A Study in Lotus Land Trolleybuses
Granville Bridge warning sign Three generations of Vancouver Trolleys
Above: 3 generations of Vancouver trolleys are struttin' for the "E-901 Last Run" festivities on April 27, 2008.  Preserved Brill T-44 2040 is followed by Flyer 2805 into the left-turn bay at Broadway and Granville.  In back, a New Flyer works the Broadway crosstown route.  Chapter's Books and I haven't gotten along since the Air Canada bankruptcy.  The neon sign in Chapters' window is a memorial to the famous chain of Aristocratic Restaurants, one of which stood right here.
And he's making the right signal too
Left: The yellow sign was there for as long as I can remember.  Spray-paint vandals find it a skosh too high to reach.
2947 at the foot of Hemlock:  note the long trip wires
One bad shadow, otherwise a perfect photo of 2719
Clickety-Clack at 5th and Hemlock: New wire and this power/coast switch were installed to allow 17-Oak TBs to use Hemlock S/B while SkyTrain construction kept them off Cambie Bridge.  Meanwhile, eastward buses on the 4 and 7 routes hang a right here into the Granville Bridge access road.  The controlling contacts are more than a bus length ahead of the switch.  You can see them just over the mountain ridge in the right photo.  Clearly visible are the clips carrying the connecting leads over the trolley conductors to the switch.  If you look below the zebra in front of 2947, you can see the painted teardrop that helps the operator time the switch.  As the teardrop passes out of sight beneath the windshield, he/she jabs the accelerator pedal to "power" the switch.  To "coast" the switch, the operator presses a dashboard switch to prevent the bus from drawing current.  Just visible on the viaduct is overhead for the use of buses driving onto Granville Bridge from Hemlock Street.  It's rarely used (except during Trams.bc.ca joyrides) and a bus can have problems getting good contact from it.
2214 crossing the CPR Arbutus Line tracks at 5th and Fir
A Happy 2007 New Year's Eve for 2905: The tracks in the photo at left eventually lead to the Broadway crossing between Arbutus and Maple (below).  As at Fir, the wires are raised to clear the RR.  It's 3 o'clock on a rare dry December 31st.  You can bet the liquor store at Broadway & Maple is doing brisk business as workers knock off early.  At 5 o'clock the slot on the farebox will be taped over, and for the rest of the operating day, passengers ride free.
2905 on Broadway at Arbutus Line level crossing
Reach for it: 2214 (above) has nosed over the CP Arbutus Line level crossing at 5th and Fir after a buzz over Granville Bridge.  The wires are suspended several feet higher than usual for extra clearance over the railroad, which is currently (in 2008) inactive.  The Fir Street rectifier house is just right of frame.
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