Hankai Electric Railway (Osaka) No. 247 was built in 1921 by Umebachi/Sharyo. Rebuilt in 1947, it remained in service in Osaka until 1990, when it was acquired for spare parts by the Edmonton Radial Railway Society. However, it arrived in such excellent condition that the plans were revised and the car kept for the future High Level Bridge Line. It saw first service in 1995 with the help of a generator trailer and finally made the first trip across the High Level Bridge under overhead lines in 1997. For many years, Osaka 247 was the only streetcar on this line and it has served our society extremely well.
The Edmonton Radial Railway Society operates on Treaty 6 territory, a traditional meeting grounds, gathering place, and travelling route to the Cree, Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Métis, Dene and Nakota Sioux. We acknowledge all the many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit whose footsteps have marked these lands for centuries.