Hydro-Electric Railways, a subsidiary of the

Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

(HEPC or HEPCO), was an operator of

radial railway The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

s in the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, 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 electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario ( ...

. 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 commonly known as the HSR is a public transport agency in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The name is a legacy of the company's early period, when public transit in Hamilton was primarily served by streetc ...

streetcar system, which continued until 1946).

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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, Upper Canada (now Ontario) to German i ...

, 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 ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

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 (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

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 event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, ...

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