Streetcar is a passenger vehicle that runs on rails laid in city streets. Streetcars were originally pulled by horses and were called horsecars. Today, most streetcars are powered by electric current from an overhead power line. Some, such as those in San Francisco, are pulled by a cable.
The first horsecar lines in the United States were established in New York City in 1852. Horsecars were soon in use in most large U.S. cities, despite various problems associated with them. For example, some people objected to horsecars because of the sanitary problems caused by the horses. Many also thought the animals were overworked and mistreated. In addition, horses could not climb the steep hills in many cities.
During the 1870’s and 1880’s, inventors tried to find a suitable kind of mechanical power for streetcars. In 1888, Frank J. Sprague, an American engineer, demonstrated a streetcar in Richmond, Virginia, that was economical, durable, and powerful enough to ascend hills. Sprague’s streetcars had motors that were powered by an electric current from an overhead power line. The current traveled from the line to the car’s motor by means of a long pole. The pole had a small wheel called a shoe that slid or rolled along the line. This overhead mechanism was called a trolley, a term that was later applied to the entire vehicle.
In the late 1890’s and early 1900’s, electric streetcar systems were built in many U.S. cities and some small towns. One of the earliest systems was based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. But competition with the automobile and high repair costs led to the abandonment of most streetcar lines in the United States after 1950. However, such lines were maintained in other countries.
Since the 1970’s, there has been renewed interest in streetcars in the United States because they use less energy per passenger and create less pollution than automobiles or buses do. Streetcar lines built today are often called light rail transit systems. Some lines run down city streets, while others are separated from traffic. Such routes may run alongside highways or on separate paths of their own. In addition, many of the new systems have automated braking and speed controls. For example, Vancouver, Canada, has a light rail system controlled by computer.
Today, streetcar lines operate in a number of U.S. cities, including Boston; Cleveland; Dallas; New Orleans; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; San Diego; San Francisco; and Seattle. Canadian cities with streetcar lines include Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta; and Toronto.
