posted before??? an article by Tom Grumley about Montreal Streetcars

A Retrospective History of Montreal Streetcars
A Centennial

The year 1992 marks the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, the 350th anniversary of Montreal, the 125th birthday of Canada, and, most importantly, the centennial anniversary of the introduction of electric streetcar operation in Montreal, Canada's largest metropolis in 1892. The following provides a retrospective history of one of the more interesting electric street railway operations in North America. Electric operations began on Wednesday, September 21, 1892, and continued until August 30, 1959. Electric Power Replaces Horse Power The advent of electric technology, coupled with Montreal's severe winters, contributed to the decision to electrify the city's transportation operation which, since May 1861, had been soley provided by "horse power" on the approximately 30 mile system, using about 300 passenger vehicles and 1,000 horses. In early 1892 a decision was made by the then Montreal Street Railway Company (MSR) to commence electrification. A five-mile one-way loop bounded by Bleury, Park Avenue, Mount Royal, St. Laurent, Rachel, Amherst and Craig (now St. Antoine) was ready by mid-September 1892. The system was designed to operate on 550 volts D.C. using a trolley pole to collect the positive current. The MSR signed an agreement with The Royal Electric Company of Montreal to supply electricity to the system and to equip several cars with traction motors. Among the 25 single truck cars available for the first day of electric service was No. 350 - "The Rocket", built by the Brownell Car Company of St. Louis, Missouri, which was selected to be the initial car to provide electric service in Montreal. ["The Rocket" was subsequently set aside by the MSR and was restored by the Montreal Transportation Commission in 1956. It today resides at the Canadian Railway Museum (CRM) at St-Constant, Quebec]. After a less than ideal trip on that first day ["The Rocket" derailed at each curve due to the sharpness of the curves and its long wheelbase], the MSR and its successors provided almost 67 years of faithful.service to Montrealers. Amalgamation From its meagre beginning, the system expanded to approximately 12.5 miles of electrified track by the end of 1892 and to 64 miles by the end of 1893. By October 1894 the horsecar operation had ceased and the entire MSR system, comprising some 75 miles of track in the city core, was operated with electric cars. To complement the MSR operations, the Montreal Park & Island Railway (MP&ffi) operated suburban service in the Cartierville and Back River areas, and to Lachine, with operation over MSR tracks to provide suburbanites run-through service to the city core. Similarily in 1896 the Montreal Island Belt Line Railway Company commenced operation at the eastern end of the island of Montreal and later to the northeastern part of Montreal. The MP&I was absorbed by the MSR in 1901; the Montreal Island Belt Line Company, renamed the Montreal Terminal Railway about 1900, was acquired by the MSR in 1907. The two absorbed companies, however, operated as separate companies until 1911 when all three companies were consolidated to form the Montreal Tramways Company (MTC). The MTC was to last until 1951 when the company was expropriated by the City of Montreal which continued to operate the streetcar system under the auspices of the Montreal Transportation Commission until the end of streetcar service in 1959. A Most Progressive System During the beginning of the 20th century, Montreal had one of the more progressive street railway systems in Canada and, for that matter, in North America. For example, MSR car 890 was the first streetcar in the world designed for Pay-as-you-Enter (PAYE) fare collection that was successful. This was accomplished in 1905 by lengthening the conductor's platform, installing dividing rails and two doors instead of the usual one in the rear. Four double truck open observation cars were built locally (two in 1905; two in 1924) for use in touring around Mount Royal, a mountain located in the centre of the city. Other street railway jurisdictions in Canada such as Vancouver, Quebec City and Calgary looked to the Montreal cars in the design of their respective open observation cars. The "Golden Chariots", as they were affectionately known, operated each summer from 1905 to 1958 with the exception of the summers of 1943 and 1944. All four exist today in museums. Major Streetcar Purchases The formation of the MTC in 1911 resulted in a total of 232 track miles in the system and an assortment of ageing streetcars. The new management almost immediately purchased new rolling stock consisting of 125 two-man cars numbered 1200 to 1324 built by Canadian Car & Foundry and Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company between December 1911 and June 1913. In 1913, a further 200 cars were ordered from the same manufacturers - the Ottawa cars were numbered 1325-1424 while the CC&F group comprised numbers 1425-1524. The 200 cars went into service over the period 1913-1917. Montreal's progressiveness in updating equipment and the use of all steel cars continued unabated with the acquisition in 1914 of 25 two-car trains. The cars, built by J.G. Brill Co. of Philadelphia, included 25 motor units (1525-1549) and 25 non-powered trailers (1600-1624). These cars were initially deployed on the much used Ste. Catherine St. line. In 1917 additional orders were placed with Brill for 50 motor unite (1550-1599) and 50 matching trailers (1625-1674), with the trailers equipped with a pair of motors on the lead truck for added traction. The success of the two-car operation resulted in the delivery of motor cars 1800-1824 and powered trailers 1675-1699 from CC&F in 1924. While the MTC was very progressive in the development and use of new transit technology, it was nevertheless slow to incorporate the use of one-man car operation. After experiments using Birney cars, the company was convinced that one-man operation would be practical and an order was placed with CC&F in 1925 for 50 cars (1900-1949), followed by orders for 15 (1950-1964) in 1928 and another 40 (1965-2004) in 1929. Included in the 1929 order were six double-ended versions (2600-2605) primarily for service on the Bordeaux and Montreal North lines. Thus Montreal had both one-man and two-man car operations. Montrealers throughout the years could distinguish what type of car was approaching by noting the car paint scheme. The one-man car with front entrance was painted in cream with red trim while the two-man car with rear entrance was painted in green with cream trim. With an increase in revenue and traffic in the 1920s, the MTC decided to further increase its rolling stock and retire some of its older cars. After much deliberation, company officials decided to proceed with the extensive use of both one-man and two-man cars as opposed to additional two-car operation. The 2100 series of two-man cars built by CC&F was introduced in 1927. These cars were smooth riding and very popular with the public. During 1928 and 1929 additional two-man cars were purchased, bringing the 2100 series to a total of 140 cars (2100-2239). Twenty-five two-man car multiple unit cars (2650-2674 and 2850-2874) were delivered by CC&F in 1930. As well, two two-man, three-truck articulated cars were built by CC&F in 1928 for service on the busy St. Catherine Street, however, they spent most of the service life on the Wellington route. These additions rounded out major car purchases for some time. Of note, the MTC retrofitted most of its streetcars with unique "dash lights" at the front of the cars. The dual purpose of the lights was to increase visibility for pedestrians and automobiles at night and to enhance advertisements that were appropriately placed at the front. Cars that operated in the suburbs, such as the Cartierville and Lachine lines, sported headlamps. TOP; No. 350 - The Rocket proceeds west on Ste. Catherine Street as part of the parade to bid farewell to street cars on Ste. Catherine Street on September 2,1956. The Rocker" was the first electric street car to operate in revenue service in Montreal - 64 years before her appearance in the parade. (Montreal Qtzetto photo, author's collection) LEFT: Ottawa-built two-man car 1353 poses at St Denis Shops in August 1953. Beside No. 1353 is one of 105 froley buses utilized on four routes in the north-east section of Montreal. (Author's collection) Miscellaneous Equipment Like other major street railway systems in North America, Montreal had many specially designed cars to facilitate the operation of its system. They ranged from the previously mentioned observation cars, to prison, funeral, band, pay, training, official, freight, stores, crane and other specialty cars, not to mention the various equipment that comprised the snow fighting equipment fleet. The MTC also had two electric locomotives (Nos. 1 and 2, later 5001 and 5002) that shunted freight cars from local industries to both of Canada's major railways. This function was mainly performed overnight with minimal interference from streetcars and automobile traffic. These locomotives operated until the end of service in Montreal. Both left the roster in 1963 -No. 5001 was acquired by the Canadian Railway Museum and No. 5002 went to the Branford Electric Railway Association in Connecticut. Montreal was a unique city in that it was the only Canadian city with two prison cars. The specially built reinforced steel cars were owned by the Quebec government but operated by the MTC between 1915 and 1925. They transported prisoners between the old courthouse in downtown Montreal (near today's St. Antoine and St. Laurent Streets) and the Ahuntsic wye near Bordeaux jail on Gouin Blvd. On the lighter side, Montrealers could view a Band car plying the streets with the MTC employees' band merrily playing the crowd's favorite tunes. It was officially retired in 1928. Montreal also operated two funeral cars between 1910 and 1927 to transport the deceased to Hawthorn-dale Cemetry located at the east end of the island. During the height of the influenza epidemic of 1918 it was not unusual for the funeral cars to transport up to ten coffins per trip. Up until the 1940s Tramway employees were paid every two weeks by cash. The unnumbered Pay car would visit each carbarn to allow employees to pick up their wages. A second pay car, No. 3011, was used to transport fareboxes to and from head office on Craig Street (now St. Antoine). When the company started paying employees by cheque in 1948 the cars were subsequently retired and scrapped. Montreal had two training cars - No. 1054 which operated until 1949 and No. 1177 which operated thereafter. In addition to classroom instruction, these cars were used to instruct prospective motormen and conductors. Car 1177 was donated to the Seashore Trolley Museum at Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1963 and was recently scrapped with many parts salvaged for use in the restoration of other cars. Prior to the heyday of the automobile it was convenient for tramway company officials to use car 1024 to undertake inspection tours or to show visiting officials from other transit properties Montreal's system. The car was used up to 1927. In addition to the aforementioned specialty cars, Montreal also had freight cars to transport bulk materials, cranes, welders, rail grinding, tool, tower and stores cars. This equipment was used in the daily upkeep of the vast streetcar system in Montreal. Given the severity of Montreal's winters, the MTC had an array of equipment such as sweepers, rotary plows, salt and sand can to combat the elements. Peak and Decline After the major acquisitions of streetcars between 1911 and 1930, the onslaught of the depression necessitated implementation of stringent economic measures. No more large acquisitions would occur. It was at the height of the depression when the MTC system reached its peak of almost 320 track miles with approximately 1,000 passenger cars on the roster. During the period of 1917-1918 the system had reached its peak in passenger cars with over 1,200 on the roster. During the latter part of the 1930s a few of the outlying streetcar lines in Montreal were replaced by buses, and it was thought that this trend would continue. The PCC car was designed and constructed in the mid-1930s, however, the MTC had no need for these new and modern cars because of the acquisition of some 300 new cars between 1928 and 1930. The high cost of the PCCs and advances in bus technology were also contributing factors not to purchase the PCCs. The advent of World War II, however, resulted in very heavy use of public transportation, brought on by restrictions on the use of gasoline, diesel oil, etc. To meet demand, 50 second hand streetcars were acquired by the MTC in 1941-1942, including 39 from the Springfield (Massachussets) Street Railway Company, 6 from the Schenectady (New York) Railway, and 5 from the Alabama Power Company in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Because of war restrictions, only 100 of the St. Louis Car Company's PCC production was alloted to Canada. Of this allotment, 25 PCCs were to be purchased by Montreal. This was subsequently reduced to 18 and in March 1944 cars 3500-3517 were introduced on the Outremont #29 line. The purchase of these cars was to be the last order for streetcars for Montreal. Within 15 years of the arrival of the PCCs, the public transportation system in Montreal would be totally operated by buses. Ah - winter in Montreal! A 2100-series car pauses on Windsor Street at St Antoine, beside Canadian Pacific's Windsor Station, on February 1, 1951. (Montreal Gazette photo, author's collection). PCC 3507 travels west on Craig Street and will turn south onto McGill Street in this 1950s photo. No. 3507 was one of 18 PCCs acquired in 1944 to help meet heavy wartime travel demand, and spent the majority of their active years operating on Outremont - Route 29. (Author's collection)  The City Takes Over Because of the rapidly expanding suburbs and the need to serve these areas, coupled with the requirement to overhaul existing equipment, the city of Montreal created the Montreal Transportation Commission. On June 16, 1951, the Commission assumed responsibility for public transportation. At the time Montreal had some 260 miles of track and over 900 active streetcars. The Commission's main mandate was to develop a master plan for rapid transit in the city. By 1953, the Commission submitted a plan to the city which consisted of a proposal for a subway system. Initially it was viewed that an all-bus system in Montreal would suffice for the short term. The objective was to replace streetcars with buses as soon as possible. Rather than completing the task in ten years as originally envisaged the work was completed in under seven years. Epilogue Two major parades marked the end of streetcar service in Montreal. The first occured on Labour Day, September 3, 1956, to mark the introduction of bus service on Ste. Catherine Street the previous day. A parade of historical trolleys (most now reside at the Canadian Railway Museum) proceeded from Harbour Street in the east to Atwater in the west. The parade was viewed by an estimated 200,000 people. Just short of three years later the streetcar to bus conversion program had been completed. On August 30, 1959, a parade similar to that held on Ste. Catherine Street took place in the east end of Montreal. Included in the parade on that rainy afternoon was No. 350 - "Rocket", and PCC 3517, Montreal's newest streetcar. No. 3517 was the last car to enter the cermonial gate at the Mount Royal carbarn before the gates were closed, bringing to a close 67 years of faithful streetcar service to Montrealers. After the cessation of service, most cars were systematically destroyed, however, the MTC did set aside representatives of various classes of cars and work equipment for museum use, and the 18 PCCs were held for a period for possible sale. Today, 21 pieces of MTC street railway equipment are preserved at the Canadian Railway Museum near Montreal, and another 14 Montreal veterans are at museums in Maine and Connecticut -reminders of street railway equipment utilized in Montreal.

Belmont Park

 

I found these 2 photos on Belmont park in my computer. The top one in the background shows the riverside and the other one is of the Cartierville bridge nearby. I have others taken from the site itself showing the park and I will post them when i have found them. Someone recently was asking what was there now so this should answer her/his question. I see you have posted a bunch of photos on the same subject in teh BLOG section so the timing is perfect.

Guy

 

Notre Dame des sept Douleurs (off the name a little bit lol)

Église Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs

Adresse : 4155, rue Wellington   H4G 1V8 Municipalité : Verdun MRC : Montréal (Ville) Région administrative : région de Montréal (06) Téléphone du propriétaire : 514.761.3496 Tradition religieuse actuelle : Catholique Hiérarchisation régionale : Supérieure (C) Construction : 1911 - 1914 Concepteurs : • Joseph Venne, Architecte • Louis Labelle, Architecte • Omer Rondeau, Entrepreneur •  Paquet et Godbout, Entrepreneur • M.T. Lessard, Maçon • J.-P. Dupuis, Menuisier Éléments du site : Maison du sacristain, monument, presbytère, chemin couvert  EXTÉRIEUR Revêtement dominant façade principale : Pierre murs : Pierre toiture : Asphalte (bardeau)  INTÉRIEUR Revêtement dominant des murs : Plâtre de la voûte ou du plafond : Plâtre   Forme de la voûte : Arc en plein cintre Plan au sol : Croix latine choeur en saillie abside en hémicycle Plan intérieur : Nef à 1 vaisseau, tribune (s) arrière, 2 tribune (s) transept, chapelle (s) extérieure (s) au plan Autres éléments : • Orgue : Casavant Frères, 1914, Opus no. 1899 (portait à l'origine l'Opus no. 579, transformé en 1947). • Vitraux : Plans réalisés par les architectes Viau et Venne ; vitraux réalisés par M.J.P. O'Shea et cie. • Décor peint : Louis-Eustache Monty (1913-1914)

Exploring Verdun

Exploring Montreal: Verdun

on September 11, 2009 ·

I live in Verdun, a rather under-explored part of Montreal. Technically speaking, we’re a borough of the city of Montreal, though based on how tricky it is to get to Verdun from downtown Montreal by bicycle or car, some people think we’re (still) a city unto ourselves. We were amalgamated in the Great Montreal Merger of 2002 (”one island, one city”), and despite several boroughs that kicked up a big stink and were finally de-amalgamated (*cough*Westmount*cough*), Verdun remains a part of the megacity of Montreal.

I’ll let you in on a little secret, though: despite being rather difficult to access by private transport, Verdun is only 20 minutes from downtown Montreal by metro, and we’ve got far more green space than anywhere else on the island. Jealous? You will be!

St. Maria Mater Dolorosa Church at the corner of Wellington and de l'Eglise (photo by Flickr user -AX-)

We’ve also got great waterfront views of the St-Laurent River, fabulous bike paths that will take you all the way out to Lachine, and… a Natatorium?

Verdun's Natatorium (photo by Flickr user yayyoshimi)

Yup, that’s right: Verdun was a trendsetter way back in 1930, when the Art Deco style Natatorium was built. At the time, it was one of the largest public pools in Quebec, and it can currently accommodate up to 1,150 people. A large heated wading pool was added in 2005, and this pool alone can hold up to 250 kids at one time. Now that’s a natatorium!

L’École de cirque de Verdun, aka the Circus School of Verdun

Speaking of cultural oddities, Verdun is also home to a circus school. Although I’ve walked past the building many times, I never realized that this primary-colored structure was, in fact, the home of L’École de cirque de Verdun, aka the Circus School of Verdun. Both children and adults can take classes in the circus arts, and those who really want to run away and join the circus can take their professional training program to become certified circus performers.

That really helps explain all the clowns on unicycles I’ve been seeing lately. I was beginning to think I was going insane. Luckily for those who really are experiencing hallucinations and other mental problems (but which are hopefully not exacerbated by the clowns), Verdun is also home to a world-class mental-health facility: the Douglas Hospital. Originally dubbed “the Protestant Hospital for the Insane,” the name was changed in 1923 to honor its long-standing director, Dr. James Douglas. Currently, the hospital is affiliated with McGill University’s teaching hospital as well as the World Health Organization, and boasts a staff full of international authorities on a wide variety of mental health issues.

It may seem odd to list a mental health facility as a sight to see in Verdun, but as the Douglas takes up 170 acres of land and accounts for fully one-seventh of the borough of Verdun, it’s actually quite a nice place to visit if you’re in the area. The grounds are very picturesque and well-maintained, with a therapeutic sculpture garden on site, and the large grassy areas make great picnic spots. At one point the grounds even play host to an annual Celtic Festival, which was sadly retired in 2006 when the event’s organizer suddenly passed away. If anyone wants to pick up the reins and get it back on track, it would be a great way to treasure his memory.

Mies van der Rohe skyscrapers, Nuns' Island (via imtl.org)

Finally, though not technically in Verdun, there are some architectural oddities that may intrigue visitors. From the shores of the St-Laurent, where the bike path runs along the water, you can look across the expanse and see Île des Soeurs, aka Nuns’ Island, where there are several skyscrapers designed by modernist architect Mies van der Rohe. For the true van der Rohe fan, you can even visit a (now-closed) gas station designed by the Chicago architect!

........I can see this gal loves Verdun,but I don't think it was hard to get to Montreal by car,??  Seemed rather easy & several routes to choose from,at least in the 60's & 70's

 but it's nice to hear people mention Verdun as a place they want to live ......HF&RV

The Beatles (45 years ago) Sept 8th Montreal

45 years ago since the Beatles made there one & only Montreal appearance :

 Some of our members were at that show.......................(you know who you are)

MONTREAL – While 09/09/09 has become entrenched this week as the newest monumental date in the history of the Beatles, this week holds another date of more local importance as far as the Fab Four are concerned.

09/08/64.

Sept. 8, 1964.

Forty-five years ago this week was the one and only day the Beatles came to Montreal.

I was there as a 7-year-old.

They played two concerts at the old Forum, one at 4 p.m. and the other at 8 p.m. They were in Montreal for only eight hours, before flying out at night to Jacksonville, Fla.

I went to the afternoon concert with my 17-year-old cousin, recently immigrated from Northern Ireland. Mostly, I remember the pretty blonde English-speaking girl beside me, dressed in a pale blue jacket and matching skirt. She was maybe 17. She was crying and jumping up and down on her seat, just like the girls I’d seen that February on the Ed Sullivan Show.

But the Montreal date had much wider social and political significance than the fond individual recollections of those who were there. As Ringo Starr later revealed in the Beatles DVD Anthology series, he beat his drums during the two Montreal concerts with a plainclothes police officer sitting on stage as his bodyguard.

Police had received what they took as a credible death threat against Starr’s life. A little known group called the Front de libération du Québec had started a bombing campaign in Montreal in March 1963. Although Starr never revealed the source of the threat against him, he said he had been told he was being targeted because of his nationality and religion.

“Some people decided to make an example of me as an English Jew,’ ” recalled Starr, who was born Richard Starkey. “The one major fault is I’m not Jewish.”

Through both concerts, Ringo set his drums higher than usual and crouched in his seat – in order to prevent a potential sniper in the crowd from getting a good angle on him. “No one was seeing much of me that day, “ Starr said.

And he wasn’t impressed with the plainclothes officer.

“I thought, ‘If someone in the audience has a pop at me, what is this guy going to do? Is he going to catch a bullet?’ ”

For police, the threat against Starr was an early sign that budding terrorist elements in Quebec might one day carry out a provocative action against a high-profile British public figure. Such an action did take place in October 1970, when the FLQ kidnapped British trade commissioner James Cross from his Westmount home on Redpath Crescent.

Looking back at old newspaper clippings, I see The Gazette assigned Al Palmer and Terry Haig to cover the Beatles’ two Montreal concerts. Palmer was one of the city’s top reporters in the 1940s and ’50s, a Walter Winchell figure whom famed stripper Lily St. Cyr once called “a real man.” Baseball fans will remember Haig as the colour man on Expos radio broadcasts in the franchise’s last few years in Montreal.

Neither of the Forum concerts lasted more than 30 minutes. Personally, the only song I remember was She Loves You – I also remember shaking my head to the song, like the pretty girl beside me, and my cousin looking down and laughing at me. We were all standing.

According to the website www.beatlesmontreal.com, this is what the band played that day: Twist and Shout, You Can’t Do That, All My Loving, She Loves You, Things We Said Today, Roll Over Beethoven, Can’t Buy Me Love, If I Fell, Boys, A Hard Day’s Night, I Want to Hold Your Hand, and Long Tall Sally.

According to police, the toll from the concerts was: 12 teenage girls treated for hysteria and minor cuts and bruises, and a police officer with a nasty thumb bite.

I was at Paul McCartney’s concert at the Forum in 1989, too. I remember talking about it with Mark Lepage, who covered it for The Gazette. Lepage said it was amazing to sit there and hear all those iconic songs, one after another, and to think, two guys penned all of those songs.

McCartney was back in Quebec last summer for a concert in Quebec City to fête the city’s 400th anniversary. All these years after 1964, there were grumblings about the appropriateness of an Englishman, McCartney, playing on the Plains of Abraham.

McCartney responded by saying that by this very same rear-view-mirror thinking, he should never – and no Englishman should ever – talk to a German.

“You’ve got to bury the hatchet,” he told the LCN news network.

I wonder if he ever thought back to Ringo, and 1964.

To see film footage of the Beatles’ visit to Montreal 45 years ago this week, click here.

djohnston@thegazette.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Hanging Ten on the River (the new Surf City)

Forget Hawaii, Hossegor or Bali, the newest mecca attracting surfers from all over is in the shadows of Montreal's skyscrapers, on the St. Lawrence River.

The trunk of her car ajar, a young brunette is found slipping into a wetsuit, while her boyfriend waxes their boards on the banks of the river, about 1,000 kilometres inland from the Atlantic Ocean.

A few years ago, they might have been described as mad.

But today, surfing at this spot has become commonplace, attracting hordes of wave junkies over the past five years from Munich, Geneva, Turin and Lyon.

Neighbours no longer mind them squatting in their parking spots, taking joy instead in watching their acrobatics on waves as high as two metres.

"It's becoming more and more popular," said local surfer Simon Rouleau, 24. "There's always people here. On weekends, you sometimes have to wait up to 45 minutes for your turn on a wave."

Unlike ocean waves or swells on such rivers as the Amazon in Brazil, caused by sudden drops in elevation, the waves on the St. Lawrence are steady, caused by a jagged riverbed. Favourite spots include the rapids behind Habitat 67 and west of the Lachine Rapids.

"It's incredible in Montreal; the waves are always there," said Corran Addison, a local surfing pioneer, surfboard maker and retailer.

The South African three-time kayak freestyle world champion said he was the first to have tamed the mighty river seven years ago.

He said he moved to Montreal to surf at this spot 365 days a year, even in frigid winter months when floating sheets of ice drift past and temperatures drop below minus 20C.

"I wake up in the morning and I don't have to think about ocean tides, storms, the weather. If I feel like surfing, I go surfing; the wave is always there," the 40-year-old said.

After making converts of his friends, Addison went all out and started a Montreal surfing school in 2004. A second, rival school opened shortly afterward. Together they attract about 2,000 students each year.

About 500 surfers now regularly descend on Montreal, many novices, but also some accomplished surfers hardened by big ocean waves.

This is the case with Robert Smyth, a 59-year-old Australian whose surfboard was gathering dust ever since he landed in Canada in 1972, until now.

"When I was young, I surfed using longboards in Australia," he said. "It's very different here, but it's still a lot of fun."

The Sydney native appreciates that he does not have to swim out to catch a wave. It is enough to just point your board in the right direction, drift from shore into a wave and leisurely stand up.

"I don't even have to paddle. I'm too old for that anyway," he quipped, sporting a safety helmet in case he bumps into some rocks.

Such surf requires specialized equipment: a solid board, for example. The nascent market is, however, mostly ignored by the large surfboard makers, which has given Addison's own brand, 2imagine, a leg up.

This year, 1,000 of his Made in Montreal surf boards were sold worldwide.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHwOoHT0KM8

.........and these guys are nutty enough to try it in the winter........making it a year round sport..................Yikes !!! we weren't even supposed to go down to the river ,let alone jump in it with our tobogans........hahahahaha Although it has been suggested on occasion that I jump into a lake..............lol       

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HRQXPNvtqg

                                             .Have Fun & Remember Verdun.

                         

Some CBC Milestones in the 1960's

Here's a few things memorable to the CBC in the decade of the 1960's..............Checkout the 2nd milestone for 1969:          CBC stops advertising Tobacco Products,....now that was way ahead of it's time,.& I didn't Remember that one,Did You ? Imagine 40 year ago,they had the insight to stop promoting cigs.. Quite something, I know it took me a couple more years to figure it out.(somewhere in the early 70's I think it was )......lol

1969

• Radio-Québec is established.
• CBC discontinues tobacco advertising.

1968

• New Broadcasting Act confirms CBC's role of providing the national service and establishes the Canadian Radio-Television Commission (CRTC) as the regulatory and licensing authority, including cable systems. Government issues White Paper on satellite communications.
• Pre-release facilities are installed for Atlantic time zones.
• First televised national debate among Canadian political party leaders: a CBC/CTV coproduction.

1967

• CBC is host broadcaster for Expo 67 in Montreal and Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg.
• First taped television in the North.

1966

• Colour TV introduced in Canada.

1965

• The Fowler Committee on Broadcasting recommends a new regulatory and licensing authority.
• Government announces colour TV policy.
• First regular CBC stereo broadcasts from a single station (Winnipeg).

1964

• The FM network resumes in English, adding Vancouver by tape; local French FM continues in Montreal.

1963

• CBC hosts the three-week Commonwealth Broadcasting Conference.

1962

• The Trans-Canada and Dominion networks are consolidated.

1961

• CTV Network opens.
• CBC issues proposals for satellite use in Canada.

1960

• BBG recommends licensing second TV stations in major cities and invites applications for Canada's first private network.
• Opening of the CBC shortwave service to the High Arctic.
• Experimental bilingual FM network links Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. (Suspended temporarily in 1962)