Born at the turn of the century out of the promise of rich mineral discoveries, one of the smallest street railways in the British Empire once operated in Nelson, BC. Its streetcars carried passengers up one of the steepest grades of any Canadian system-grades which led to some spectacular accidents. Streetcars in the Kootenays recounts the eventful history of the Nelson Electric Tramway Company. It is also the story of a few dedicated volunteers who began restoring the system's only surviving streetcar, which returned to operation along the Kootenay Lake in 1992.