Daily Yellowstone journal., 1884-02-06
STREET CARS.
The Builder Of the First Tram. Car
for Street Service.
f"Gath'>" Letter. 4

Gath>" Letter.
Sin 1851, said John Stephenson. the vet
eran builder Of hone-cars, to q reporter, II
designed and built the first tram-car Of the
first railroad for street service in this country
or abroad. This car consisted Of three sepa.
rate compartments each compartment hold.
ing ten persons, and being entered by
separate doors ON the side from guard rail.
Seats were provided ON top Of the car for
thirty or more persons The car was very
much like the English railroad coach, though
It was set considerably lower II was hauled
by team Of horses, the conductor remaining
outside on the rail, rain or shine. The COM
pany for which it was built was called the
New York & Harlem road, running from
Prince street, ON the Bowery, along the line
Of the present Fourth avenue to Yorkville
and Harlem Fourth avenue at that time
hal not been opened, hut the line had been
surveyed in 1910.
The fare paid varied with the distance.
being slxpence, or six and one-quarter cents,
from Prince street to Fourteenth street, six
pence more to point where Forty second
street now runs across Fourth avenue, sig
pence more 10 forkvl.e, ant twenty five
cents TO Harlem The~. fares were paid in
the silver 81 the oil Spanish currency then
prevalent In time through fare was reduced
10 eighteen pence, and then to twelve But
the road did not snct,sd. In 1897, after six
years OF construction, il temporarily gave
way to steaIu-ars In is4i, however, IL re-
slmet working under its charter, which had
not been given up--and which, BY the way, Is |
the charter under which the present Fourth |
lima L. La l.Si
year. lsa5, the cars were remodelsd nearly To
their present style, the great feature being
the sdoption Of end platforms and entrances
No other horse-car line was built till is52,
when at about the same time charters were
granted for the Second, Third. Sixth and
Eighth avenue lines. Outside Of New York,
In this country. Boston first adopted the sys.
TEN In lSat, Philadelphia following in 1851,
after which IL spread over the country. New
orleans In 1851 was the flfst ~ adopt the
small car, or, As ii is called. the bob.tail car
And l should Ike Ia say right here that out
Oh the ~ hors.-car lines now existing in the
United States, .'e III, tue small cars only, the
liy having the conductor cars.
We come nov to the introduction Of the
dea abroad In lst1 George Francis Train
tarted q line, for which ! constructed the
Am, In Brkenhead, opposite Liverpool, In
England Popular feeling was against the
dea, however, and the line proved poor
MAR believe il did not declare a diyi. d
lend In twenty years. No intense was the POD :
liar prejudice in England at that time that the .
tarting OF hoisp-car in London caused q y
lot, and the rails wers torn up Nor could 1
% act OF parliament be obtained until ss late
n for ha "a
low lines are operated in the American $
lyle In most of the principal cities in Great :,
ritain, our cars by their combination Of p
ghtness, durability and comfort having n'
on the day against English manufacturer
In 1873 South America took up street =
liiroad enterprises on large scale, Brazil, u
enexuela, Chill, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador,
o"ta hica, and the Argentine Republic ali b.
iopting them. And Il may be stated in h'
neral that our shipments to-day are 10 the
mote corners Of the globe-to New Yea. IN
nd, Australia, Java, India, japan, the Cane I"
Good Hope and Port Elizabeth in south
lnca, a. well a. 70 Canada, ro
ance, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, Hol- II
nd, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Nor.
~ and England. The English cars, for Il"
'ich we have large orders, differ from Il"
nerican cars In having winding stairs a u
IN end, by which to reach the seats on top
the cara The fares. too, in an English d
are 10 much mile, as Is the case with bn
nj OF the European lines There are three Thu
'er companies constructing horse cars In TN
: country, at Troy, st. Louis and Phila, IL
phia As an institution the system Is Pc s'i
larly American, both in point Of original -
icePtion and its develo pnient.r -.