Again from the Bernie Droulliard collection. These photos were developped last night from transnegs (copies of negatives, or negatives of prints) and many haven’t been seen in 60 + years.
Many of the originals rest in the Transit Windsor Archives.
The Crosstown Bus in 1942
This is one of the Ford buses that displaced Windsor’s streetcar system in the late ’30s. The photo appears to have been taken on Memorial drive with the Optimist park entrance in the background.
The intersection of Wyandotte & Ouellette c. 1940.
The year is 1940 and with gasoline being rationed owing to good ole WWII, funeral processions were a no-no. SWA provided this “Funeral Coach” service. Why don’t they do this today? Note the bus painted in wartime grey. According to Bernie, the vehicle had to be ready for service should the DND call upon SWA for its use in the war effort. (Caption by John Stefani).
Thanks guys for passing these along…
i can’t believe how spacious ouellette was back then 2 lanes of traffic and on street parking then i look at ouellette today what a disappointment
These are amazing. So glad I found this blog. I love seeing Windsor in the golden days.
That isn’t a bad idea, however I think it would add more to the cost
of a funeral because to rent a bus would be expensive. It definetly
would solve the problem of long funeral processions.
I chartered a city bus to A’burg once. That trip was under $200. I think a trip to a local cemetery would be very doable, especially in the context of today’s $10-15+ K funerals.