Calgary Transit route 2 'Mt Pleasant / Killarney / 17 Av'
| Calgary Transit route 2 | |
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History
This route was originally served by streetcars. Tracks were first laid in the south along 12th from 1st St West and 17th Avenue from 2nd St East, with the two lines looping around on 14th Street West. By 1912, the Beltline Streetcar had developed four branch routes: the 12 Avenue line was extended to 18 Street and was known as the Sunalta Line (today a part of route 90), the 17 Avenue line was extended to 24 Street and became the Killarney line (today's routes 2 and 6), and a 3rd branch was introduced heading up the hill along 14 Street to 26 Avenue (Marda Loop) which became the 7.
In the north, a branch off of the Tuxedo Park streetcar was built, which became known as the Mount Pleasant line. Streetcars would head west off of Centre Street along 20 Avenue, terminating at a loop on the southeast corner of 20th and 7 Street. Streetcars would run along this line to the Elbow Park loop in the south. This line became known as the 2, while the 17th Avenue line became the 6.
In 1937, the Rosedale bus was introduced, running north from downtown along Centre Street then heading west along 12 Avenue. This route laid the foundations for the new strictly north-south oriented route 2 that would be introduced with the new trolleybuses in 1947. The 2 would be among one of the first trolleybus lines in the city, alongside the 3 and 4. When the Elbow Park streetcar was converted to trolleybus operation in 1948, the 2's routing was as follows:
North along Elbow Drive from Elbow Park Terminal to 4 Street. North along 4 Street to downtown. North along Centre Street to 12 Avenue. West on 12 Avenue to 4 Street. North on 4 Street to 26 Avenue.
1955 was a year of major change to the 2. That year, the northern part was extended to a loop at 32 Avenue. Buses no longer ran south alongside the 3, but rather south on 8th Street to 17 Ave (alongside the 6), then west on 17th. The extension to the current Glenside drive terminal opened in 1961. Meanwhile, trolleybus service along 4 Street North was extended to Northmount Drive in 1958, then Blackthorn Road in 1965.
The 2, alongside the 3 and 7, would be the last of the trolleybus routes, with trolleybus service ending in early 1975.
Previous route maps
December 2010
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