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Streetcars and Tourism

wyliepoon

wyliepoon

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Heritage streetcar tourism is fun because you can glorify the 19th century city without having to remind yourself of the acrid pollution or the glaring social inequities.
 
Hipster Duck said:
Heritage streetcar tourism is fun because you can glorify the 19th century city without having to remind yourself of the acrid pollution or the glaring social inequities.
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I would classify Toronto as 20th century not "the 19th century city".

That aside, there are any number of ways that cities are using trams that are creative and fun.

In Melbourne there is a Colonial Tramcar Restaurant that offers a tram ride and a meal.

To quote from their publicity:
"You'll glide through the city streets and on to South Melbourne, St Kilda, Prahran and Malvern aboard the Melbourne Colonial Tramcar Restaurant, your privacy assured with one-way windows. Melbourne's tramcar restaurant-on-wheels is painted a distinctive glossy burgundy and is especially fitted out in velvet and brass like the luxurious Pullman-style European trains of the past.

You'll be welcomed aboard your 1927 Melbourne tram restaurant by a smiling maitre d' and be served by a friendly, professional team of silver-service waiters. Choose from a four-course lunch aboard Melbourne’s tramcar restaurant, an early three-course dinner or a more leisurely five-course dinner later in the evening. Delicious meals featuring fresh local produce are prepared onboard the tram, and a wide choice of alcoholic beverages is available from the fully stocked bar.

Melbourne's Colonial Tramcar Restaurant has all the modern conveniences you'd expect to find in a first-class restaurant. It is air-conditioned, heated and fitted with piped music to make your Colonial Tramcar Restaurant experience truly memorable."​
I've seen the same thing in Amsterdam a few years ago.

In Geneva it is possible to charter a tram to take your group of travelers from point A to point B, as long as both are on a tram line.

For our 20th century city I would settle for clean vehicles, reliable service and courteous drivers before trying anything more creative or adventurous.


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I have been thinking about this issue for a while...

Since we'll eventually get a downtown core subway along Queen or King Street, and since that will all but eliminate the need to run streetcars on that road, what about preserving the line and operating it as a heritage tour tram? We could build replicas of historic streetcars from cities across Canada, and put tour guides on board and all that other fun stuff.
 
If I may bring out my inner Steve Munro, that sounds utterly saccharine and an embalmed insult to what it means to celebrate.
 
RedRocket191 said:
Since we'll eventually get a downtown core subway along Queen or King Street, and since that will all but eliminate the need to run streetcars on that road, what about preserving the line and operating it as a heritage tour tram?
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We don't know the alignment and spacing yet, but it could well not make much difference. Dundas and College cars will continue. I'd think that if the subway was on Queen you'd still want service along King. Queens service will still extend to the west and east.
 
nfitz said:
We don't know the alignment and spacing yet, but it could well not make much difference. Dundas and College cars will continue. I'd think that if the subway was on Queen you'd still want service along King. Queens service will still extend to the west and east.
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Say the service runs along Queen... Most riders will migrate to the subway, leaving the central part along the 501 infrequently used. It probably won't be financially viable to replace the tracks when they wear out, so it'll either be convert the central part of the 501 to buses or find another justification for keeping the tracks.

I agree with you that service on Dundas and College will continue, as will service on King if it's built on Queen.
 
RedRocket191 said:
Say the service runs along Queen... Most riders will migrate to the subway, leaving the central part along the 501 infrequently used. It probably won't be financially viable to replace the tracks when they wear out, so it'll either be convert the central part of the 501 to buses or find another justification for keeping the tracks.

I agree with you that service on Dundas and College will continue, as will service on King if it's built on Queen.
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King is currently used as an alternate route for Queen, and Queen is currently is used as an alternate route for King in case of problems. One such reason as recently when a stretch of King St. was shut down because chunks of concrete started falling off a railway bridge and onto the roadway near Atlantic Avenue.
 
I'm really talking more about revenue service and not the tracks themselves. I know the tracks will stay, but I would rather them be used then sit idle.
 
^^ But what if the DRL is run further south along the rail corridor? Then there will be no excuse to abandon the streetcar service.
 
urbanfan89 said:
^^ But what if the DRL is run further south along the rail corridor? Then there will be no excuse to abandon the streetcar service.
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Everything I've said in this thread is dependent on a Queen or King alignment...
 
Metrolinx has expressed interest in that alignment. I wonder what the consensus would be on turning parts of Queen or all of it into a pedestrian street if the DRL was built underneath it.
 
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