Rollsigns from Hamilton, ON P A G E 1 o f 2 (The Black & White Era) |
The Hamilton Street Railway was originally incorporated on May 15, 1874 and still runs to this date, although there are virtually no modern day indications that a "street railway" once ran. In 1899 the HSR became a subsidiary of the Hamilton Cataract, Power, Light and Traction Company, and later, the Dominion Power and Transmission Company. In April of 1930, Dominion Power was sold to the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario. From 1944 to 1956, the Hamilton Street Railway was a subsidiary of Canada Coach Lines. In 1956, the company reorganized and inversely, Canada Coach became a subsidiary of the HSR. In 1960, both the HSR and CCL were acquired by the City of Hamilton. The pattern the HSR's signs use is as follows: The front sign shows the route number and name, the side sign shows the bus's final destination |
This linen side destination sign is off 1951 built Canadian Car & Foundry T48A Brill trolley coach #739. It has no print date, and has 14 exposures. It was retrieved from the bus from a private owner who lives near Kingston, Ontario, over 325 kilometers (200 miles) from Hamilton! A photo of this trolley bus is featured below. |
This linen pre-route number rollsign is off ex St. Catharines Transit 1968 built GMC T6H-4521 #49, formerly off a 600 series HSR 35 foot GMC New Look. It has no print date. It has 33 exposures. |
This mylar side destination sign is off 1973 built GMC T6H-5307N #905. It is dated March 6, 1969, and has 42 exposures. Its sign tags are shown below. |
Hamilton Street Railway Brill trolley coach #739 as it was discovered, parked on a family's private property, on Highway 2, about 2km west of Cardinal, Ontario, July 4, 1995. |
to go to the earliest Hamilton Street Railway electronic sign list page. |
DIESEL DIVISION HAMILTON P.O.J-15455-C 6955996 TRANSIGN 8/24/76 |
Former St. Catharines Transit GMC T6H-4521 (serial #C019) #49, for some reason housing the pre-route number HSR front linen directly above, is seen privately owned on a property at the corner of Waterloo Regional Road 24 and Kossuth Road, north of Cambridge, Ontario, May 13, 2001. The bus has since been removed for scrap. |
This linen side destination sign is off 1957 built GMC TDH-4512 (VIN: 2482) #514. It has no print date, and has 32 exposures. A photo of its sign tag is shown below. |
This set of mylar rollsigns is off 1978 Flyer E800B trolley coach #7807. The front route sign (left) is dated June 22, 1978 and has 15 exposures. The side destination sign (right) is dated June 23, 1978 and has 18 exposures. Their print dates likely make these signs the only ones to occupy this vehicle. Their respective sign tags are shown below each image. |
This mylar side destination sign is off 1969 built GMC T6H-4521 #801. It is dated April 27, 1977, and has 50 exposures. Its sign tag is shown below. |
Retired Hamilton Street Railway Flyer E800B electric trolley buses #7801 and #7802 (along with Flyer E700 #765) are all seen at the Halton County Radial Railway Museum on October 25, 1995. #7801 and #7802 are sister coaches of ETB #7807, the bus these rollsigns came from. They would be displaying signs from the same printing run as these. |