Streetcars in Kansas City

Last updated

The Kansas City streetcar map peaked at 25 routes, but the last 20th century route was closed in 1957. Map of Kansas City streetcar routes, 1912.jpg
The Kansas City streetcar map peaked at 25 routes, but the last 20th century route was closed in 1957.
Prior to 1908, streetcars on some routes were propelled by grasping underground cables. Kansas City postcard showing cable-powered streetcars in front of the Post Office, prior to 1908.jpg
Prior to 1908, streetcars on some routes were propelled by grasping underground cables.

Streetcars in Kansas City were the primary public transit mode during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, like most North American cities. [2] [3] Kansas City, Missouri once had one of the most extensive streetcar systems in North America, but the last of its 25 streetcar routes was shut down in 1957. [4]

Contents

Kansas City joined all but five North American metropolises – Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and New Orleans – in replacing all streetcar networks with buses. Three other cities, Newark, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland, operated rail lines more akin to modern light rail that remain operating.

In 2016, the modern streetcar era began with the launch of the municipal KC Streetcar.

History

1870-1908: horses, mules, and cables

In 1870, horse-drawn streetcars were introduced in Kansas City. [5]

Thomas Corrigan had led his brotherhood of "Corrigan boys" to relocate their road building business to Kansas City and develop its steep, rough hills since 1868. They steadily built the city's first political machine to influence voting in city elections. In 1875, the Corrigan Consolidated Street Railway Company held a municipal monopoly on streetcars, all mule-drawn, and wanted a new 30-year city contract against competition. William Rockhill Nelson, publisher of the newly founded Kansas City Star , considered Corrigan corrupt and favored an upgrade from mules to cable car infrastructure. For two years, he used the Star to lobby against renewing the Corrigans' franchise, saying "competition is necessary for the protection of the public". In 1884, public protest prompted the mayor to veto Corrigan's proposal. The Corrigans' mule car business was sold to Metropolitan Street Railway which turned it into the third largest cable car company in the country. [6]

Cable cars were propelled by gripping moving underground cables, like the San Francisco cable car system. [1]

1908: electric streetcars

The first electric streetcar operated in Kansas City on September 6, 1889. [7] By 1908, all but one of Kansas City's streetcar routes had been converted to electricity. [1]

When the Kansas City Public Service Company (KCPS) was created in 1925, it inherited over 700 streetcars that had been owned and operated by private companies. [5] The streetcar routes operated by the KCPS also served across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas. [4]

The KCPS planned to replace all its older streetcars with new, state-of-the-art PCC streetcars, which would have required 371 vehicles. Only 24 were delivered prior to World War II, which put a hiatus on new streetcar construction. The KCPS ultimately acquired 184 PCC vehicles.

Famed Kansas City developer J. C. Nichols constructed streetcar lines to serve the new communities he built. [8]

2016 onward: modern streetcars

The modern KC Streetcar was installed in 2014 and opened to the public in 2016. There are two major extensions to the network underway as of 2024. First is an extension south along Main Street to connect with the Country Club Plaza and UMKC's campus. [9] The second is an extension along the riverfront on the northernmost portion of the line, in the River Market. [10] This extension will serve to connect CPKC Stadium to the streetcar network. Eight new CAF Urbos 3 streetcars have been purchased to service the new extensions to complement the six included in the initial line, bringing the total number of streetcars operating in Kansas City to 14. [11]

KCPS 551

PCC #551 was on static display at Kansas City Union Station. Historic KC Streetcar (6075264351).jpg
PCC #551 was on static display at Kansas City Union Station.

Kansas City Public Service streetcar 551 is a PCC (President's Conference Committee) streetcar preserved for static display in the River Market neighborhood. It was built in 1947 by the St. Louis Car Company for service in Kansas City. When the city closed its streetcar service, it was sold to the Toronto Transit Commission in 1957 and became TTC 4762. In 1973, the streetcar was sold to the San Francisco Municipal Railway, renumbered as Muni 1190 and ran as a tourist attraction. In 1979, the streetcar was sold to the Western Railway Museum remaining as Muni 1190. In 2006, KC Regional Transit Alliance purchased the streetcar, restored it as KCPS 551 and put it on static display at Union Station. [12] In 2016, the streetcar was put into storage because its Union Station site was repurposed. Finally, in 2017 the streetcar was moved again for display in River Market along the modern KC Streetcar line. [13]

Tentative plans to restore 551 to operating condition and run it on the KC Streetcar line for special events were abandoned because 551 is a single-ended car, and the modern KC Streetcar line has no turning loops. [14]

Streetcar 551 is located on a lot at 426 Delaware Street at the corner of West Fifth Street. Denver-based Epoch Developments owns the streetcar and ten buildings along Delaware Street. The streetcar interior now serves as a donut shop. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newark Light Rail</span> Light rail system in New Jersey

The Newark Light Rail (NLR) is a light rail system serving Newark, New Jersey, and surrounding areas, owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by its bus operations division. The service consists of two segments, the original Newark City Subway (NCS), and the extension to Broad Street station. The City Subway opened on May 26, 1935, while the combined Newark Light Rail service was officially inaugurated on July 17, 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streetcars in New Orleans</span>

Streetcars have been an integral part of the public transportation network of New Orleans since the first half of the 19th century. The longest of the city's streetcar lines, the St. Charles Avenue line, is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world. Today, the streetcars are operated by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twin City Rapid Transit Company</span>

The Twin City Rapid Transit Company (TCRT), also known as Twin City Lines (TCL), was a transportation company that operated streetcars and buses in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Other types of transportation were tested including taxicabs and steamboats, along with the operation of some destination sites such as amusement parks. It existed under the TCRT name from a merger in the 1890s until it was purchased in 1962. At its height in the early 20th century, the company operated an intercity streetcar system that was believed to be one of the best in the United States. It is a predecessor of the current Metro Transit bus and light rail system that operates in the metro area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PCC streetcar</span> 1930s streetcar (tram) design

The Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) is a streetcar design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful domestically, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where PCC based cars were made. The PCC car has proved to be a long-lasting icon of streetcar design, and many remain in service around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattapan Line</span> Light rail line in Boston and Milton, Massachusetts

The Mattapan Line is a partially grade-separated light rail line which forms part of the MBTA's Red Line rapid transit line. The line, which runs through Boston and Milton, Massachusetts, opened on August 26, 1929, as a conversion of a former commuter rail line. It exclusively uses PCC streetcars built in the 1940s. Passengers must transfer at Ashmont to access the rest of the Red Line, which uses heavy rail metro rolling stock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">F Market & Wharves</span> San Francisco heritage streetcar line

The F Market & Wharves line is one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other lines in the system, the F line runs as a heritage streetcar service, almost exclusively using historic equipment from San Francisco's retired fleet and from cities around the world. While the F line is operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), its operation is supported by Market Street Railway, a nonprofit organization of streetcar enthusiasts which raises funds and helps to restore vintage streetcars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Electric Railway</span> Mass transit system (1892–1949)

The San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy) was a mass transit system in San Diego County, California, United States. The system utilized 600 volt direct current streetcars and buses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SEPTA subway–surface trolley lines</span> Philadelphia trolley lines

The SEPTA subway–surface trolley lines are a collection of five SEPTA trolley lines that operate on street-level tracks in West Philadelphia and Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and also underneath Market Street in Philadelphia's Center City. The lines, Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36, collectively operate on about 39.6 miles (63.7 km) of route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidents' Conference Committee (Toronto streetcar)</span>

The Presidents' Conference Committee Car was a streetcar used by the Toronto Transportation Commission and the Toronto Transit Commission. The PCC streetcar was designed by the Presidents' Conference Committee, a group of transit operators in the United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M-Line Trolley</span> Heritage streetcar line in Dallas, Texas

The M-Line Trolley is a heritage streetcar line in the Uptown neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. The trolley line, which has been in service since 1989, is notable for its use of restored historic streetcar vehicles, as opposed to modern replicas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Public Service Company</span>

The Kansas City Public Service Company is the formerly most well known name for a set of defunct public transit operators in Kansas City, Missouri, until being sold to the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light rail in North America</span> Mode of public transit

Light rail is a commonly used mode of public transit in North America. The term light rail was coined in 1972 by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration to describe new streetcar transformations which were taking place in Europe and the United States. The Germans used the term Stadtbahn, which is the predecessor to North American light rail, to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, which is city rail. However, in its reports, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburgh Light Rail</span> Light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Light Rail is a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding suburbs. It operates as a deep-level subway in Downtown Pittsburgh, but runs mostly at-grade in the suburbs south of the city. The system is largely linear in a north-south direction, with one terminus near Pittsburgh's central business district and two termini in the South Hills. The system is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streetcars in North America</span>

Streetcars or trolley(car)s were once the chief mode of public transit in hundreds of North American cities and towns. Most of the original urban streetcar systems were either dismantled in the mid-20th century or converted to other modes of operation, such as light rail. Today, only Toronto still operates a streetcar network essentially unchanged in layout and mode of operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Municipal Railway fleet</span> LRV and Bus Fleet of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni)

With five different modes of transport, the San Francisco Municipal Railway runs one of the most diverse fleets of vehicles in the United States. Roughly 550 diesel-electric hybrid buses, 300 electric trolleybuses, 250 modern light rail vehicles, 50 historic streetcars and 40 cable cars see active duty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light rail in the United States</span> Overview of light rail in the United States

Light rail is a mode of rail-based transport, usually urban in nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streetcars in Cincinnati</span>

Streetcars operated by the Cincinnati Street Railway were the main form of public transportation in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century. The first electric streetcars began operation in 1889, and at its maximum, the streetcar system had 222 miles (357 km) of track and carried more than 100 million passengers per year. A very unusual feature of the system was that cars on some of its routes traveled via inclined railways to serve areas on hills near downtown. With the advent of inexpensive automobiles and improved roads, transit ridership declined in the 20th century and the streetcar system closed in 1951. Construction of a new streetcar system, now known as the Connector, began in 2012. Consisting initially of a single route, the new system opened on September 9, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KC Streetcar</span> Streetcar in Missouri, US

The KC Streetcar is a one-route streetcar system in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Construction began in May 2014, and service began on May 6, 2016. The KC Streetcar is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area's integrated public transit brand RideKC, and is operated by the Kansas City Streetcar Authority. It is free to ride, as it is funded by a transportation development district. As of June 2024, the KC Streetcar has had over 14 million rides since its opening in 2016. The initial line is 2.2 miles (3.5 km) long, and construction began in 2022 for extensions north to the riverfront and south to the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In the RideKC system, the KC Streetcar is internally designated as route 601.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Paso Streetcar</span>

The El Paso Streetcar is a streetcar system in El Paso, Texas, that uses a fleet of restored PCC streetcars that had served the city's previous system until its closure in 1974. It opened for service on November 9, 2018. The system covers 4.8 miles (7.7 km) in two loops from Downtown El Paso to University of Texas at El Paso. The system was constructed under the authority of the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority, but when the major construction was completed, around spring 2018, it was transferred to Sun Metro, for operation and maintenance. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 130,600, or about 800 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival</span> Discontinued streetcar service in San Francisco

The San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival was a heritage streetcar service along Market Street in San Francisco, California, United States. It used a variety of vintage streetcars and operated five to seven days a week, primarily in summer months, between 1983 and 1987. Sponsored by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, it was the predecessor of the F Market & Wharves heritage streetcar line that opened in 1995. It used historic streetcars from several different countries, as well as a number of preserved San Francisco cars. The impetus behind the Trolley Festival was that the city's famed cable car system, one of its biggest tourist attractions, was scheduled to be closed for more than a year and a half for renovation, starting in September 1982. The Trolley Festival was conceived as a temporary substitute tourist attraction during the cable car system's closure.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Post Office". Kansas City Public Library. June 1, 1979. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013. Some of the lines were once horse car lines, some cable lines and some electric. All are electric in 1908 except a portion of the 12th Street lines, between Washington Street and the stockyards. (There) the cable line is used pending the construction of some kind of a trafficway between the higher and lower levels of the city.
  2. Lynn Horsley (November 22, 2013). "Kansas City's streetcar glory days hold lessons for today". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2013. As Kansas City lays its first streetcar rail in 66 years, it is unleashing a wave of nostalgia for the days when the city had one of the nation's most extensive streetcar systems.
  3. Edward A. Conrad (2011). Kansas City Streetcars: From Hayburners to Streamliners. HeartlandRails Publishing Company. ISBN   9780976184720 . Retrieved December 28, 2013. When it came to rail-based mass transit, Kansas City had it all. From the first horse car to the last streetcar, the KC transit scene was replete with every type of public transit during its 88 years of existence.
  4. 1 2 "Historic streetcars in San Francisco: Kansas City, Missouri-Kansas". Market Street Railway. 2010. Archived from the original on April 12, 2010. Retrieved December 25, 2013. Kansas City's PCCs - 184 in all - were painted to emphasize their modern lines, with a black 'swoosh' on the sides to highlight the logo of Kansas City Public Service Company (KCPS), which featured Frederic Remington's famed sculpture "The Scout" on a red heart.
  5. 1 2 Monroe Dodd (January 1, 2002). "A Splendid Ride: The Streetcars of Kansas City, 1870-1957". Kansas City Star Books. ISBN   9780972273985 . Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  6. Jason Roe. "Wrong way Corrigan". Kansas City Public Library. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013. On March 31, 1882, The Kansas City Star declared its opposition to the streetcar monopoly then held by Thomas Corrigan. Although William Rockhill Nelson, owner of The Star, generally preferred that the paper remain neutral in politics, he made exceptions for cases where he believed rampant corruption demanded public awareness.
  7. "A Successful Operation (First Electric Streetcar Operates in Kansas City)". Kansas City Globe. Kansas City, Kansas. September 6, 1889. Retrieved December 14, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  8. William S. Worley (1993). "J.C. Nichols and the shaping of Kansas City : innovation in planned residential communities". University of Missouri Press. ISBN   9780826209269 . Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  9. https://kcstreetcar.org/about-streetcar/mainstreet-extension/
  10. https://kcstreetcar.org/about-streetcar/streetcar-riverfront-extension/
  11. https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/vehicles/press-release/55241147/kansas-city-streetcar-authority-kc-streetcar-kc-streetcar-receives-the-sixth-of-eight-new-streetcars-to-operate-in-kansas-city
  12. "Kansas City Public Service 551". Shore Line Trolley Museum . Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  13. Collison, Kevin (September 11, 2017). "Historic Kansas City Streetcar Moved to its Permanent Stop as Future River Market Ice Cream Parlor". CityScene KC. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  14. Smith, Joyce (October 30, 2018). "The River Market's vintage streetcar — Trolley Tom — to house local retail shop, cafe". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  15. https://www.visitkc.com/business-detail/donutology-trolley