Maybe The City Will Put This Car To Work, Published 18 February 1948 Old No. 24 has turned up. As a matter of fact, this ancient street car has rever been lost at all. It's been a summer home on Walkley Road since 1915. Mrs. Army Caxr, of 77 Florence street, bought the old American-built tram more than 30 years ago. Like the Old Lady Who Lived in the Shoe. Mrs. Carr was a Lady Who Lived in a Street Car. "I wanted something for the children, and I wanted a place in the country." recalled Mrs. Carr today. "So I bought this street car. and the children played in it every summer. They are grown up now. but I was happy having them in this street car, .No. 24, during the summers." The reason that No. 24 sticks in this writer's mind is this. If I could take you back to Ottawa 40 years ago, when Dave Gill and I wre somewhat younger. I could tell you about some picturesque trams. No. 22 and No. 23 had seven windows on each side. I think one of them had a level crossing accident at St. Patrick's bridge, and another stopped a few bricks that fell into Bank street after the Gilmour hotel fire. Then came No. 24. Let's skip it" a minute and say that No. 25 was different again, for she was the mail car, and had generous splashes of yellow on her. * * * This No. 24 was different all around. It had been made by the Brill Company, perhaps this continent's greatest street car makers in their day. On top of that, 24 had six windows per side instead of seven. But such windows; they were Gothic in style, and altogether lent a picturesque touch with their graceful, pointing tops. Well, I had naturally not seen No. 24 around for a long time, and assumed she got lost in the Rockcliffe car barn fire way back in 1927. Guy Rhoades, then on The Citizen staff, wrote the story, and Vince Pask handled the copy. Then just the other night. Miss Gladys Saunders. 223 Fifth avenue, phoned and said that since I had mentioned Old 24 so often, she thought I ought to know where it was. No. 24, she said, was owned by Mrs. Amy Carr. I phoned Mrs. Carr, and ahe said she had bought No. 24 after it had been in a wreck. She made it her summer place. She did not even remove the seats * * * "I left it just as it was", she eaid. So year after year, the Carr kids had the use of old No. 24 in summer. It didn't lend itself to big parties, to great entertainments, but Mrs. Carr was happy; It was a place in the country for herself and her children. Mrs. Carr knew that No. 24 was a Brill car, and volunteered the information that it had been ordered by Ahearn and Soper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Today, old 24 is still going strong, a full 33 years after its retirement. But it is no longer used as. a summer home. It is now a store room. |