Comments on: BIRNEY ON BUSINESS. Many may not know that the City of St. John’s hosted the most easterly street railway on the entire continent from 1900 to 1948. While visiting St. John’s for the Royal Visit of June 1939, the late Thomas Harvey of Grand Falls was able to capture some beautiful images of the Newfoundland Light & Power Company’s narrow gauge Birney cars in action. Here a dapper gentleman boards # 14 near the end of the line at the Crossroads on Water Street West. Note the automobiles on the left side, at the time Newfoundland still observed the British rule of the road which wound not change until January 2nd of 1947. This image – credited to the collection of his son, Dr. Neil Harvey – and dozens of others can be seen in my latest release STREETCARS OF ST. JOHN’S in a ‘then & now’ format.

By: sdfourty

sdfourty — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 20:22:12 +0000

…oh my ! More please!

By: harricottbay

harricottbay — Mon, 06 Jan 2020 00:19:19 +0000

That image is my personal favorite from the book for several reasons. Not only because of the perfect composition and detail but it also captured the peacefulness of St. John’s just weeks before the outbreak of World War 2. By September,the life that was shared by the dapper gentleman and the other riders would be forever changed. I think I may have another from Dr. Harvey’s collection that I can post.

By: awmooney

awmooney — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 19:56:07 +0000

You’re welcome, Ken. Let see more of these, if possible. Being a collector of such, I liked seeing the commercial license plate, green on white 1939, on the vehicle on the left. ) This is such a nice quiet scene…hard to find these days.

By: harricottbay

harricottbay — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:59:59 +0000

Thanks Mr. Mooney! Our streetcar system was second to none and developed at the same time and putting us on par with the great North American cities of San Francisco, Boston, New York, Toronto, Vancouver to name a few. – Ken

By: awmooney

awmooney — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 13:21:09 +0000

What a beautiful glimpse of the past !!