The Ottawa Car Company was a builder of streetcars for the Canadian market and was founded in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1891[1] as an outgrowth of the carriage building operations of William W. Wylie. Its plant was located at Kent and Slater Streets (south side of Slater between Kent and Lyon Streets - now site of Constitution Square), a short distance from Parliament Hill. The company was a subsidiary of Ottawa Electric Railway, in turn controlled by Ahearn & Soper.

Ottawa Car Company
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRail transport
Founded1822; 202 years ago (1822)
Defunct1948
HeadquartersOttawa, Canada
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsLocomotives
High-speed trains
Intercity and commuter trains
Trams
People movers
Signalling systems
A streetcar built by the Ottawa Car Company for the Toronto system

It was renamed Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company in 1917 and again as Ottawa Car and Aircraft Limited in 1937.

The Ahearn family retained control of the company until 1948 when they sold Ottawa Car & Aircraft Corporation (renamed during World War II) to the Mailman Corporation.[2] The new owners never carried on the business and ceased operations as streetcars were being abandoned by cities across North America.[3] The city of Ottawa abandoned its own streetcar network in 1959. The company produced a total of about 1700 vehicles.

On 19 August 1994 Canada Post issued 88¢ stamps featuring Ottawa Car Company Streetcar, 1894, Saint John Railway Co. Car #40.[4]

Products

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Streetcars

Aircraft

Clients

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Preservation

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Operator Number Type Museum Location Status
Toronto Transportation Commission 2984 Peter Witt streetcar Halton County Radial Railway Milton, Ontario operational
Ottawa Transportation Commission 696 streetcar OC Transpo Ottawa, Ontario being preserved
Ottawa Transportation Commission 854 streetcar Canada Science and Technology Museum Ottawa, Ontario restored for display
Ottawa Transportation Commission 859 streetcar Canadian Railway Museum Saint-Constant, Quebec operational
Ottawa Transportation Commission 905 streetcar to be restored
Edmonton Transit System 1 streetcar Edmonton Radial Railway Society Edmonton, Alberta operational
Saskatoon Municipal Railway 200 snow sweeper Edmonton Radial Railway Society Edmonton, Alberta being rebuilt
North Yonge Railways 416 radial car Halton County Radial Railway Milton, Ontario operational

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Middleton, William D. (1967). The Time of the Trolley, p. 423. Milwaukee: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 0-89024-013-2.
  2. ^ "Railway Rolling Stock Industry in Canada". Nakina.net. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
  3. ^ Keshen, Jeff; St-Onge, Nicole J. M.; St-Onge, Nicole (2001). Ottawa-making a capital - Google Books. University of Ottawa Press. ISBN 978-0-7766-0521-0. Retrieved 2011-09-09 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Library and Archive Canada, Canadian Postal Archives Database[dead link]