Connecticut Valley Street Railway | |||
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![]() Tram in Greenfield, MA (top) and the Hadley-Northampton bridge over the Connecticut River, both of the Connecticut Valley St. Rwy., c. 1907-1915. | |||
Overview | |||
Owner | Connecticut Valley Street Rwy. Co. | ||
Area served | Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts | ||
Transit type | |||
Headquarters | 382 Deerfield St., Greenfield, MA | ||
Operation | |||
Began operation | June 24, 1895 [2] : 906 1918 (bus) [3] | ||
Ended operation | April 1, 1924 (franchise) [4] July 7, 1934 (rail system) [3] | ||
Technical | |||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge [2] : 906 | ||
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The Connecticut Valley Street Railway was an interurban streetcar and bus system operating in Greenfield, Massachusetts as well as surrounding communities with connections in Deerfield, Hadley, Hatfield, Montague, North Amherst, Northampton, and Whately.
Originally the street railway began as two companies, both founded in 1895, the Montague Street Railway Company and the Greenfield and Turners Falls Street Railway Company. From their inception, both companies shared common directors and within a year of their founding both would merge, taking on the latter's name. [5] [6] [7] The company would assume the Connecticut Valley Street Railway Company name with the addition of the Northampton & Amherst and the Greenfield & Northampton Street Railway companies in 1905. [8] With the growth of jitneys in the early 1910s, the company became the first street railway in New England to begin a bus service, seeking to compete with these new fleets. [3]
Following a period where the system became unprofitable, its company went into receivership, closing the railway on April 1, 1924. Within a week of this however, the system was sold to the towns of Greenfield and Montague in a joint municipal purchase of its assets for $75,000. [1] [9] The resulting municipal authority became known as the Greenfield and Montague Transportation Area (GMTA), a predecessor of the Franklin Regional Transit Authority, and the first public transportation authority in the Commonwealth. [10] [11] With growing costs and declining revenue the GMTA switched over to buses entirely, with the last trolley operating on the evening of July 7, 1934. [3] [12]
The report filed with the supreme court by D. P. Abercrombe, receiver for the Connecticut Valley street railway, which recommends that the lines now controled [sic] by the company be operated until April 1, 1924...
The articles of incorporation of the new street railway company, organized at Turners Falls Tuesday, were published yesterday. The name of the company is to be the Montague street railway company.
The hearing before the selectmen of Montague to consider the petition of the Greenfield and Turners Falls street railway company to lay their tracks in the streets of Montague will be held in Hibernian hall at Turners Falls at 2 p. m. tomorrow.
There will be a hearing before the street railway committee at the state-house today on the matter of consolidating the Greenfield and Turners Falls and Montague street railway companies.
The stockholders of the Northampton & Amherst Street Railway company, with which the Greenfield & Northampton and Greenfield & Turners Falls companies have been merged, have completed the organization and adopte the name of the Connecticut Valley street railway company.
The trustees early in 1934 voted to eliminate electric trolley cars and substitute gasoline-powered busses. By July 7, 1934, the substitution had been completed and the last trolley laboriously climbed Bank Row to close an era...