Nearly 65 years after it took its final run, crews are working to rewind the clock and restore Winnipeg’s last-known streetcar.
“There was a few holes in the roof, which had to be renovated, but it is a beautiful piece of handcrafted heritage that we’ve got here in Winnipeg,” said Robert Loiselle, the restoration director,
Car 365 cruised the Winnipeg streets until 1955.
The body of the streetcar then sat in a scrapyard for several years until Heritage Winnipeg took ownership of it.
It now resides at the Via Rail station, where its transformation is taking place.
Though it has endured some wear and tear over the years, it has retained some of its solid structure and original designs.
“We’ve had a crew in here on Wednesday nights starting to strip the wood off and we’re looking at the spring at getting the wood back on, starting to get it ready and progress for eventual display here at the railway museum ,” said Steven Stothers, co-chair of the Winnipeg streetcar restoration committee.
Heritage Winnipeg is hoping to complete the restoration and have the street car on display in time for the anniversary of the 1919 general strike.
