The Right Side of the Tracks

On Wednesday I documented my first trolley car ride in several years. When I learned that the Edmonton Radial Railway Society had a second car, newly restored to 1912 condition, I had to return for another trip. Here's Streetcar No. 33, the product of 17 years of restoration work. It's a work of art, inside and out. Here's a collection of images of the new car:

Period filament light bulb!

The trolley is running until 10 pm during the Fringe and stops right in the heart of the festival, so there's no better time than now to toss a doubloon into the fare box!

Back on Track

On Monday, I attempted without success to hop aboard Edmonton's High Level Bridge Trolley. Yesterday I knew where to board and enjoyed a short trolley journey from downtown to Old Strathcona, my favourite part of the city.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Osaka No. 247 services the route, a wheelchair-accessible trolley that, as noted above, hails originally from Japan. I'll have to go again on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday to ride the Edmonton Radial Railways Society's newly-restored 1912 trolley.

The trolley quickly filled up with lunch-hour sightseers and tourists. Note the stylish disco ball hanging from the ceiling!

I barely restrained myself from pushing this button. Do any of my readers read Japanese?

Sadly, passengers hand over their change to the conductor rather than depositing it in this very cool fare box.

There were just enough seats for everyone, so no one had to use the overhead handholds. I doubt the same was true in more densely-populated Osaka.

According to our interpreter, Edmonton's High Level Bridge Trolley is the highest trolley in the world, 48 metres above the river.

Tunnels are inherently fun, especially when the conductor signals with a "WHOO-WHOO!" that the train is coming through.

Here's a look at the controls. I'll bet it would be a blast to drive (pilot?) one of these.

The trolley arrives in Old Strathcona. Just a few steps took me to Whyte Avenue, where I enjoyed a working lunch. Sadly, I didn't have time to stop at the Wee Book Inn.

Old Strathcona is hopping right now as workers prepare for the Fringe. This year there are even "green" carnival rides fuelled by vegetable oil.

Admiring the view. It's nice to travel with open windows at moderate speeds...sometimes I wish I'd been around in the days of stagecoaches, when cross-country trips took months.

The train graciously stopped just north of the High Level Bridge, allowing passengers to cross the street to the Alberta Legislature. The conductor offered a jaunty wave as the train departed.

I'm grateful that the volunteers of the Edmonton Radial Railway Society have poured so much time and effort into keeping this historic, educational and fun service operating. I encourage all Edmontonians and visitors to thank these volunteers by taking a trolley trip sometime this summer!

A Night at the Improv

Last night Tanara, Kim and Andrew (seen here next to Sylvia) insisted that we accompany them to see a night of improv at the Varscona Theatre, just off Edmonton's Whyte Avenue. I'm glad they did, because not only are Sylvia and I struggling against our natural tendencies to become homebodies, it also happened to be a really fun show.

Improvisation is a hit-or-miss art form. Depending on the nature of the necessary audience interaction and the talent of the performers, the results can range from brilliant to painful. There was a little of each last night, but the best moment happened when one performers managed to construct a hilarious rap song about his dead mother.

The nature of improv leads to absurd situations that would never occur in real life, so naturally I'm a fan of the form. In fact, Sylvia and I have even talked about pursuing improv as a hobby in the past, and the director's announcement that Rapid Fire Theatre holds improv workshops is certainly tempting. I used to be pretty good at it in junior high school...