Hydro-Electric Railways, a subsidiary of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario (HEPC or HEPCO), was an operator of

radial railway The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

s in the province of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. Its parent agency, the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, would later evolve into Ontario Hydro and, later,

Hydro One Hydro One Limited is an Electric power transmission, electricity transmission and distribution Electric utility, utility serving the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 2 ...

. The Ontario Legislative Assembly granted the commission authority to operate electric interurban railways in the territory served by the commission in the ''Hydro-Electric Railway Act, 1914''.''Hydro-Electric Railway Act, 1914'', S.O. 4 George V, C. 31 Changes in government policy and public sentiment in the 1920s restricted their development, and all such operations ceased in the 1930s (with the exception of the

Hamilton Street Railway The Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) is the public transport agency for Hamilton, Ontario. The name is a legacy of the company's early period, when public transit in Hamilton was primarily served by streetcars. Although streetcars are no longer us ...

streetcar system, which continued until 1946).

Lines

The following properties were operated by the Hydro-Electric Railways: With the exception of the Guelph Radial Railway, Ontario Hydro managed radial lines owned by municipalities.

Promotion of radials

In 1912,

Adam Beck Sir Adam Beck (June 20, 1857 – August 15, 1925) was a Canadian politician and hydroelectricity advocate who founded the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. Biography Beck was born in Baden, Canada West to German immigrants, Ja ...

, founder and chairman of Ontario Hydro, began to promote the creation and operation of electric interurban railways in the territory served by the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. The Hydro-Electric Railways were a vehicle to promote his vision for radials.

Proposal for a provincial radial network

Electric railways consumed a huge amount of electrical power, and Beck saw their development as an opportunity to sell electricity. Beck envisioned that radials would share the right-of-ways of Hydro transmission lines. A provincial radial system would bridge gaps between various separate radial systems such as those in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

and the

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

. Beck piloted the Hydro Electric Railway Act of 1914. This repealed the requirement that municipalities bear all costs of radial construction, but allowed Ontario Hydro to develop co-operative agreements between Hydro and municipalities for radial construction. Only projects with the potential to be self-supporting would be considered, and municipalities would bear any deficits. With the new

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

consuming considerable taxpayer money, critics feared costs to build radials could escalate. There was also a boost in automobile and truck traffic after World War I. The 1919 provincial election brought into power the

United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...

party which was extremely skeptical of Beck's plan. In 1921, Premier

Charles Drury Brigadier-General Charles Mills "Bud" Drury (17 May 1912 – 12 January 1991) was a Canadian military officer, lawyer, civil servant, businessman and politician.Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day (Canada), ...

and fears of a detrimental impact on waterfront economic development. In January 1923, voters rejected the radial proposal. Despite the decline of the interurban industry, Beck continued his advocacy for radials until his death in 1925 which ended Ontario Hydro's efforts to promote radials.

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Promotion of radials

Proposal for a provincial radial network

See also

References

Citations

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Further reading