page_title: Twin City Rapid Transit Company
section_title: Establishment
hierarchical_section_title: Twin City Rapid Transit Company / Establishment
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a photo taken of a portion of a historic-public-domain image document titled: "Perspectives of St. Paul, Minneapolis and Vicinity" Warehouse District/Hennepin Avenue station of the Hiawatha Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
context_page_description: The Twin City Rapid Transit Company, also known as Twin City Lines, was a transportation company that operated streetcars and buses in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Other types of transportation were tested including taxicabs and steamboats, along with the operation of some destination sites such as amusement parks. It existed under the TCRT name from a merger in the 1890s until it was purchased in 1962. At its height in the early 20th century, the company operated an intercity streetcar system that was believed to be one of the best in the United States. It is a predecessor of the current Metro Transit bus and light rail system that operates in the metro area.
context_section_description: The origins of street rail transport in the Twin Cities are not entirely known. Some sources state that it dates back to 1865, when businessman and mayor Dorilus Morrison began building rails in downtown Minneapolis. He quickly joined forces with Colonel William S. King and other Minneapolis businessmen to create the Minneapolis Street Railway. However, the lines didn't go very far and the railway was useless for a time. There are some indications that a streetcar was purchased but never used, collecting dust for several years.
  On the other side of the Mississippi River, the St. Paul Railway Company started the first successful horse-drawn streetcar system of the metro area in St. Paul. Then in 1875, the reformed Minneapolis Street Railway made a deal with the Minneapolis City Council where the company would have exclusive access to street rails for 50 years if they could be up and operating in four months. The company recruited real-estate mogul Thomas Lowry, who on September 2, 1875, brought on line a route between downtown Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota.
  The streetcars became popular because they rode on smooth rails, while most of the streets of the era were dirt or made of cobblestone pavers. These roads became treacherous to pedestrians and uncomfortable to ride on in horse-drawn buggies, especially during Minnesota winters.
  Thomas Lowry envisioned linking together the various railways that were cropping up around Minneapolis. While other systems were popping up with more horse-drawn carriages or cable cars, Lowry pushed forward with electrification of the lines. Starting in the late-1880s, electric streetcars began moving in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. Cable cars quickly lost favor as they struggled through snowy Minnesota winters and the public quickly grew weary of slow horsecars.
caption: TCRT commissioned water-color painting of the streetcar system in the Twin Cities, originally completed in 1904; updated 1916.
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