A streetcar named Determination: Along for the ride with the Edmonton Radial Railway Society

The last few seasons have been a rough ride for the High Level Bridge Streetcar Line.

"We haven't had a lot of people out this year," said Chris Ashdown, president of the Edmonton Radial Railway Society.

And in 2020, he added, the historic tourist attraction didn't run at all.

Ashdown estimates revenues are down 80 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, which saw ridership topping 92,000 passengers in 2019, he said.

The volunteer society was established in 1980 to restore streetcars for use both at Fort Edmonton Park and along the High Level Bridge line, which runs from Old Strathcona to the Jasper Plaza terminal at 109th Street between Jasper and 100th avenues.

"We also weren't able to train any new motormen over the last three years because of construction at Fort Edmonton," Ashdown said, adding that a recently graduated class of new drivers should help when the streetcars start rolling again next May. 

You can see more from aboard the High Level Bridge streetcar this week on Our Edmonton, Saturday at 10 a.m., Sunday at noon and 11 a.m. Monday on CBC TV and the CBC GEM.