NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Washington streetcars

For just under 100 years, between 1862 and 1962, Washington, D.C. streetcars transported people across the city and region. The first streetcars in Washington D.C. were drawn by horses and carried people short distances on flat terrain; but the introduction of cleaner and faster electric streetcars, capable of climbing steeper inclines, opened up the hilly suburbs north of the old city and in Anacostia. A number of the District's streetcar lines were extended into Maryland, and two Virginia lines crossed into the District. For a brief time the city also experimented with cable cars, but by the beginning of the 20th century, the streetcar system was fully electrified. At the turn of the century, the "Great Streetcar Consolidation" resulted in extensive mergers leaving two major companies. In 1933 all streetcars were brought under one company, Capital Transit. The streetcars began to scale back with the rising popularity of the automobile and pressure to switch to buses. After a strike in 1955, the company changed ownership and became DC Transit, with explicit instructions to switch to buses. The system was dismantled in the early 1960's and the last streetcar ran on January 28, 1962. Car barns, trackage, stations and right-of way of the system still exists in various states of usage. Image File history File links Streetcars_at_Treasury. ... Image File history File links Streetcars_at_Treasury. ... Look up city, City in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about light rail systems in general. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Map of Washington, D.C., with Anacostia highlighted in red Rowhouses in Anacostia. ... Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area Ranked 42nd - Total 12,407 sq mi (32,133 kmÂ²) - Width 90 miles (145 km) - Length 249 miles (400 km) - % water 21 - Latitude 37Â°53N to 39Â°43N - Longitude 75Â°4W to 79Â°33... Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area Ranked 35th - Total 42,793 sq mi (110,862 kmÂ²) - Width 200 miles (320 km) - Length 430 miles (690 km) - % water 7. ... Cable Car in San Francisco A San Francisco cable car A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are propelled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... The phrase mergers and acquisitions or M&A refers to the aspect of corporate finance strategy and management dealing with the merging and acquiring of different companies as well as assets. ... Karl Benzs Velo (vÃ©lo means bicycle in French) model (1894) - entered into the first automobile race 2005 MINI Cooper S. An automobile (also motor car or simply car) is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. ... A Go North East bus parked in a lay-by in Tyne and Wear, England An articulated bus (or bendibus) operated by the CTA in Chicago, Illinois, USA. A bus is a large road vehicle designed to carry numerous passengers in addition to the driver and sometimes a conductor. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Rail tracks. ...

History

Early transit in Washington

Public transportation began in Washington, D.C. almost as soon as the city was founded. In May of 1800 two-horse stage coaches began operation from Bridge and High Streets NW (now Wisconsin and [[M Street (Washington, D.C.)|M Street NW) in Georgetown by way of M Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW/SE to William Tunnicliff's Tavern at the site now occupied by the Supreme Court Building. They ran twice a day, but service ended soon after it began.^[1] A taxi serving as a bus Public transport comprises all transport systems in which the passengers do not travel in their own vehicles. ... A stagecoach is a type of four-wheeled enclosed passenger and/or mail coach, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, widely used before the introduction of railway transport. ... The intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street is the commercial heart of Georgetown. ... The familiar golden dome of Washingtons once venerable Riggs Bank, now amalgamated into PNC Bank, at the northeast corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street NW. Georgetown in red Georgetown is a neighborhood located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River waterfront. ... Pennsylvania Avenue as seen from the Old Post Office building in 2005 Pennsylvania Avenue is an important street in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ... Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. The buildings facade underwent renovation during the summer of 2006. ... Look up day in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Not until the spring of 1830, was another attempt made at public transit. Gilbert Vanderwerken's Omnibuses, horse-drawn wagons, began running from Georgetown to the Navy Yard. The company maintained stables on M Street NW. These lines were later extended down 11th Street SE to the waterfront and up 7th Street NW to L Street NW. Other omnibus lines were added under different companies, but by 1854 all omnibuses had come under the control of two companies, "The Union Line" and "The Citizen's Line." In 1860 these two merged, under the control of Gilbert Vanderwerken and continued to operate until they were run out of business by the new technology - streetcars.^[1] ^[2] The word transit, when used alone, has several possible meanings in English means of transport, including mass transit, rapid transit, public transit, public transport Further information: transit (transportation) in astronomy an event involving two bodies along the same line of sight Further information: astronomical transit in navigational position lines when... Gilbert Vanderwerken (5 February 1810 â€“ 22 January 1894)[1], originally from Albany, New York, was most notably recognized for introducing the omnibus, an urban version of the stagecoach, in Newark, New Jersey, in 1826. ... Parisian Omnibus, late nineteenth century Omnibus is a Latin word meaning for all (people) and has several meanings in standard English: bus, a vehicle for transporting large numbers of people Omnibus, a law which covers many different subjects, or has had many unrelated additions tacked onto it. ... A wagon (in British English waggon) or dray is a wheeled vehicle, ordinarily with four wheels, usually pulled by an animal, or animals, such as horses, mules or oxen and used for transport of heavy goods. ... The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Washington, D.C.. The yard currently is a ceremonial and administrative center for the navy, home to the Chief of Naval Operations and is headquarters for the Naval Historical Center, the Marine Corps... Georgia Avenue is a major through north-south artery in northwest Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland. ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ...

Horse-drawn streetcars

Washington and Georgetown

Streetcars began operation in New York City along the Bowery in 1832 and in 1835 in New Orleans,^[3] but the technology did not really become popular until 1852, when a French engineer working in New York, Alphonse Loubat, invented a side-bearing rail that could be laid flush with the street surface, allowing the first independent horse-drawn streetcar lines.^[4] The technology began to spread and as early as 1858 an effort was made by New York City businessmen to open a streetcar in Washington, D.C. Despite this, it was not until May 17, 1862 that the first streetcar company, the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company was incorporated.^[1] It was authorized to build three street horsecar lines using the standard track gauge of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.^[5] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (587x640, 65 KB) Summary Library of Congress archive Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (587x640, 65 KB) Summary Library of Congress archive Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... New York, NY redirects here. ... Categories: Stub | Streets in Manhattan ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... For the Technical Symposium of NITK Surathkal Engineer , see Engineer (Technical Fest). ... Alphonse Loubat invented the grooved rail in 1852. ... A city-centre street in Frankfurt, Germany A residential street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA A street is a public thoroughfare in the built environment. ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (138th in leap years). ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Rapid Transit in San Diego: An original 1886 horse-drawn trolley and its driver participate in a parade celebrating the groundbreaking of the Panama-California Exposition Center in 1911. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ... Rail gauge is the distance between two rails of a railroad. ... 1876 map The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) is one of the oldest railroads in the United States, with an original line from the port of Baltimore, Maryland, west to the Ohio River at Wheeling and Parkersburg, West Virginia. ...

The first streetcar ran from the Navy Yard to Georgetown on Pennsylvania Avenue NW/SE. It began full operation on October 2, 1862,^[1] but partial operations from the Capitol to the State Department began on July 29, 1862.^[6] Another line, opened on November 15, 1862, was built along 7th Street NW from N Street NW to the Potomac River and expanded to the Arsenal (now Fort McNair) in 1875.^[7]^[5] A third line ran down 14th Street NW from Boundary Street NW (now Florida Avenue) to the Treasury Building. In 1863 the 7th Street line was extended north to Boundary Street NW.^[2] The stables owned by the omnibus line were eventually purchased by the Washington and Georgetown line to be used as a car barn and, much later, as machine shops. The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Washington, D.C.. The yard currently is a ceremonial and administrative center for the navy, home to the Chief of Naval Operations and is headquarters for the Naval Historical Center, the Marine Corps... The familiar golden dome of Washingtons once venerable Riggs Bank, now amalgamated into PNC Bank, at the northeast corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street NW. Georgetown in red Georgetown is a neighborhood located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River waterfront. ... October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States (USA). ... Fort Lesley J. McNair is an American military installation located at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers in Washington, District of Columbia, across the Washington Channel from East Potomac Park. ... In the Cartesian-coordinate-based street system of Washington, D.C., 14th Street refers to any of several north-south streets located 14 blocks east or west of the United States Capitol. ... Florida Avenue is a major street in Washington, D.C. It was originally named Boundary Street, because it formed the northern boundary of Pierre LEnfants original plan for the Federal City. ... The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department, a treasury, of the United States government established by an Act of U.S. Congress in 1789 to manage the revenue of the United States government. ... Leland Stanfords horse stable, still in use Horse kept in stable A stable is a building in which livestock, usually horses, are kept. ... A lathe is a common tool used in machining. ...

When the Washington and Georgetown opened, the owners planned for it to be a segregated system, but users ignored the signs designating which race was allowed. When the Metropolitan opened, it was forbidden from using segregated cars and on March 3, 1865 the practice was outlawed district-wide. Even after Plessy v. Ferguson made segregation on public transit legal, the system in Washington was never segregated again.^[1] The Rex Theatre for Colored People Racial segregation is characterized by separation of different races in daily life when both are doing equal tasks, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Holding The separate but equal provision of public accommodations by state governments is constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. ...

In 1877, the company built a car barn at 13th and Boundary Streets NW. From 1877-92, the company expanded the facility several times, adding a blacksmith shop in 1878.^[8] A blacksmith A blacksmith at work A blacksmith at work A blacksmiths fire Hot metal work from a blacksmith A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from iron or steel by forging the metal; i. ...

Metropolitan

The Washington and Georgetown's monopoly didn't last long as on July 1, 1864 a second streetcar company, the Metropolitan Railroad Company, was incorporated. It opened lines from the Capitol to the War Department at 14th and I Streets NW and along H Street NW from Massachusetts Avenue NW to 17th Street NW. When it started, it used two-horse cars, but in 1865 it switched to smaller cars pulled by one horse.^[1] In 1872, it began operations on a 9th Street line with a terminus on M Street NW.^[2] By 1888 it had built additional lines down 4th Street NW/SW to P Street SW, into Georgetown on O and P Streets NW and on East Capitol Street to 9th Street.^[1] Image File history File links Horsecar_on_M_Street_Bridge. ... Image File history File links Horsecar_on_M_Street_Bridge. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Line drawing of the Department of Wars seal. ...

The Metropolitan continued to expand by acquiring other companies. The first of these was the Connecticut Avenue and Park Railway which was chartered on July 13, 1868.^[5] This line started at the terminus of the Metropolitan at 17th and H Streets NW and ran north up Connecticut Avenue NW to Boundary Street NW. The streetcar line did not continue up Connecticut Avenue NW from this point as the grade was too steep for the horse-drawn cars. Operation of this line began in April of 1873. It continued to be operated by the Connecticut Avenue and Park until June of 1874 when it was absorbed by the Metropolitan.^[9] Though tracks were laid on Connecticut Avenue NW north of P Street NW, cars did not run on this portion until 1883 when local residents petitioned Metropolitan to begin a shuttle service.^[1]

On January 19, 1872, both the Boundary and Silver Spring Railway Company and the Union Railroad Company were chartered. The Boundary and Silver Spring was to run a streetcar from Boundary Street NW to the Maryland-D.C. boundary along the Washington City and Rockville Turnpike (now Georgia Avenue NW). The Union was to lay track from the Treasury Building at 15th Street NW and New York Avenue NW to Georgetown across the P Street Bridge and then on various streets in Georgetown. Both were promptly absorbed by the Metropolitan.^[5] The Boundary and Silver Spring was purchased by 1873, when the Metropolitan began running cars along Georgia Avenue all the way to Rock Creek Church Road NW. The line was not profitable, so the Metropolitan sold it in 1890.^[10] The Union was absorbed in 1872.^[1] January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Columbia

Chartered by Congress on May 24, 1870^[5] and beginning operations the same year,^[2] the Columbia Railway Company was the city’s third horse car operator. Its route began at 15th Street and New York Avenue NW, where it intersected the Washington and Georgetown line, and continued east on New York Avenue NW to K Street NW (at that time the location of the Northern Liberties Market, now Mt. Vernon Square). From K Street NW, it went south on Massachusetts Avenue NW to H Street NW and all the way across H Street to the city boundary at 15th Street NE, a round trip distance of five miles. The line began as a single track with turnouts for cars to pass, but a double track was added by 1872. The company built a car barn and stable on the east side of 15th Street just south of H Street at the eastern end of the line. By 1883, the company was running 15 cars, each making 11 trips daily. There were 52 horses in the stable and 34 employees. The Columbia originally ran one-man one horse cars called "bobtails" but these were so unpopular that it led to a rider's strike. As a result Congress banned the short cars in 1892.^[11] May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... New York Avenue is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the White House in Washington, D.C. It is a major east-west route in the citys Northwest and Northeast quadrants and connects downtown with points east and north of the city via the John Hanson Highway and... K Street, epicenter of American lobbying. ... Massachusetts Avenue, colloquially abbreviated Mass. ... The H Street Corridor is a commercial district at the heart of the Near Northeast neighborhood (also known as Old City, Capitol Hill North, and Cap Valley) in Northeast Washington, D.C. It was one of Washingtons earliest and busiest commercial districts, but after World War II, the neighborhood...

Anacostia and Potomac River

The first company to serve Anacostia was chartered on May 5, 1870 and was given approval by Congress on February 18, 1875.^[5] The streetcar line was constructed in 1875 across the Anacostia River by the Anacostia and Potomac River Railroad Company. The streetcars traveled from the Arsenal, along M Street SW/SE and 11th Street SE, and crossed the Navy Yard Bridge to Uniontown (now Historic Anacostia). The route then led down Nichols Avenue SE (now Martin Luther King Avenue) to V Street SE where a car barn and stables were maintained by the company.^[12] On August 1, 1888 the Anacostia and Potomac River was permitted to expand from the Navy Yard to Congressional Cemetery and past Garfield Park to the Center Market in downtown, both of which it did later that year. It was also permitted to expand in Anacostia past the Government Hospital for the Insane (now St. Elizabeths Hospital) to the District boundary.^[5] May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... St. ...

Capitol, North O Street and South Washington

The last streetcar company to begin operation during the horsecar era was the Capitol, North O Street and South Washington Railway Company. It was incorporated on March 3, 1875 and began operation later that year. Its circular route went from the Capitol along 1st Street SW, south of the Mall on Maryland and Virginia Avenues SW, north on 12th Street SW/NW, the old Ohio Avenue NW (now obliterated by Federal Triangle) and 14th Street NW to O Street NW and then south on 4th Street NW, G Street NW and 1st Street NW. A P Street NW track was added in 1876 for westbound cars, leaving O Street NW for eastbound traffic. In 1881, the route was extended North on 11th Street NW to Boundary Street NW, south on 11th Street SW and Water Street SW to the Arsenal and tracks were rerouted across the Mall. It changed its name to the Belt Railway Company on February 18, 1893.^[2]^[1]^[5] March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 766 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1042 Ã— 816 pixel, file size: 326 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This map is a combination of two U.S. Geological Service maps. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 766 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1042 Ã— 816 pixel, file size: 326 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This map is a combination of two U.S. Geological Service maps. ...

Herdic Phaeton Company

The development and improvement of streetcars was partly the result of competition from horse drawn chariots. Starting on March 5, 1877 the date of President Hayes' inauguration, these single horse carriages began running on a route roughly parallel to the Washington and Georgetown's Pennsylvania Avenue route. They were slower but cheaper. To compete, the Washington and Georgetown ran one horse streetcars at a discounted fare. After three years, the chariots were forced out of business. This was followed almost immediately by the Herdic Phaeton Company which ran plushly upholstered carriages along an expanded route. The company was more successful than the chariot company and continued to expand until 1887. The electric streetcar was too much for the company to compete with and when its principal stockholder died in 1896 it ceased operations.^[1] Photo of a Herdic Omnibus and gingerbread waiting station at Lafayette Square in 1891.

After the Herdic Company went under, the Metropolitan Coach Company began running horse drawn coaches in conjunction with the Metropolitan Railroad. It began carrying passengers from 16th Street NW and T Street NW to 22nd Street NW and G Street NW, but the route changed, later running from 16th Street NW and U Street NW to the Treasury Building and then along Pennsylvania Avenue NW to 9th Street NW. It began operations on May 1, 1897 with a car barn at 1914 E Street NW. In 1904 it became its own corporation.^[1] May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

The switch to electric power

Horsecars, though an improvement over horse drawn wagons, were slow, dirty and inefficient. Horses needed to be housed and fed, created large amounts of waste, had difficulty climbing hills and were difficult to dispose of. Almost as soon as they were instituted, companies began looking for alternatives. For example, the Washington and Georgetown experimented with a steam motor car in the 1870's and 1880's which was run on Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the Capitol several times, but was never placed in permanent use.^[1] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (994x757, 145 KB) Summary Public domain from the Library of Congress Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (994x757, 145 KB) Summary Public domain from the Library of Congress Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

In 1883, Frank Sprague an 1878 Naval Academy graduate, resigned from the Navy to work for Thomas Edison. He wound up in Richmond, Virginia where, on February 2, 1888 he put into service the first electric-powered streetcar system.^[13] After 1888, many cities, including Washington, turned to electric-powered streetcars. To get electricity to the streetcars from the powerhouse where it was generated, an overhead wire was installed over city streets. A streetcar would touch this electric wire with a long pole on its roof. Back at the powerhouse, big steam engines would turn huge generators to produce the electricity needed to operate the streetcars. A new name was soon developed for streetcars powered by electricity; they were called trolley cars.^[3] Frank Julian Sprague (1857-1934) American inventor, Father of Electric Traction Frank Julian Sprague (1857–1934) was an American naval officer and inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. ... Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 â€“ October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices which greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph and a long lasting light bulb. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

New electric streetcar companies

Eckington and Soldiers' Home

By 1888, Washington was expanding north of Boundary Street NW into the hills of Washington Heights and Petworth. Boundary Street was becoming such a misnomer that in 1890 it was renamed Florida Avenue. Climbing the hills to the new parts of the city was difficult for horses, but electric streetcars could do it easily. So, in the year following the successful demonstration of the Richmond streetcar, four electric streetcar companies were incorporated in Washington D.C. The Eckington and Soldiers' Home Railway was the first to charter, on June 19, 1888, and started operation on October 17th of that year.^[5] Its tracks started at Seventh Street NW and New York Avenue NW, east of Mount Vernon Square and traveled a distance of 2 ½ miles to the Eckington Car Barn at 4th Street NE and T Street NE via Boundary Street NE, Eckington Place NE, R Street NE, 3rd Street NE and T Street NE. Another line ran up 4th Street NE to Michigan Avenue NE. A one week pass cost $1.25.^[6]^[14] In 1889, the line was extended along T Street NE, 2nd Street NE and V Street NE to Glenwood Cemetery, but the extension proved unprofitable and was closed in 1894.^[15] At the same time an extension was built along Michigan Avenue NE to the B&O railroad tracks. In 1895 the company removed its overhead trolley lines in accordance with its charter and attempted to replace them with batteries. These proved too costly and the company substituted horse power in the central city.^[1] In 1896 Congress directed the Eckington and Soldier's Home to try out compressed air motors and, if unsuccessful, to substitute underground electric power for all its horse and overhead trolley lines in the city.^[5] The compressed air motors were a failure and in 1899 the company switched to the standard underground electric power conduit.^[1] Image File history File links Eckington_and_Soldiers_Home. ... Image File history File links Eckington_and_Soldiers_Home. ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Mount Vernon Square is a city square in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., U.S.A. It is located where the following streets would otherwise intersect: Massachusetts Avenue, New York Avenue, K Street, and 8th Street. ... Map of Washington, D.C., with Eckington highlighted in red Eckington is a neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C. located south of the Prospect Hill and Glenwood Cemeteries. ... Florida Avenue is a major street in Washington, D.C. It was originally named Boundary Street, because it formed the northern boundary of Pierre LEnfants original plan for the Federal City. ...

Rock Creek

Four days after the Eckington and Soldiers' Home was chartered, the Rock Creek Railway was incorporated by Francis Griffith Newlands on June 23, 1888.^[5] Service began in 1890 and was extended to Washington Heights in September of 1892. The route ran north on Florida Avenue NW from Connecticut Avenue NW, north along 18th Street NW and crossed the Rock Creek Valley on Cincinnati Street NW (now Calvert Street). The iron bridge across Rock Creek at Calvert Street NW was built by the company and construction completed on July 21, 1891.^[1] At this point, the streetcar continued northward on Connecticut Avenue NW to Chevy Chase Lake, Maryland. The following year, the line was extended east along U Street NW through Cardoza/Shaw to 7th Street NW, intersecting with several downtown lines and making the Washington Heights neighborhood more readily accessible from downtown.^[9] This track was removed in 1899.^[1] In 1896, the Rock Creek (then part of Capitol Traction) experimented on U Street NW between 9th Street NW and 18th Street NW with a new power system. The Love system transmitted electricity through a set of trolley wheels running on underground conduit rails instead of through the sliding shoe used elsewhere. While the system worked it was more expensive to install. In the spring of 1899 it was replaced with the sliding shoe and the line continued to the Calvert Street Loop.^[1] Francis Griffith Newlands was born at Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, on August 28, 1848. ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The U Street Corridor is a historically black neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The corridor extends along U Street, N.W., and is bounded approximately by 9th Street on the east and by 18th Street and Florida Avenue on the west. ... Map of Washington, D.C., with Shaw highlighted in red Shaw is a neighborhood in central Washington, D.C. It is roughly bounded by M Street NW to the south; New Jersey Avenue NW to the east; Florida Avenue NW to the north; and 11th Street NW to the west...

Georgetown and Tennallytown

The third electric streetcar company to incorporate, the Georgetown and Tennallytown Railway Company, was chartered on August 22, 1888.^[5] In 1890, the railway started operations connecting Georgetown to the extant village of Tennallytown. The line traveled the length of the Georgetown and Rockville Road (now Wisconsin Avenue NW), stretching from the Potomac River to the Maryland State line.^[16] In 1890 it was extended across the Maryland line to Bethesda.^[17] In 1897, the Washington and Rockville Company formed to extend the line to Rockville. Though the two companies legally acted as different entities, they traveled identical routes on identical rails and shared a car barn (owned by WRECo) on Wisconsin Avenue NW at the District boundary.^[18] By 1900, the tracks had extended to Rockville.^[19] Map of the Rockville line [2]. August 22 is the 234th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (235th in leap years), with 131 days remaining. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Wisconsin Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Washington, D.C., and its Maryland suburbs. ...

Washington and Great Falls - Maryland and Washington

Two more companies stretching into Maryland were incorporated by acts of Congress in the summer of 1892. The Washington and Great Falls Electric Company was approved on July 28, 1892 to build an electric streetcar line from the Aqueduct Bridge to Cabin John Creek. It completed its track in August of 1895. Because the railroad never reached Great Falls, but instead terminated at Cabin John, it was often referred to as the "Cabin John Trolley." The Maryland and Washington Railway Company was approved a few days later on August 1, 1892. In ran on Rhode Island Avenue NE from 4th Street NE reaching what is now Mount Rainier on the Maryland line in 1897.^[20] At its southern terminus it connected to the Eckington and Soldier's Home.^[1] July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 156 days remaining. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Coordinates , Government Country State County United States Maryland Prince Georges Incorporated 1910 Mayor Malinda Miles Geographical characteristics Area City 1. ...

Capital Railway

The first electric streetcar to operate in Anacostia was the Capital Railway Company. It was incorporated by Colonel Arthur Emmett Randle on March 2, 1895 to serve Congress Heights. It was to run from Shepherds Ferry along the Potomac and across the Navy Yard Bridge to M Street SE. A second line would run along Good Hope Road SE to the District boundary.^[5] The line was built during the Panic of 1896 despite 18 months of opposition from the Anacostia and Potomac.^[21] In 1897 it experimented with the "Brown System", which used magnets in boxes to relay power instead of overhead or underground lines, and with double trolley lines over the Navy Yard Bridge. Both were failures.^[1] By 1898, the streetcar line ran along Nichols Avenue SE to Congress Heights, ending at Upsal Street SE.^[12] At the same time the Capital Railway was incorporated, the Washington and Marlboro Electric Railway was chartered to run trains across the Anacostia through SE Anacostia to the District boundary at Suitland Road and from there to Upper Marlboro, but it never laid any track.^[5] March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (62nd in leap years). ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Panic of 1896 was an acute depression that was less serious than other panics of the era precipitated by a drop in silver reserves and market concerns on the effects it would have on the gold standard. ...

Baltimore and Washington

The Baltimore and Washington Transit Company was incorporated prior to 1894, with authorization to run from the District of Columbia, across Maryland to the Pennsylvania border.^[22] On June 8, 1896 it was given permission to enter the District of Columbia and connect to the Brightwood, eventually running on 3rd Street NW, Kennedy Street NW and Colorado Avenue NW.^[5]^[1] In 1897, it began construction on a line, known locally as the Dinky Line, that began at 4th Street NW and Butternut Street NW, traveled south on 4th Street NW to Aspen Street NW and then east on Aspen Street NW and Laurel Street NW into Maryland.^[23] On March 14, 1914, it changed its name to the Washington and Maryland Railway Company.^[1] June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... Dinky Line is a common term for a short railroad line, usually with short trainsets. ... For the Lebanese political coalition, see March 14 Alliance. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

East Washington Heights

The East Washington Heights Traction Railroad Company was incorporated on June 18, 1898.^[1] It ran from the Capitol along Pennsylvania Avenue SE across the bridge to Randle Highlands (now known as Twining).^[24] June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Washington, Spa Spring, and Gretta

The last new streetcar company to form was the Washington, Spa Spring and Gretta Railroad Company. It was chartered by the state of Maryland on February 13, 1905 and authorized to enter the district on February 18, 1907.^[1] In 1910, it began running cars along a single track from a modest waiting station and car barn near 15th Street NE and H Street NE along Bladensburg Road NE to Bladensburg. [On July 5, 1892 the District of Columbia Suburban Railway was incorporated to run streetcars along the same route - on Bladensburg Road NE from the Columbia tracks on H Street NE to the Maryland line and from Brookland to Florida Avenue NE, but it was never constructed]. Although initially planned to go as far as Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the line never ran further than an extension to Berwyn Heights, Maryland. The route was planned to promote development of land owned by the company adjacent to the tracks, but it never successfully competed with established rail lines in the same area.^[11] Noting its diminished ambitions, it became the Washington Interurban Railway Company on October 12, 1912^[1] and changed the Railway to Railroad in 1919. February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Bladensburg is a town located in Prince Georges County, Maryland. ... July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 179 days remaining. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Gettysburg may refer to: Places Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg Battlefield, the National Military Park administered by the National Park Service. ... Official language(s) English, Pennsylvania Dutch Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area Ranked 33rd - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 kmÂ²) - Width 280 miles (455 km) - Length 160 miles (255 km) - % water 2. ... Berwyn Heights is a town located in Prince Georges County, Maryland. ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Conversion of horse cars to mechanical and electrical power

On March 2, 1889 the District authorized every streetcar company in Washington to switch from horse power to underground cable or to electricity provided by battery or underground wire and in 1890 companies were authorized to sell stock to pay for the upgrades - provided they did not involve overhead wires. In 1892, one-horse cars were banned within the city, and by 1894 Congress began requiring companies to switch to something other than horse power while continuing to disallow overhead lines within the city. March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (62nd in leap years). ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Washington and Georgetown

Immediately after the March 2, 1889 law was passed, the Washington and Georgetown began installing an underground cable system. Their 7th Street line was operating as a cable car system by April 12, 1890. Sixteen cars traveled on the route at 6 mph at three minute intervals, from 5am to 1am daily. The rest of the system was in operation by August 18, 1892.^[1]^[14] Two cables pulled the cars up and down Pennsylvania Avenue NW/SE between the Navy Yard and Georgetown. The company built five new facilities to handle the cable car operations. In 1892, they extended their track along 14th to Mount Pleasant Avenue NW (now Park Road NW) and built a new barn there. They moved the cars from the barn at 13th Street NW and Florida Avenue NW to the new one and sold the older facility which was converted into a printing plant.^[8] In 1893 the company built the Navy Yard Car Barn across from the Navy Yard to service the new cars.^[25] The company built two powerhouses to provide energy for the system, one at 14th Street NW and E Street NW and the other at 7th Street SW and P Street SW. In the middle of the intersection of 14th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW a large wheel pit was constructed.^[1] In addition the company was authorized, on August 23, 1894, to extend its line on M Street NW to the Aqueduct Bridge, and build a "Union Station" - now the Georgetown Car Barn. In 1895, now part of Capitol Traction, it began construction on the Waddy Wood-designed car barn. Union Station was designed to serve four streetcar companies: The Washington and Georgetown lines would use the ground floor on M Street NW while the Washington, Arlington and Falls Church and the projected Great Falls and Old Dominion were to come across the Potomac from Rosslyn entering the second and third floors respectively on steel trestles. The Metropolitan would use the roof. The Virginia companies never used it and the Metropolitan only sparingly so. The Washington and Great Falls took over the third floor. The station opened on May 27, 1897 and contained Washington's only cable loop, although for less than a year,^[26] because on September 29, 1897, the company's powerhouse at 14th and E NW burned down and the city took the site for its Municipal Building. The company replaced the cable cars with an electric system, using horses in the interim. The electric wire for the cars was placed in the old cable system's underground conduit.^[27] The 14th Street branch switched to electric power on February 27, 1898, the Pennsylvania Avenue division on April 20, 1898 and the 7th Street branch on May 26, 1898.^[28] March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (62nd in leap years). ... Year 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... August 18 is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Department of the Interior headquarters building from the south, completed December 17, 1936 Waddy Butler Wood (1869 - January 25, 1944) was a prominent Washington, DC based American architect of the early 20th century. ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Metropolitan

On October 18, 1888, the day after the Eckington and Soldier's Home began operation, Congress authorized the Brightwood Railway Company to electrify the Metropolitan's streetcar line on Seventh Street Extended NW or Brightwood Avenue NW (now known as Georgia Avenue NW) and to extend it to the District boundary at Silver Spring. In 1890 they bought the former Boundary and Silver Spring line from the Metropolitan, but continued to operate it as a horse line. In 1892 it was ordered by Congress to switch to overhead electrical power and complete the line.^[5]^[10] The next year, the streetcar tracks reached Takoma Park along Butternut Street NW to 4th Street NW.^[29] In 1898, the Brightwood was ordered to switch to underground electric power on pain of having its charter revoked.^[30] October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Georgia Avenue is a major through north-south artery in Washington, DC. It begins as 7th Street, S.W., at Maine Avenue SW, at the Waterfront. ...

The remaining Metropolitan company experimented with batteries in 1890 but found them unsatisfactory. On August 2, 1894 Congress ordered the Metropolitan to switch to underground electrical power. It complied, installing the underground sliding shoe on the north-south line in January 1895. It was the first successful installation of such a system in the Western Hemisphere (having previously been installed in Budapest, Hungary).^[26]^[28] Though mostly a success, the underground power conduits had drawbacks. In the winter, the plow would get jammed by snow and ice and in the summer the conduits swelled shut.^[31] It switched the rest of the system on July 7, 1896.^[1] As part of the new construction in 1895, Metropolitan built a massive, Romanesque-style car barn on the corner of 4th Street SW and P Street SW.^[32] In the same year, Metropolitan built a loop on 35th Street NW and 36th Street NW to Prospect Street NW to connect it to the Georgetown Car Barn.^[1] In 1896 it extended service along East Capitol Street and built the East Capitol Street Car Barn, a Romanesque Revival style building designed by Waddy Wood, to serve as a barn, repair shop, and administrative offices (photo).^[33] In 1896, the company extended its service along Columbia Road NW and Mt. Pleasant Street NW as far as Park Road NW.^[9] August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... See Budapest (band) for the British melancholic post-grunge band. ... July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 177 days remaining. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... A style of building in the late 19th century (roughly 1840 and 1900) inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque style of architecture. ... Department of the Interior headquarters building from the south, completed December 17, 1936 Waddy Butler Wood (1869 - January 25, 1944) was a prominent Washington, DC based American architect of the early 20th century. ...

Columbia

The Columbia installed a cable system with a new cable car barn and began its operation on March 9, 1895. It was the last cable car system built in the United States. The underground electrical system proved superior though, so it switched to that system on July 22, 1899. The last cable car in the city ran the next day.^[1] Image File history File links Columbia_Car_barn. ... Image File history File links Columbia_Car_barn. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (69th in leap years). ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Using electricity from the power plant built to power its cable operation, the Columbia won permission in 1898 to build a line east along Benning Road NE. Since this route was outside the city, overhead wires could be used to provide electric power. The line split on the east side of the Anacostia. One branch ran to Kenilworth, and the other connected at Seat Pleasant with the terminus of the steam-powered Chesapeake Beach Railroad.^[11] Seat Pleasant is a city located in Prince Georges County, Maryland. ... The Chesapeake Beach Railroad opened on June 9, 1900, as a means of transporting people from Washington, DC to Chesapeake Beach, MD. It left DC at Chesapeake Junction - where Minnesota Avenue NE and Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE meet in the Deanwood neighborhood - on the abandoned right-of-way of...

Belt

In 1896 Congress directed the Belt Railway to try out compressed air motors, just as it had the Eckington and Soldier's Home.^[5] The compressed air motors were a failure, the company went into receivership and in 1899 was equipped with the standard underground power system.^[1]

Anacostia and Potomac River

The Anacostia and Potomac, which had been extended from F street NW to Florida Avenue NW along 11th Street NW, switched from horses to electric in April of 1900. This was the last horse drawn streetcar to run in the District.^[28]

Virginia companies operating in Washington, D.C.

Two Virginia based companies eventually extended service into the District and a third was given permission to, but never did.

The Washington and Arlington Railway Company was the first Virginia company given permission to operate in Washington. It was incorporated on February 28, 1892 with the right to run a streetcar from the train station at 6th and B Streets NW to Virginia across a new Three Sisters Bridge.^[5] It was also allotted space in the Georgetown Car Barn.^[26] The company was never able to construct the new bridge, and so never operated in Washington.

The Washington, Alexandria and Mount Vernon Electric Railway Company started construction in Virginia in 1892. On August 23, 1894 it was given permission to enter the District of Columbia using a ferry. It completed its tracks in 1896 and began serving a waiting station at 14th and B Streets NW. From the waiting station it used the Belt Line's track on 14th Street to reach the Long Bridge, a combined road and rail crossing of the Potomac River, never opting to use the ferry system. The highway was later relocated from the rail alignment to a new through-truss crossing, immediately west of the Long Bridge. August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1902 its station was moved to 12th and D Streets NW to make room for the District Building.^[5]^[1] On October 17, 1910 the Washington and Arlington, by then the Washington, Arlington and Falls Church Railway Company, and the Washington, Alexandria and Mount Vernon merged to form the Washington - Virginia Railway Company.^[1] The company had difficulty competing and in 1924 declared bankruptcy. In 1927 the two companies were split and sold at auction.^[34] The former Washington, Arlington and Falls Church reemerged as the Arlington and Fairfax Electric Railway Company^[34] and continued to serve the city on the Washington-Virginia route until the new Highway Bridge was built in 1932.^[6] October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administration - see text) in the UK. Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organizations to pay their... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad Company was chartered January 24, 1900 and authorized to enter the District on January 29, 1903. It crossed over the Aqueduct Bridge and terminated near, but not inside, the Georgetown Car Barn.^[1] In 1912 it was purchased by the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad and became the Great Falls Division of that company. January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

Streetcar consolidation

By the mid-1890's there were numerous streetcar companies operating in the District. Congress tried to deal with this fractured transit system by requiring them to accept transfers, set standard pricing and by allowing them to use one another's track. But eventually it became clear that consolidation was the best solution.

The first company created during "the great streetcar consolidation" was the Capital Traction Company which was formed after March 1, 1895, when Congress authorized the Rock Creek to purchase the Washington and Georgetown. In did so on September 21, 1895.^[28] In 1916 Capital Traction took ownership of the Washington and Maryland and its 2.591 miles of track.^[30] Image File history File links WRy_token. ... Image File history File links WRy_token. ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

A few years later, on June 24, 1898 the Anacostia and Potomac began its expansion by purchasing the Belt Railway and in 1899 it purchased the Capital Railway. June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Later that year, the Eckington and Soldier's Home purchased the Maryland and Washington. On June 27, 1898 the new, combined company changed its name to the City and Suburban Railway of Washington. It purchased the Columbia and Maryland, running from Mount Rainier to Laural, in the same year.^[1] June 27 is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 187 days remaining. ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Between the years 1896 and 1899, three businessmen purchased controlling interests in the Metropolitan; the Columbia; the Anacostia and Potomac River; the Georgetown and Tennallytown; the Washington, Woodside and Forest Glen; the Washington and Great Falls; and the Washington and Rockville railway companies, in addition to the Potomac Electric Power Company and the United States Electric Lighting Company. They incorporated the Washington Traction and Electric Company on June 5, 1899 as a holding company for these interests. But the holding company had borrowed too heavily and paid too much for the subsidiaries and was quickly in financial trouble. Because of this, Congress - on June 5, 1900 - authorized the Washington and Great Falls to acquire the stock of any and all of the railways and power companies owned by Washington Traction. When Washington Traction defaulted on its loans on June 1, 1901 Washington and Great Falls moved in to take its place. On February 4, 1902, Washington and Great Falls changed its named to the Washington Railway and Electric Company, reincorporated as a holding company and exchanged stock in Washington Traction and Electric one for one for stock in the new company (at a discounted rate).^[30] June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... Year 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar, but a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Not every company became a part of Washington Railway immediately. The City and Suburban and the Georgetown and Tennallytown operated as subsidiaries of Washington Railway until October 31, 1926 when it purchased the remainder of their stock.^[30] October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ...

During this time the streetcar companies continued to expand both trackage and service. The American Sight-Seeing Car and Coach Company started running tourist cars along Washington Railway streetcar tracks in 1902 and continued until it switched to large automobiles in 1904.^[1] In 1908, Washington Railway's U Street line was extended east down Florida Avenue NW/NE to 8th Street NE, and from there south down 8th Street NE/SE to the Navy Yard.^[11] On June 24, 1908 the first streetcars began service to Union Station along Delaware Avenue NE and by December 6 cars of both Capital Traction and Washington Railway were serving the building along Massachusetts Avenue NE.^[35] June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ...

In 1908, the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway began service from Washington to Baltimore and Annapolis. Though technically an interurban, this railway utilized streetcar tracks from its terminal at 15th Street NE and H Streets NE and across the Benning Road Bridge where it switched to its own tracks in Deanwood. It was the main source of transportation to Suburban Gardens, known as "the black Glen Echo", the first and only major amusement park within Washington.^[11] The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A), now defunct, was an American railroad of central Maryland and Washington, DC built in the 19th and 20th century. ... Suburban Gardens was the first and only major amusement park within Washington, D.C. Located at 50th and Hayes Streets, NE, in the Deanwood neighborhood near the National Training School for Women and Girls, Suburban Gardens opened in 1921 and was in operation for almost two decades. ... Glen Echo Park is a park owned by the U.S. National Park Service in Glen Echo, Maryland. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

In 1910, Capital Traction began construction on a power house in Georgetown to power its streetcars. The facility opened on the waterfront in 1912.^[36] Image File history File links Georgetown_powerplant. ... Image File history File links Georgetown_powerplant. ...

The next major consolidation occurred on August 31, 1912 when the Washington Railway purchased the controlling stock of the Anacostia and Potomac. This left only 6 companies operating in Washington - four of which had less than 3 miles of track.^[1] It also led to Congress passing the "Anti-Merger Act", prohibiting mergers without Congress' approval and establishing the Public Utilities Commission. In 1914 a failed attempt was made to have the Federal Government purchase all of the streetcar lines and companies.^[28] August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Streetcars were unionized in 1916 when local 689 of the Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America won recognition after a three day strike.^[31]

Further consolidation came in the form of the North American Company, a transit and utilities holding company. North American began to acquire stock in Washington Railway in 1922, gaining a controlling interest by 1928. By December 31, 1933 it owned 50.016% of the voting stock. North American tried to purchase Capital Traction, but Capital Traction always remained widely owned by the residents of Washington, without a principle stock holder. North American never owned more than 2.5% of Capital Traction stock.^[30] The North American Company was a former holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Bustitution and competition

By 1916 the streetcar was reaching its peak in Washington, D.C. The combined systems had over 200 miles of track,^[6] with almost 100 in the city.^[1] Passengers could travel to Great Falls, Glen Echo, Rockville, Kensington and Laurel in Maryland; and to Mt. Vernon, Alexandria, Vienna, Fairfax, Leesburg, Great Falls and Bluemont. World War I saw further increases in passenger traffic.^[37] But the streetcars were also under increasing threat from competition. Motto: Progressio Per Populum (Progress Through People) Location of Laurel in Maryland Coordinates: Country United States State Maryland County Prince Georges County Incorporated 1870 Mayor Craig A. Moe City Council Ward 1: Janis L. Robison Ward1: Gayle Snyder Ward2: Frederick Smalls (Pr. ...

The first threat to the streetcars came with the introduction of gasoline powered taxicabs. The taxi meter, invented in 1891, combined with the combustion engine, created a new form of public transportation. Taxicabs were put into service in Paris in 1899, in New York in 1907 and in Washington in 1908. Over the years, their numbers expanded.^[1] Alternative meaning: taxicab geometry. ...

In 1909 the Metropolitan Coach Company began to switch from horse-drawn coaches to gasoline-powered coaches - replacing its entire system by 1913 - becoming a precursor to the bus companies. It was a financial failure though and on August 13, 1915 the company ceased operations.^[1] August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The gasoline-powered bus was invented in Germany in 1895 and motorized buses were introduced in New York City in 1905. As improvements, such as balloon tires, were made, buses became more popular. The first formal bus company in Washington, the Washington Rapid Transit Company, was incorporated on January 20, 1921. By 1932 it was carrying 4.5% of transit customers.^[30] Two years later, the last streetcar line was built.^[38] January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ...

Just as the horse cars had replaced carriages and the electric streetcar replaced horse cars, so too were buses to replace the electric streetcars.

In 1923, the number of streetcar companies operating in Washington cut in half as three of them switched to buses. The East Washington Heights became the first streetcar company to switch,^[39] replacing its two streetcars and one mile of track with a bus line.^[24] The Washington Interurban switched next and its tracks were removed when Bladensburg Road was repaved.^[11] Finally, in that same year, the Key Bridge was constructed and, as a result, the Washington and Old Dominion gave up rail access to D.C. in exchange for a terminal in Rosslyn.^[40]

When electric streetcars began, several lines also delivered freight on rail cars running on their lines. Capital Traction abandoned this service in 1931.^[37]

In 1932, the Arlington and Fairfax Motor Transportation Company was established to replace the streetcar service of the Arlington and Fairfax which lost the right to use the Highway Bridge.^[41] The last Arlington and Fairfax streetcar departed from 12th Street NW and D Street NW, on January 17, 1932, abandoning all streetcar service in the city.^[6] January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ...

In the summer of 1935 - after consolidation, several major lines were converted from streetcars to buses. The line from Friendship Heights to Rockville (formerly the Washington and Rockville), the P Street line (Metropolitan), the Anacostia-Congress Heights line (Capital Railway) and the Connecticut Avenue line in Chevy Chase (Rock Creek) were all replaced with buses. At the same time, the Chesapeake Beach Railroad and the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis interurban ceased operations.^[6] The rail of the WB&A become the property of Capital Transit.^[42] The Chesapeake Beach Railroad opened on June 9, 1900, as a means of transporting people from Washington, DC to Chesapeake Beach, MD. It left DC at Chesapeake Junction - where Minnesota Avenue NE and Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE meet in the Deanwood neighborhood - on the abandoned right-of-way of... The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A), now defunct, was an American railroad of central Maryland and Washington, DC built in the 19th and 20th century. ...

With further bustitution, the Columbia Railway Company Car Barn was converted to a bus barn in 1942.^[43] The term bustitution is a neologism sometimes used to describe the practice of replacing train service, whether street railways (light rail or tram/streetcar systems) or full-size railway systems, with a bus service, either on a temporary or permanent basis. ...

Single company operations

On December 1, 1933 Washington Railway, Capital Traction, and Washington Rapid Transit merged to form the Capital Transit Company. Washington Railway continued as a holding company, owning 50% of Capital Transit and 100% of PEPCO, but Capital Traction was dissolved.^[30] For the first time street railways in Washington were under the management of one company. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1432x796, 879 KB) Summary Scanned on 23 October 2005 Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1432x796, 879 KB) Summary Scanned on 23 October 2005 Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Capital Transit made several changes. As part of the merger, the Capital Traction generating plant in Georgetown was closed (and in 1943 decommissioned) and Capital Transit used only conventionally-supplied electric power.^[44] In 1935 it closed several lines and replaced them with bus service. Because the Rockville line in Maryland was one of the lines that was closed, a new terminal, the "Capital Transit Community Terminal," opened at Wisconsin Avenue NW and Western Avenue NW on August 4, 1935.^[45] In 1936, the system introduced route numbers.^[14] On August 28, 1937 the first PCC streetcars began running on 14th Street NW and over the next two years, the company would replace all cars with 589 of the streamlined modern PCC model.^[37] Click here for a General Electric ad about PCC cars in Washington August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... A Twin City Rapid Transit PCC streetcar in museum operation. ...

During the 1930's, city newspapers began pushing for streetcar tunneling. The Senate Subway was built in 1906 and three years later the Washington Post called for a citywide subway to be built. Nothing happened until after Capital Transit took over. The full $35 million plan to depress streets as trenches for exclusive streetcar use never materialized, but on December 14, 1949, the Connecticut Avenue trolley stop and tunnel were built under Dupont Circle.^[31] December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Aerial photograph of Dupont Circle. ...

At first, business was good for the new company. During World War II, gasoline rationing limited automobile use, but transit companies were exempt from the rationing. Meanwhile, wage freezes held labor costs in check. With increased revenue and steady costs, Capital Transit conservatively built up a $7 million cash reserve.^[31] In 1945 Capital Transit had America’s 3rd longest streetcar fleet.^[38]Click here for a map of the system in 1948 Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

In 1946, a decision by the United States Supreme Court in North American Company v. Security and Exchange Commission, the Supreme Court upheld the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 and forced the North American Company, because it also owned the Potomac Electric Power Company, to sell its shares of Capital Transit. Buyers were hard to come by, but on September 12, 1949, Louis Wolfson and his three brothers purchased from North American 46.5% of the company's stock for $20 per share and the Washington Railway was dissolved.^[46] For $2.2 million they bought a company with $7 million in cash. The Wolfson's began paying themselves huge dividends until in 1955 the war chest was down to $2.7 million. During the same period, transit trips dropped by 40,000 trips per day and automobile ownership doubled.^[31] The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA) was a law that was passed by the United States Congress to facilitate effective state regulation of electric utilities by limiting (with some exceptions) their operations to a single state. ... The Potomac Electric Power Company (known as PEPCO) is a public utility supplying electric power to the city of Washington, DC and to surrounding communities in Maryland. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Louis Elwood Wolfson (January 28, 1912 -) was a Wall Street financier. ...

On December 29, 1954 Capital Transit lost one of its last freight customers when the East Washington Railway took over the delivery of coal from the B&O to the PEPCO Power plant at Benning. Previously this had been done via Capital Transit Steeple cabs.^[6] December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Washington, Brandywine & Point Lookout Railroad (WB&PL), now defunct, was an American railroad of southern Maryland and Washington, DC built in the 19th century. ... The Potomac Electric Power Company (known as PEPCO) is a public utility supplying electric power to the city of Washington, DC and to surrounding communities in Maryland. ...

DC Transit

In January of 1955 the Capitol Transit Company, then consisting of 750 buses and 450 streetcars,^[31] sought permission for a fare increase, but was denied. So that spring, when employees asked for a raise, there was no money available and the company refused to increase pay. Frustrated, employees went on strike on July 1, 1955. The strike, only the third in D.C. history and the first since a three day strike in 1945, lasted for seven weeks. Commuters were forced to hitch rides and walk in the brutal summer heat.^[31] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 446 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (715 Ã— 961 pixel, file size: 136 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Thomas Circle in Washington, DC. Taken in December 1943. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 446 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (715 Ã— 961 pixel, file size: 136 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Thomas Circle in Washington, DC. Taken in December 1943. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On July 18, 1956, after Wolfson dared the Senate to revoke his franchise claiming no other entrepreneur would take the company on, the Congress did just that. Months later, the franchise was sold to O. Roy Chalk, a New York financier who owned controlling interest in Trans Caribbean Airways, for $13.5 million.^[31] The company's name was changed to DC Transit and Chalk was required to replace the system with buses by 1963.^[31] Chalk unsuccessfully fought the retirement of the streetcars.^[31] July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In law, an exclusive right is the power or right to perform an action in relation to an object or other thing which others cannnot perform. ... Congress in Joint Session. ... Oscar Roy Chalk (b. ... Trans Caribbean Airways is a former airline owned by O. Roy Chalk. ... The term bustitution is a neologism sometimes used to describe the practice of replacing train service, whether street railways (light rail or tram/streetcar systems) or full-size railway systems, with a bus service, either on a temporary or permanent basis. ...

Abandonment

The final abandonment of the streetcar system began on September 7, 1958 with the end of the Eckington to Mt. Rainier line.^[6] On January 3, 1960, the Glen Echo, Friendship Heights & Georgia Avenue street car lines were abandoned and the Georgia Avenue Car Barn was closed.^[14] This technically ended "trolley" cars in D.C. as only conduit operations remained.^[6] On December 3, 1961 the streetcar line to Mt. Pleasant was abandoned.^[47] September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...

The entire system, including lines to the Navy Yard, the Colorado Avenue station, the Bureau of Engraving, the Calvert Street Loop, Barney Circle and Union Station, was shut down in January of 1962. Early on the morning of Sunday, January 28, 1962, preceded by cars 1101 and 1053, car 766 entered the Navy Yard Car Barn for the last time, and Washington's streetcars became history.^[48] January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ...

Remnants

Streetcars

After the system was abandoned, most of the cars were either destroyed or sold. Several hundred cars were scrapped, cut in half at the center door and junked.^[49] 150 of the streetcars were sold to Barcelona where they were in service into the 1970's;^[50] 200 more were sold to Sarajevo where they ran until the civil war;^[51] and 15 more went to Fort Worth, TX for use on the Tandy Center Subway until it shut down in 2002.^[52] Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (Catalan) Postal code 08001â€“08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... Nickname: Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo) Coordinates: Country Bosnia and Herzegovina Entity Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Canton Sarajevo Canton Government - Mayor Semiha Borovac (SDA) Area [1] - City 141. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... The Tandy Center Subway operated in Fort Worth, Texas from 1963 to 2002. ...

Of the hundreds of streetcars that once plied the streets of Washington, there are only about 20 remaining. Of these only one, Capital Transit 1551, is still in daily transit use. One of the 15 sold to Fort Worth, it was repainted and transferred to the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority in 2002 where it provides part-time regular streetcar service along the streets of Dallas. The only other car still in use, a Capital Transit PCC car sold to Sarajevo, has been restored and operates in charter service in Sarajevo.^[53]

Others serve as museum pieces. The only Washington streetcar still in the District is Capital Traction 303 which serves as an exhibit in the Smithsonian's Museum of American History. Washington and Georgetown 212 is also preserved by the Smithsonian, but stored in the Smithsonian's facility in Suitland, MD. Seven more, including D.C. Transit 1101 and 1540, Capital Transit 509, 522, 766 and 1430, and Washington Railway 650, are preserved at the National Capital Trolley Museum in the Washington suburbs. Three other cars owned by the Trolley Museum were lost in a fire on September 28, 2003. Farther from D.C., D.C. Transit 1470 is kept at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia, Capital Transit 09 is at Rockhill Trolley Museum in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania, Capital Transit 010 is maintained at the Connecticut Trolley Museum and D.C. Transit 1304 is kept at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME. Three of the Ft. Worth cars are held in storage by North Texas Historic Transportation with plans to place them in yet-to-be-built museum. Finally, two of the Madrid cars are privately owned and stored in Madrid, Spain and Ejea de los Caballeros, Spain, and another two are in the Museu del Transport in Castellar de N'Hug, Spain (Photo of one).^[53]

Tracks

Much of the track in D.C. was removed and sold for scrap. In other places, the track was buried under pavement. The only visible tracks and conduit in the region are in the center of the cobblestone streets of Georgetown, specifically the 3400 through 3800 blocks of P Street NW and O Street NW. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 2869 KB) Summary P Street NW, in Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), features conduit streetcar tracks that were installed in the 1890s. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 2869 KB) Summary P Street NW, in Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), features conduit streetcar tracks that were installed in the 1890s. ... The familiar golden dome of Washingtons once venerable Riggs Bank, now amalgamated into PNC Bank, at the northeast corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street NW. Georgetown in red Georgetown is a neighborhood located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River waterfront. ...

The loop tracks of the former Capitol Transit connection, behind the closed restaurant on Calvert Street NW, immediately east of the Duke Ellington Bridge, are extant under asphalt. The tracks on Florida Avenue also exist under pavement (as evidenced by the eternal seam above the conduit). The Duke Ellington Bridge, named after Duke Ellington, carries Calvert Street, N.W., over Rock Creek in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. It connects 18th Street, N.W., in Adams Morgan with Connecticut Avenue, N.W., in Woodley Park, just north of the Taft Bridge. ...

The complex trackwork on Capitol Plaza in front of Washington Union Station was removed in the mid-1960s and the Pennsylvania Avenue NW trackwork between the Capitol and the Treasury Building was removed during the redevelopment of that avenue during the mid-1980s. Burnhams Union Station: the central block of the immense front façade of Union Station Union Station is the grand ceremonial train station designed to be the entrance to Washington, DC when it opened in 1907. ...

Car barns and shops

Some car barns, or car houses as they were later known, survived in part or in whole.

Other car barns were demolished. Gilbert Vanderwerken (5 February 1810 â€“ 22 January 1894)[1], originally from Albany, New York, was most notably recognized for introducing the omnibus, an urban version of the stagecoach, in Newark, New Jersey, in 1826. ... A Go North East bus parked in a lay-by in Tyne and Wear, England An articulated bus (or bendibus) operated by the CTA in Chicago, Illinois, USA. A bus is a large road vehicle designed to carry numerous passengers in addition to the driver and sometimes a conductor. ... West facade of the Notre-Dame de Strasbourg Cathedral A facade (or faÃ§ade) (Pronounced fa-sa-de) is generally the exterior of a building â€” especially the front, but also sometimes the sides and rear. ... The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent establishment of the executive branch of the United States Government (see 39 U.S.C. Â§ 201) responsible for providing postal service in the United States. ... Image File history File links Georgetown_car_barn. ... Image File history File links Georgetown_car_barn. ... Color-enhanced USGS satellite image of Washington, DC, taken April 26, 2002. ... A bus garage or bus depot is a type of garage where buses are stored. ... Color-enhanced USGS satellite image of Washington, DC, taken April 26, 2002. ... Georgetown University, incorporated as the The President and Directors of the College of Georgetown, is a private university in the United States, located in Georgetown, a historic neighborhood of Washington, D.C. With roots extending back to March 25, 1634 and founded in its current form on January 23, 1789... Image File history File links Exorcist_Steps. ... East Capitol Street is a major street that divides the northeast and southeast quadrants of Washington, D.C. It runs eastward from the United States Capitol all the way to the DC-Maryland border. ... Color-enhanced USGS satellite image of Washington, DC, taken April 26, 2002. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 Ã— 960 pixel, file size: 336 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 Ã— 960 pixel, file size: 336 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Metrobus is a bus service operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). ... Department of the Interior headquarters building from the south, completed December 17, 1936 Waddy Butler Wood (1869 - January 25, 1944) was a prominent Washington, DC based American architect of the early 20th century. ...

Stations and loops

A few stations and terminals have survived. After closing in 1962, the Dupont Circle streetcar stations were used as a civil defense storage area for a few years and then left empty again. In 1993 one of the stations was opened as a food court called DuPont Down Under, but after only 18 months it closed and the space has been vacant ever since.^[63] The Colorado Avenue Terminal on 14th Street NW is still in use as a Metrobus stop and the Calvert Street loop just east of the Duke Ellington Bridge is still used as a Metrobus turnaround loop. Image File history File links DC_Transit_14th&Colo. ... Image File history File links DC_Transit_14th&Colo. ... Aerial photograph of Dupont Circle. ... The Duke Ellington Bridge, named after Duke Ellington, carries Calvert Street, N.W., over Rock Creek in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. It connects 18th Street, N.W., in Adams Morgan with Connecticut Avenue, N.W., in Woodley Park, just north of the Taft Bridge. ...

There was a streetcar station in the center of Barney Circle but it was removed in the 1970's. Map of Washington, D.C., with Barney Circle highlighted in red Barney Circle is a small neighborhood located on the western bank of the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington, D.C. The neighborhood is named for the traffic circle (or semicircle, as the case may be) that intersects Pennsylvania Avenue...

Tunnels

The Dupont Circle streetcar station tunnel entrances, located where the tree-filled medians of Connecticut Avenue NW now stand north of N Street NW and between R Street NW and S Street NW, were filled in and paved over in August 1964, leaving only the traffic tunnel.^[63] Aerial photograph of Dupont Circle. ...

The C Street NW/NE tunnel beneath the Capitol grounds remained in use as a one-way service road adjacent to the Capital, but since 9/11 it has been closed to the public.^[64] The date that commonly refers to the attacks on United States citizens on September 11, 2001 (see the September 11, 2001 Attacks). ...

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing underground loop is now part of a parking structure and storage area that is located directly underneath 14th Street SW. Tracks can still be seen in the floors in some locations of the Bureau.^[64] the bomb. ...

Right-of-way

The right-of-way of the Glen Echo line is extant from the Georgetown Car Barn all the way to the Washington Reservoir. It includes an abutment near an entrance to Georgetown University, a trestle over Foundry Branch in Glover Archibald Park, a bridge over Arizona Avenue NW, between Dorsett Place NW and Sherier Place NW and the median of Sherier Place NW from Cathedral Avenue NW to Manning Place NW. Part of the right-of-way on the Georgetown campus was removed in the spring of 2007 to create a turning lane off of Canal Road NW. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 333 KB) Summary Photo by David Cranor Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 333 KB) Summary Photo by David Cranor Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Steel trestle with plate girder spans A trestle is a bridge that consists of a large number of short spans, supported by splayed vertical elements and is usually for railroad use. ...

The wide median of Pennsylvania Avenue SE from the Capitol to Barney Circle was built in 1903 to serve as a streetcar right of way.^[55] It now serves as urban greenspace.

Other remnants

Perhaps the most visible remnant of the streetcar system is the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) bus system. On January 14, 1973, WMATA purchased DC Transit and the Washington, Virginia and Maryland Coach Company (followed on February 4th by the purchase of AB&W Transit Company and WMA Transit Company) unifying all the bus companies in D.C.^[65] The Jackson Graham Building, where Metro headquarters is located. ...

The backbone of WMATA's existing bus route map remains only marginally changed from the streetcar map it followed. For example, the #30 streetcar route that ran from Barney Circle to Friendship Heights is now the #30 bus line which runs from Anacostia through Barney Circle to Friendship Heights. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 Ã— 960 pixel, file size: 325 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo by David Cranor, Template:Manhole cover taken 7/22/06 at 222 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, DC I, the creator of this work, hereby release... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 Ã— 960 pixel, file size: 325 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo by David Cranor, Template:Manhole cover taken 7/22/06 at 222 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington, DC I, the creator of this work, hereby release...

Still other remnants include the Potomac Electric Power Company, the Electric portion of Washington Traction and Electric Company remains the primary electrical power company in the D.C. area; some streetcar-related manhole covers that remain in use around town; and two trolley poles for Capital Traction's overhead wires on the Connecticut Avenue Bridge over Klingle Valley in Cleveland Park.^[66] The poles likely date back to the bridge's construction in 1931. The Potomac Electric Power Company (known as PEPCO) is a public utility supplying electric power to the city of Washington, DC and to surrounding communities in Maryland. ... Cleveland Park is an affluent residential neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant Washington, DC. It is bounded approximately by Rock Creek Park to the east, Wisconsin Avenue to the west, Klingle and Woodley Roads to the south, and Rodman and Tilden Streets to the north. ...

Contents

History GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Early transit in Washington

Horse-drawn streetcars

Washington and Georgetown

Metropolitan

Columbia

Anacostia and Potomac River

Capitol, North O Street and South Washington

Herdic Phaeton Company

The switch to electric power

New electric streetcar companies

Eckington and Soldiers' Home

Rock Creek

Georgetown and Tennallytown

Washington and Great Falls - Maryland and Washington

Capital Railway

Baltimore and Washington

East Washington Heights

Washington, Spa Spring, and Gretta

Conversion of horse cars to mechanical and electrical power

Washington and Georgetown

Metropolitan

Columbia

Belt

Anacostia and Potomac River

Virginia companies operating in Washington, D.C.

Streetcar consolidation

Bustitution and competition

Single company operations

DC Transit

Abandonment

Remnants

Streetcars

Tracks

Car barns and shops

Stations and loops

Tunnels

Right-of-way

Other remnants

See also

References

Notes

External links

History