After the Second World War the Canadian Car Foundry (CCF) in what was then Fort William was slated to close. To keep the plant running (CCF) partnered with the American Car Foundy – (ACF) Brill Motors of Philadelphia to retool the plant and start producing electric powered Trollys.

In March of 1945 design and construction of the Brill Trolleys began.

The Port Arthur and Fort William transit systems purchased and started service with the Brill Trolleys in late 1947.

In 1970 both cities amalgamated into what is now Thunder Bay and the final run of trolleys in Thunder Bay was late 1972.

The Brill trolleys were manufactured until 1954 and were shipped across Canada into many Canadian cities and are an integral part of the transit history of not just Thunder Bay, but Canada as a whole.

In 2001, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 966 approached Thunder Bay City Council to purchase two Brill Trolley buses that had been sitting in a scrap yard in Richmond B.C. Their plan was to buy the trolleys and restore them to their original exterior colours, one for the Fort William system and one for Port Arthur.

The Brill trolleys were manufactured here in Thunder Bay after the Second World War at the Canadian Car Foundry in what was then Fort William.

The plan was to purchase the two trolleys, restore them to their original exterior colours one representing the Fort William system and one the Port Arthur system.

The city gave the Union $12,000.00 dollars to purchase and transport the trolleys which was completed in 2001 as the first phase of the project. The second restoration phase was completed in 2007 and both Trolleys were shown as part of Thunder Bay Transit’s 115th Anniversary. The third and final phase for the Trolleys is now underway with the formation of the Buddies of the Brill. The Buddies of the Brill is a non-profit organization dedicated to locating a home for the restored Brill Trolleys as part of a a permanent display for the rich transit history that Thunder Bay offers.