Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-11-13
Electric Railways, How Old?


To you. who came dashing into the
Capital City this morning, from Fair-
field or Mechanic Fails. or Portland
and Brunswick, or Winthrop, on an
lectric car, how long ago was IL tnat
Won first remember of hearing about
cars driven by electric current? The
writer well remembers the deVout ex-
clamatien of an aged and respected
friend. Joseph Herriek of Harmony
when he first saw, at Lewiston an
electric car. 1t was rushing up Main
Street from the North Bridge. HIS
words were: cit is the hand of the
Almighty"
That wasn't so many years ago.
MIR was il beyond the memory of the
middle generation that the writer used
to ride from Boston to Cambridge to
school in horse car, with several
inches of straw in the bottom OF the
ear in cold weather. But We have
lived so rapidly and SO many other
wonderful things have come along,
that il seems we had always had cleo
tries, ever since the days of Orleans
and go devils"
without urging You to turn back
the leaves of memory. we would say
that the 25th anniversary of the
birth of electric street railway
in this country, was celebrated IN
October last. 1t seems hardly possi-
BILE that the modern street railway
y system one of the greatest develop
>ents of this electrical age, should be
der than 25 years. Yet it was in
ops 1888, that the first electric
is f6lway passenger car ever
re pfedhis country was sent on
rcuit roaat Lynn, Mass, taking
.ineipal stree of the Highland
r. the first few several of the
orses and they COZ city. trips
ars until the poles e maze WIN
'ected for electric powe2 pull the
This was the first were
pipped street passenger can
p in the United States. WHY
ghiand section of the city was
Ted as an appropriate place
ming this car seems rather pecu
the present generation, but tn
reason for this. Inventors
pc days were working zealously
sent self-propellcd electric {
Highland district, with its st,
!. presented the best place for n,
the latest invention to a sew,
achinery for the car was RI
fled at the Lynn works of
efral Electric Company, and. ratt
so to the expense of trying I
hsehtion out in some other nun
'Y'y, 1t was deemed wise to put
iirst test in the home eli
was sufficient number
u"sngs about the Highlands at tn
UNI to guarantee paying expens
probing the car was success
TX OF erecting the support pol
fefhead wires was completed
gan two months time. and abo,
~. scr part of October. 1888, the ca
~ over the Highlands. for III
:.e under its own power.
ahoHeihe latest curiosity Of -
my ahhundreds of citizens, togetb
er with continent electrica, evnar,,
TUNED ous % witness the ear rnn ;,
I'M, me NH uh it's own power. Elec
tfieity for osating this car was s',a
:, p"ea by a ssn power plant locate,
- ,ae oasemG of the old Lenpo,
building, eornd of Marke, s,roa,
harrison CourtS
On Tuesday, Asten,hon 1000
article under they n iooe, al
iahd Street Cars'S naaa. VI iiis,i
DAILY Evening ItenMn M Gu IA th'
special car, With aS ioiio"s'
II;uhr - "fei tHddracks NJ tbe
highland Electric raj ay this ., en-, the
noon and Wednesday T. can 'ris ,,, after s
Gun 10 run regular trip with I hmrs W
laid" poles are
sure enough, the first s,o,n. -
W., Vas run osfEtHA HighlanS ON th he
oate' with fi{ses attached. r vi una
was boSe aaffair and was!a MS car :
re" years asn taken off the .T d
route and converted, into a ',',I
rack car, and was run on the oun 'e
avenue route up to year ago VI
!. was replaced by the present Az aen
ern cohVeyances on this line
nrst trip of the car was made ,,,.ts
pair OF gray horses. These ban,ed -,
car as far as the foot of Roeha, snA
Street, where pair of tow horses
were added and the car pulled IN ~
HILL up the
There WAS large passenper ia.
aboard and everything went we,i ,,.'
til the summit of the High pan,.
Street incline was reached. A, ,n,s
place President Breed reouested ,has