The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-12-26
STREET CARS TWENTY-FIFTH
BIRTHDAY

The street car celebrated its TWEEN
ty-ffth birthday in October. 1t seems
hardly possible that the modern
street railway system, one of the
greatest developments Of this electric
al age, should be no older than TWEEN
ty-fve years. Yet 1T was in October,
1888, that the first electric street rail-
way passenger car ever operated in
this country was sent on Its initial
trip at Lynn, Mass, taking the present
course of the Highland Circuit route
through several of the principal
streets Of the city. Trips for the first
few weeks were made with horses and
they continued to pull the cars until
the poles and wires were erected for
electric power
This was the first electrically equip
ped street passenger car ever run in
the United States. Why the Highland
section of the city was selected as an
appropriate place for running this
car seems rather peculiar to the
present generation, but there was a
days were working zealously to pre-
sent self-propelled electric car. The
Highland district, with its steep hills,
presented the best place for putting
the latest invention to a severe test
Machinery for the car was CON
structed at the Lynn works OF the
General Electric company, and rather
than go to the expense of trying the
new invention out in some other mum
iicipality, it was deemed wise to put
lit to its first test in the home city.
There was sufficient number of
dwellings about the Highlands at this
time to guarantee paying expenses
providing the car was success
| Work of erecting the support poles
and overhead wires was completed In
less than two months time, and about
the latter part of October, 1888, the
icar was sent over the Highlands. for
the first time under its own power. 1t
afforded the latest curiosity of the
time and hundreds of citizens, togeth-
| er with prominent electrical experts,
turned out to witness the car run UT
the hill under It's own power. Elec.
ltricity for operating this car was
supplied by small power plant 10
Gated in the basement of the old Len
lnox building, corner OF Market street
and Harrison court
On Tuesday, September 4, 1888. ar
far oil
land Street Cars" appeared In the
Daily Evening Item, Lynn, as follows:
A special car, with horses attached
will be run over the tracks of the
Highland Electric railway, this after
noon, and Wednesday the car viii
begin to run regular trips, with horses
until electric wires and poles are
laid"
Sure enough, the first electric cal
was run over the Highlands on tina
. date, with horses attached. This cal
was boxed affair and was, only {
! few years ago, taken off the Highland
! route and converted into a double
, track car, and was run on the Euclic
l
/ 1t was replaced by the present mod
fern conveyances on this line TIL
first trip of the car was made with
pair of gray horses. These haule'
] the car as far as the foot of Rock
Z away street, where pair Of toy
2 horses were added and the car pulle
) up the hill
= There was large passenger lis
S aboard and everything went we'll unit
s the summit of the High Rock stree
g incline was reached At this plac
r President Breed requested that Nj
: Glover, who was on hand to supervis
" the running of this trip, take the rein
r and run the car down the hill. Tai