High muggle area. Be very careful to replace it exactly as found.
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Welcome to the Steveston Interurban
The Interurban 1220 is the largest artefact in the City of Richmond’s artefact collection.
A history of the Interurban Line
The rail line on Lulu Island was built and owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1902, which began running freight and passenger steam trains on the line. In 1905, the CPR leased the line to the BC Electric Railway Company (BCER) who electrified the line and three Interurbans began running between Steveston and Vancouver.
In 1913, BCER responded to an increase in demand for services on Lulu Island by buying 28 additional trams from the St. Louis Car Company in Missouri. Among these was Car 1220, which today is the largest artefact in the Richmond Museum’s collection.
Over the coming years, the Interurban line contributed to the development of Richmond’s city centre. The Interurbans and the people who worked on them became an important and cherished part of the community.
Unfortunately, the Interurbans could not survive the post-war prosperity that led to an explosion in the number of cars on the roads and an expansion of new suburbs not serviced by rail. On February 28, 1958, the final Interurban ride took place between Marpole and Steveston, which marked the end of a definitive era for the Richmond community and for transportation history in BC.
Of the 28 original 1200 class tramcars, five survive today including Car 1220 at Steveston. The other four surviving “sister” tramcars are the 1223 located at Burnaby Village Museum, the 1225 at Surrey operated by the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society, the 1231 in storage at False Creek in Vancouver and the 1235 in Ottawa. (www.richmond.ca)