Roanoke Railway and Electric Company

Roanoke Railway and Electric Company. . , Roanoke's rail heritage is not complete without mention of the Roanoke Railway and Electric Company. This company operated the trolley and later the bus system in the Roanoke Valley. Beginning with horse cars in the 1880s, soon trolley tracks ran across the city, including lines to Vinton and Salem. Electric cars quickly became the standard for the line, whose headquarters was the building still located on the southwest corner of Williamson and Campbell.

With the growth of personal automobiles, more paved streets and the move to the suburbs, the trolley system began to shrink as business declined. After 1930, a variety of lines were truncated, including Salem (1931) and Vinton (1940). The onset of World War II would see a brief upsurge in traffic with the gasoline and rubber restrictions, but the slight boom was not to last. The mass exodus to the suburbs after World War II combined with America's car culture was the death knell for Roanoke's trolleys. Like most trolley systems across the US, the now older streetcars were rapidly being replaced by buses or personal automobiles. RRy&E orange, cream and black streetcars ran their last revenue miles on July 31, 1948.

Even though Roanoke Railway and Electric has been gone for over 70 years, some signs still remain. The Trolley Barns are still standing, the office building is still in place and a small number of Roanoke trolleys survive to this day in several museums.