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On the dirt or cobblestone streets of cities of
the 1850’s, mass transportation consisted of horse-drawn
stagecoaches and omnibuses. By the mid-1860s, street railways,
or horse-car lines, increased the efficiency of moving larger
amounts of people in larger cars on steel rails. Connecting factories,
homes, and shopping areas, street railways criss-crossed many
cities by the 1870s. However, the costs of maintaining large numbers
of horses to pull cars, and ever increasing amounts of horse waste
and increasing health problems associated with horse waste and
flies, necessitated the development of alternative mechanical
methods for propelling the cars. The cable car was introduced
in the late-1870s and remained popular until the early-1890s when
electric-powered trolleys came on the scene. By the mid-1890s
electric trolley systems had virtually eliminated horse-car systems
and by the early-1900’s the technology of electric street
railways had been adapted for use in providing smooth, fast travel
between cities on ‘interurban’ systems.
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First Horse Car in Hartford and in Connecticut,
Hartford
Photograph
ca. 1895
Photo CD: 0553
File: img0057.pcd
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Pulled by two
white horses, this is the first trolley, or horse car, in operation
in Hartford and in Connecticut. Lettering on the car reads: (side
top) “Main St. & Wethersfield Ave.” and (side bottom)
“H. & W. H. R. R.” As one of seven horse cars built
by Wasson Manufacturing Company, it went into service in 1863
for the Hartford & Wethersfield Horse Rail Road and remained
in continuous service until 1895.
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First Electric Trolley Car, Hartford
Photograph
September 12, 1888
Photo CD: 0553
File: img0042.pcd
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Hartford’s
first electric trolley car stands in front of the car barn on
Standish Street. Lettering at the end of the trolley reads “Sprague
Electric System” and under that the number “50”.
Lettering on the side reads: (top) “Main St. & Wethersfield
Avenue”, (middle) “50”, and (bottom) “H. &
W. H. R. R. Co.” for the Hartford & Wethersfield Horse
Rail Road Company.
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Preston Bridge,
Norwich
Photographic postcard by Danziger and Berman
ca. 1917
Photo CD: 1580
File: img0010.pcd
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Postcard view,
ca. 1917, looking north at the Preston Bridge connecting Norwich
across the Shetucket River. High enough to allow small to moderately
large boats access to pass underneath,the Preston Bridge accommodated
both trolley and automobile traffic. It was later replaced with
the current bridge for Route 2, East Main Street in Norwich.
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Introduction:
Moving Around: A Century of Transportation Early
Roads and Water
The
Revolution of Steam on Land and Sea
Making
Connections
Currents
of Air
Your
Own Set of Wheels: The Bicycle
Your
Own Set of Wheels: The Automobile
Guideposts
Suggestions
for further reading
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