars lasted until 1948. Afterwards, HSR #404 and #408 were converted into storage sheds for road salt at Sanford Yard.
| Length | 34 ft, 3 in |
|---|---|
| Width | 8 ft, 7 in |
| Height | 11 ft, 0 in |
| Truck | Taylor 8ft wheelbase |
| Motors | 2 Westinghouse 101B2 |
| Weight | 26 000 lbs |
| Seating | 32 |
Some of the dates for these photos are unknown, and the locations are often just a guess. If you know either date or location, email me!
HSR #404 in the Sanford Yard, September 1 1939. This car served as a training car when it was rebuilt in 1927 to simulate the controls of the NSC 500 series streetcars, to give drivers some experience with the new equipment.(From Dave’s Electric Railroads.)
HSR #404 in the Sanford Yard, date unknown
HSR #404 in the Sanford Yard, date unknown. (From the C. S. Bridges collection)
HSR #404 in the Sanford Yard in 1947
HSR #406 has been halted by a World War 1 military parade on James St North just south of Barton, date unknown. (Photo courtesy of the Hamilton Public Library, Local History & Archives, used with permission)
HSR #406 on York St at James St, next to City Hall. Date unknown, but behind the streetcar is the south end of the Market Hall that burned in 1917, so within a couple of years on either side of 1915.
HSR #406 on James at Gore, 1940. (Photo courtesy of Library and Archives Canada, used with permission)
In this photo postcard HSR #408 and another Preston-built DEST streetcar are stuck in the crowd of wellwishers seeing the 91st Highlanders off at the TH&B Hamilton Station on August 22, 1914.
HSR #408 on Wentworth St at King, Sept 1942. The streetcar is facing the wrong way because the motorman has just swung the pole around, and is about to head back down the single track along Wentworth (From the Richard Vincent collection, used with permission)
HSR #408 in the Sanford Yard. No date, but on the right is HG&B #159 which was retired in 1932, and the Sanford yard opened in 1928.
HSR #408 in the Sanford Yard in the late 1940s. It appears that it has already been used as a storage shed, but hasn't yet been fully converted (i.e. windows not boarded up) into a storage shed for road salt. (From Dave’s Electric Railroads.)
HSR #410 on James at Main. From a photo postcard postmarked April 12, 1915.
HSR #412 on King East approaching James. No date on the postcard, but the ad on the streetcar is from late August, and the names on the stores put this between 1925 and 1928. I suspect that this is August 1928, because of the three dates listed on the streetcar ad (Aug 28, 29, 30). 1928 is the only one of those years in which none of those dates falls on a Sunday.
HSR #414, date and location unknown.
HSR #416 heading northbound on James at York in the Spring of 1924. (The Lister Block has been rebuilt but is still empty). (Photo courtesy of the Hamilton Public Library, used with permission)
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)
On March 18, 1916 a large military parade was held in Downtown Hamilton. This parade blocked streetcar traffic, resulting in delays. In the background of this photo are streetcars waiting for the parade to clear. From left to right are HSR #418, #411, #420, and another Ottawa-built streetcar. (Photo courtesy of the Hamilton Public Library, Local History & Archives, used with permission)
HSR #420 in the Sanford yard, date unknown. (From Dave’s Electric Railroads.)
HSR #420 at the Hamilton & Barton Inclined Railway on James St South, date unknown. (From the Stephen M. Scalzo collection, used with permission)
HSR #420 in the Sanford Yard, September 1 1939.
HSR #424 turning from James onto King West during the Hamilton Centennial in August 1913 (Photo courtesy of the Hamilton Public Library, Local History & Archives, used with permission)
HSR #424 on the York & King West route at York and MacNab, sometime in the 1920s. (Photo by: Norman Bradshaw, collection of Helmut Ostermann, Vintage Rail Photo's, used by permission)
HSR #424 slowly works its way through the crowd at the unveiling of Hamilton's cenotaph at Gore park on May 22, 1923. (Photo courtesy of the Hamilton Public Library, Local History & Archives, used with permission)
"Electric Railway Notes" Canadian Railway and Marine World February 1913: pg 92
Mills, John M. Cataract Traction; The Railways of Hamilton. Toronto: Upper Canada Railway Society/Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association, 1971
