At the end of December 2010, I posted the fantastic Going To Town 1985 SkyTrain documentary—well, since then, more classic SkyTrain video has come out of the woodwork!

My colleague Bill Knight, who you may know from the TransLink in film and TV posts, dropped by my office bearing VHS videotapes with even more tantalizing archival SkyTrain footage.

So SkyTrain’s 25th anniversary festivities continue with one of those goodies today: On Track, a video from 1983 highlighting the early development of SkyTrain! Similar to Going To Town, this video showcases the early stages of the project and the building of the early Main Street demonstration test track, which opened in 1982. And like Going to Town, the music is both amazing and epic :)

You’ll note that virtually all of the footage of the train in motion is filmed in Kingston, Ontario, where they were manufactured by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation. As well, just like Going to Town, nobody mentions the word “SkyTrain” at all: that name didn’t show up until 1985, and before that, people just called it the Vancouver Regional Rapid Transit project, or ALRT, Advanced Light Rapid Transit.

Also, here’s one bonus video: it’s b-roll footage of SkyTrain construction and the Vancouver region that was eventually shown in Going To Town! There’s no sound, but there are some amazing aerial shots of the Vancouver region in the 1980s. Enjoy!

Remember, you can check out the entire Transit History category for other posts on SkyTrain’s history and more. Happy 25th, SkyTrain!