The Ottawa Car Company was a builder of

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s for the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

market and was founded in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

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 ...

, in 1891 Middleton, William D. (1967). ''The Time of the Trolley'', p. 423. Milwaukee:

Kalmbach Publishing Kalmbach Media (formerly Kalmbach Publishing Co.) is an American publisher of books and magazines, many of them railroad-related, located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. History The company's first publication was ''The Model Railroader'', which be ...

. . as an outgrowth of the carriage building operations of William W. Wylie. Its plant was located at Kent and Slater Streets (south side of Slater between Kent and Lyon Streets - now site of Constitution Square), a short distance from Parliament Hill. The company was a subsidiary of

Ottawa Electric Railway Ottawa Electric Railway Company was a streetcar public transit system in the city of Ottawa, Canada, part of the electric railway streetcars that operated between 1891 and 1959. Ottawa once had tracks through downtown on Rideau Street, Sparks St ...

, in turn controlled by

Ahearn & Soper Ahearn or Ahearne is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Blake Ahearn (born 1984), American basketball player * Bunny Ahearne (1900–1985), British ice hockey promoter *Joe Ahearne, British television director * Michael Ahearne ...

. It was renamed Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company in 1917 and again as Ottawa Car and Aircraft Limited in 1937. The Ahearn family retained control of the company until 1948 when they sold Ottawa Car & Aircraft Corporation (renamed during World War II) to the Mailman Corporation. The new owners never carried on the business and ceased operations as streetcars were being abandoned by cities across North America. The city of Ottawa abandoned its own streetcar network in 1959. The company produced a total of about 1700 vehicles. On 19 August 1994 Canada Post issued 88¢ stamps featuring Ottawa Car Company Streetcar, 1894, Saint John Railway Co. Car #40.Library and Archive Canada, Canadian Postal Archives Database
/ref>

Products

Streetcars * Small Peter Witt streetcars *

Snow sweeper A winter service vehicle (WSV), or snow removal vehicle, is a vehicle specially designed or adapted to clear thoroughfares of ice and snow. Winter service vehicles are usually based on a dump truck chassis, with adaptations allowing them to carr ...

s *

Interurban 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 ...

railcars: ** 8 R Class radial cars for

Toronto and York Radial Railway The Toronto and York Radial Railway was a transit operator providing services to the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was a subsidiary of the Toronto Railway Company. The company was created by merging four Toronto-area interurban operatio ...

on the Mimico line then transferred to

Toronto Transportation Commission Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) was the public transit operator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, beginning in 1921. It operated buses, streetcars and the island ferries. The system was renamed the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in 1954. H ...

for use by

North Yonge Railways The North Yonge Railways was a radial railway line operated by the Toronto Transportation Commission from 1930 to 1948 between Glen Echo (Toronto) and Richmond Hill. The line was created by reopening the southern portion of the TTC's Lake Simcoe ...

* Single End Double Truck streetcar Aircraft * produced

Armstrong Whitworth Atlas The Armstrong Whitworth Atlas was a British single-engine biplane designed and built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It served as an army co-operation aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the 1920s and 1930s. It was the first purpose-desi ...

and

Armstrong Whitworth Siskin The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin was a biplane single-seat fighter aircraft developed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It was also the first all-metal fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RA ...

fighters for

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and a ...

* produced

Avro Tutor The Avro Type 621 Tutor is a two-seat British radial-engined biplane from the interwar period. It was a simple but rugged basic trainer (aircraft), trainer that was used by the Royal Air Force as well as many other air arms worldwide. Design ...

and

Avro Prefect The Avro 626 is a single-engined British biplane trainer aircraft produced by Avro during the (1918-1939) inter-war period. Design and development The Model 626 was developed by Avro from the company's Model 621 (Tutor) for export to smaller ...

trainers for

Avro AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broad ...

Armstrong Siddeley Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines. The company was created following ...

engines * Aircraft parts for World War II:

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

bombers,

Hawker Hurricanes The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

and

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

s * bomb doors, flaps, ailerons, and elevators for

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

bombers

Clients

Edmonton Radial Railway The Edmonton Radial Railway (ERR) (also known as the Street Railway Department) was a streetcar service that operated in Edmonton, Alberta, from 1908 to 1951. It was Edmonton's first public transit service, and later evolved into Edmonton Transit ...

Ottawa Transportation Commission Ottawa Transportation Commission was the public transit operator for the city of Ottawa from 1948 until the creation of OC Transpo in 1973. OTC took over streetcar operations from the Ottawa Electric Railway, but they were gradually abandoned for ...

(

) *

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 ...

(

Hamilton Radial Electric Railway The Hamilton Radial Electric Railway (HRER) was an interurban electric railway which at its maximum extent operated between Hamilton and Oakville in Ontario, Canada. Route Between March 3, 1906 and August 3, 1925, the Hamilton Radial Electri ...

) *

Winnipeg Transit Winnipeg Transit is the public transit agency, and the bus-service provider, of the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Established years ago, it is owned by the city government and currently employs nearly 1,600 people—including approximately 1,1 ...

Montreal Street Railway Prior to 1959, Montreal, Quebec, Canada had an extensive streetcar system. The streetcar network had its beginnings with the horsecar era of the Montreal City Passenger Railway in 1861. The initial line was along Rue Notre Dame (Notre Dame St) ...

* South Western Traction Company/London & Lake Erie Railway * Windsor, Essex and Lake Shore Rapid Railway * London Street Railway *

Montreal Tramways Company Prior to 1959, Montreal, Quebec, Canada had an extensive streetcar system. The streetcar network had its beginnings with the horsecar era of the Montreal City Passenger Railway in 1861. The initial line was along Rue Notre Dame (Notre Dame St) ...

Saskatoon Municipal Railway Saskatoon Transit (formerly Saskatoon Municipal Railway) is the public transport arm of the Saskatoon, City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It operates a fleet of Diesel engine, diesel buses. A total of 23 bus routes serve every area of the c ...

Preservation

References

{{Aircraft manufactured in Canada Horsecar manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Ottawa Defunct rolling stock manufacturers of Canada Electric vehicle manufacturers of Canada

Products

Clients

Preservation

See also

References