The Preston Car Company was a Canadian manufacturer of streetcar

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

s and other railway equipment, founded in 1908. The company was located in the town of Preston, Ontario (now part of the city of Cambridge

Cambridge, Ontario

Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...

). Preston sold streetcars to local transport operators including the Grand River Railway

Grand River Railway

The Grand River Railway was an electric railway in what is now the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in Southwestern Ontario. It was an example of a radial railway.-History:...

, the Toronto Railway Company

Toronto Railway Company

The Toronto Railway Company was the first operator of horseless streetcars in Toronto.Formed by a partnership between James Ross and William Mackenzie, a 30-year franchise was granted in 1891 to modernize transit operations after a previous 30 year franchise that saw horse car service from the...

 and Toronto Civic Railways

Toronto Civic Railways

Toronto Civic Railways was an agency created and owned by the City of Toronto, Canada, to run streetcars in newly annexed areas of the city that the private operator Toronto Railway Company refused to serve...

 (the predecessors of today’s Toronto Transit Commission

Toronto Transit Commission

-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...

), and the Hamilton Street Railway

Hamilton Street Railway

The Hamilton Street Railway Company is the Transit Division of the City of Hamilton, Public Works Department in Ontario, Canada. The name is a legacy of the days when the majority of public transit vehicles were streetcars; the present-day Hamilton Street Railway is in fact a bus operator...

. The company also sold a number of its distinctive ‘Prairie-style’ cars to operators in Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 and Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

; one of these cars is being restored by the Saskatchewan Railway Museum

Saskatchewan Railway Museum

The Saskatchewan Railway Museum is a railway museum located west of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at the intersection of the Pike Lake Highway and the Canadian National Railway tracks...

.
The company was sold to Philadelphia-based J. G. Brill Company in 1921, and the Preston plant closed in 1923. Only a few Preston-built cars now remain, most of them in the collection of the Halton County Radial Railway

Halton County Radial Railway

The Halton County Radial Railway is a working museum of electric streetcars, other railway vehicles, trolleybusses and buses. It is operated by the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association...

 museum.

Plant

From 1908 to 1923 Preston Car plant was located at 633 Margaret Street. After the factory's closure in 1923 the site became a casting plant (later as Kanmet Limited foundary) until 1991. A fire destroyed the foundry, and the site became a vacant brownfield. Part of the old industrial site was redeveloped as Legion Park, and the remainder will become a residential development known as Preston Meadows.

Products

• Birney
  Birney
  A Birney or Birney Safety Car is a type of streetcar that was manufactured in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s. The design was small and light and was intended to be an economical means of providing frequent service at a lower infrastructure and labor cost than conventional streetcars...
  
   Car
• radial car for Toronto Suburban Railway
  Toronto Suburban Railway
  The Toronto Suburban Railway was an electric railway operator with local routes in west Toronto, and a radial route to Guelph.-History:...
  
  
• DE-DT M - later TTC Class F cars
• Peter Witt streetcar
  Peter Witt streetcar
  Peter Witt was a Cleveland Railway commissioner, who designed a model of streetcar known by his name, and used in many North American cities, most notably in Toronto and Cleveland.-Features:...
  
  s

Preserved examples of Preston cars

Cars manufactured by the Preston Car Company are on display at the Halton County Radial Railway

Halton County Radial Railway

The Halton County Radial Railway is a working museum of electric streetcars, other railway vehicles, trolleybusses and buses. It is operated by the Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association...

 and Saskatchewan Railway Museum

Saskatchewan Railway Museum

The Saskatchewan Railway Museum is a railway museum located west of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at the intersection of the Pike Lake Highway and the Canadian National Railway tracks...

, and one is in service on the Nelson Electric Tramway

Nelson Electric Tramway

The Nelson Electric Tramway is a heritage railway in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. It uses two restored vintage streetcars which carry tourists along Nelson's waterfront and was the first operating heritage streetcar line in British Columbia. The service is seasonal, starting on the Easter...

.