Trolley Town

Trolley Town. . , Tracking Denver's Public Transit , From horsecars to electric trolleys, rail transit moved Denver-ites around the city and suburbs for close to 80 years. In the mid-20th Century, automobiles and buses took over the streets. Today, the tracks are back. , Local public transportation arrived in Denver soon after the transcontinental railroad connected the young city to the nation. On December 17, 1871, the Denver Horse Railroad Company opened its first horse-drown trolley line. , The First DTC , After successfully leading the effort to bring the railroad to town, John Evans turned his attention to another new transportation technology: electric streetcar service. In 1856, Evans incorporated the Denver Tramway Company (DTC) with his son William Gray Evans, newspaperman William Byers, hotelkeeper Henry C. Brown, and businessman and library builder Roger Woodbury. , By 1900, more than 40 different companies provided electric trolley service to Denver. That year, DTC gained control of most of these companies and formed one of the largest public transit systems in the country. , All Aboard , During its long heyday, the electric-powered streetcar was a part of everyone's life in Denver. As DTC extended lines farther into the suburbs, people of modest means could afford to live outside the city's industrial core. Streetcars provided relatively fast and convenient service not onty to jobs, stores, schools and churches, but to parks, baseball games, Elitch Gardens and all the way to the mountains on the Golden Interurban. Special tramway cars were rented out for weddings and honeymoons, Funeral Cars A and B took many Denver-ites on their final rides to Riverside and Fairmount Cemeteries. , Many students from the University of Denver paid for their education by working as conductors. The University soon acquired the nickname of "Tramway Tech." , Streetcar Blues , In 1898, the first automobile ambled into Denver. Buses followed in 1925. During the Great Depression, DTC tried to reduce its losses by cutting back on trolley service. The rationing of gas during World War II boosted streetcar ridership to an all-time high. But after the war, the automobile reigned supreme. , Finally, on June 3, 1950, the entire streetcar system was shut down, as trolleys made way for the all-bus transit system. The City of Denver bought the Denver Tramway Corporation in 1971.