Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
TPL-1024
Date(s)
- 1892 (Creation)
Extent
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
ca. 1892. Early electric streetcar in Tacoma. This streetcar, photographed circa 1892, offered plenty of fresh air to its passengers as only the roof provided protection against the elements. The electric streetcar was still a new method of transportation, supplanting older steam and horse-driven trolleys, as it had only been perfected since 1888 by Frank Sprague. Tacoma Railway & Motor Co. signed a contract in 1889 with Sprague Electric for electrification of its local horsecar system of 25,000 feet of track with work completed in 1890. Streetcars also allowed people to live further outside city limits and still commute to work and shopping. Connections could be made from outlying towns such as Steilacoom to Tacoma through the Tacoma & Steilacoom Railway Co.'s electric service. Electric streetcars were used in the Tacoma area until 1938 when modern busses took their place. (National Railway Historical Society, Vol 17, Issue 8: Tacoma & Steilacoom Railway The World's First Interurban)
Mass transit--Tacoma--1890-1900; Electric railroads--1890-1900;