For Hydro-Québec, preserving objects that bear witness to the history of electricity in Québec is an everyday activity. Since 1988, heritage experts have been working with the company’s employees and managers to bring together a collection of artefacts representative of the many trades and occupations represented at the company. Today, that collection includes over 3,500 objects that tell the story of how electricity is generated, transmitted and distributed.

Production

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  • Installed in 1911 and declared obsolete in 2000, these control panels have been kept in place at Shawinigan-2 generating station.

    Hydro-Québec historical collection
    1996.2046

  • rom 1915 to 1988, this small turbine was used to start the generating unit at Chute-Bell power plant.

    Hydro-Québec historical collection
    1996.0047

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Transmission

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  • This transformer was used in the 1950s at Vallée substation, which has since been replaced by Dorchester substation beneath Hydro-Québec’s head office.

    Hydro-Québec historical collection
    1996.0070

  • Created by Hydro-Québec’s research institute in cooperation with line workers, this device was used for some 20 years (from 1992 to 2013) to guide the bucket trucks maintaining the transmission line that crosses the Saint–Laurent (St. Lawrence) between Sorel and Berthier.

    Hydro-Québec historical collection
    2013.0120

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Distribution

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  • One of the earliest electricity meters, built by Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in the 1890s.

    Collection Édouard Thibault
    2008.0011

  • This guy hook was used by a generation of line workers (1950–1986) to anchor distribution poles with guy wires.

    Hydro-Québec historical collection
    1996.0256

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Office work

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  • Did you know that Hydro-Québec has its own telephone system? From the 1960s to the 1990s, employees even had two telephone sets: a green one for internal calls, and a black one for external calls.

    Hydro-Québec historical collection
    2012.0053

  • Designed for drafting and graphic arts, this electric eraser was widely used in the 1950s.

    Hydro-Québec historical collection
    2010.0017

  • Promotional coaster, circa 1970. To use Hydro-Québec’s internal telephone system, employees had to dial “99” on their green phones.

    Hydro-Québec historical collection
    2005.0127

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