STREETCARS
Background Information
(Adapted from Warren County Trolleys by Benson E. Rohrbeck)
When we think of public transportation, buses and subways spring quickly to mind. But it was trolleys, horse-drawn and electric, which long served as one of the most important forms of public transportation in the late and early twentieth centuries.
Warren's first trolley line, called the Union Street Passenger Railway, was built in 1872 to run passengers to and from the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad depot. The fare was seven cents, later reduced to five. The company was not successful in making the trolley line pay, however, and in 1877 it ceased operations and the tracks were removed. The following excerpts from the Warren Mail relate some of the early troubles which the trolley line faced.
October 22, 1872 The street cars went by for the first time last Friday. The track being a little irregular in some places, they occasionally ran off but were soon fixed in running order. There are two cars, each drawn by a single horse. They are the latest style and very fine looking. The mystery is how we ever got along without them.
November 26, 1872 Just half of the horses on our street cars have died from the epizootic. The other horse is getting better, and it is hoped the cars will run again this week.
February 25, 1873 The street cars made regular trips last Wednesday and Thursday, but have been snowed up since that time.
April 1, 1873 Our street cars run semi-occasionally now-a-days. We think it would be a good idea to have a supply of life preservers on board to be used when they run off the track. (This last comment refers to the wet and muddy conditions which caused the cars to frequently slide off the tracks.)
April 22, 1873 The road and passenger track this side of the Conewango Bridge were torn away by the flood. The cars, of course, do not cross and it will be some time before the road is fully repaired.
It was not until 1893 that Warren would get its second trolley line, The Warren Street Railway Company. This time it was electric. The line, again, ran from the Philadelphia & Erie R.R. depot, had two cars, and charged a five cent fare. Throughout the 1890s the line was extended, eventually running out to the Glade Run Hotel, up to North Warren, and up Conewango Avenue becoming a 7.75 mile system. In 1889, the trolley company purchased land at the end of the present Park Avenue and developed an amusement park called Irvinedale Park. It opened in 1900 and had a theater-skating rink, open-air theater, a zoo, and a number of amusement rides. However, this park was abandoned by 1907, due to the popularity of Celeron Park in Jamestown. The company added a line to Sheffield in 1902, and Jamestown in 1905.
As the system expanded, cars at times carried mail, package express, and newspapers, as well as passengers. Cars were operated by two men until 1920 when one-man cars were purchased. The growing popularity of the privately owned automobile eventually took its toll on the street railroads, and the line was slowly shut down. By 1930, the city routes were abandoned.
Additional Resources:
Courtesy of the Warren County Historical Society