Evening star., 1962-01-21
FOR WHOM THE BELL CLANGs
Century Of Trolley Service Ending
BY GILBERT GIMBLE
Star Staff Writer

BY GILBERT GIMBLE
Star Staff Writer d.,
They've rolled along the rails
for a century. but this week it
will all be over. The death Of
WaShington's streetcarS will be
tolled early next Sunday
morning with the last changing
of the trolley bell.
Ever since July, 1862, there
have been various forms of
streetcars in Washington, start
ing that year with the horse
drawn variety and moving
gradually to the soon-to-be
obsolete electric line still plug
ging along on the D. c. Transit
Systems remaining two routes.
Buses have outdistanced the
streetcar in the race to the
suburbs, where the expensive
tracks could not follow.
And in the heart Of the
crowded city, congested traffic
has squeezed out the rail run
ner, hampered by its straight
path that permits no in-and-
out traffic maneuvering.
Last Rides
Not many people are alto.
gether happy about the demise
of the streetcar. Its departure
denotes capitulation to the
pressures of speed and economy
in an expanding metropolis.
With one week to go, most
parents will take their children
for a last ride on these quaint
artifacts. After this the only
streetcars they'll see here will
be in the new Smithsonian Mu-
scum of History and Tech
nology, just another chapter in
the story of mans discovery of
the wheel.
Crowds Of trolley fans will
board special charter runs after
the last scheduled D. C. Transit
car pulls out of the Colorado
avenue terminal on Fourteenth
street at lis am. Sunday.
1t will reach the Navy Yard
car barn about As minutes
later and some days thereafter
it will be taken to join the
mothball fleet at the Benning
Road yards.
Ala Cars on Hand
For the last week, about 80
streetcars will be in operation.
When it is over, D. C. Transit
will have Ala cars waiting for
somebody to come along and
buy, or they'll end up in a
junk heap.
In Barcelona, Spain, the city
authC titles have closed a deal
for 20 cars at $4,000 each and
may buy more. D. C. Transit
streetcars are now running in
Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, and soon
more will be on their way there.
The wheels and undercar-
riages are desired by authori-
ties in Vienna.
Nobody can say he's sur
prised the streetcars are leav-
ing. The town has been pre-
pared for it since 1856 when
Congress ordered D. c. Transit
to convert all rail lines to bus
operations by the summer OF
1868.
Bidding for better economies
and improved service, o. Roy
Chalk drew up a timetable for
accelerating the change-over
with the blessings Of District
officials weary Of streetcar
snags during severe snow
storms.
The trend has been the same
throughout the Nation. Only
few American cities still have
streetcars operating - Phila-
delphia, Boston, New Orleans,
San Francisco (still clinging to
those cable cars), and, in Can
ada, Toronto (Which also has
this continents most modern
subway SyStem.
Two-HOrse Coaches
For the start of public tran
sit in Washington. you have to
60 back to 1900 when two-horse
coaches ran from Georgetown
to a tavern at the site of the
present Supreme Court. 1t was
the mode of travel for many
members of Congress and Gov
ernment executives.
The first fixed-route transit
didn't start until 1880. when
12-passenger horse-drawn en-
nibuses moved from George
town along M street and Penn
sylvania avenue to the Navy
Yard. Later new routes were
added from the wharveS up
Seventh street and Eleventh
street to L street.
One of the successful lines
was the Union Line, which had
stables in an old tobacco ware
house in Georgetown, where the
M street shops of D. C. Transit
are located just west Of Wis
consin avenue. The line was in
operation in the middle of the
last century but the start OF
rail lines meant the omnibus
was on the way out.
The first horSe-drawn street.
car began moving along the
tracks on Pennsylvania avenue
from the Treasury to the Cap
itol. 1t took As minutes for the
three-mile round trip.
Congress chartered the first
company, the Washington and
Georgetown Railroad Co., in
May and rails were put down
in time for operations to begin
on July 29, 1862.
Main Line Extended
In the following years the
main line was extended to the
M street carbarn in George