By Jack Seufert, M.A. ’26, American Studies
In 1891, the three-member, presidentially appointed D.C. Board of Commissioners published its annual report to Congress. The document included this map showing routes of 10 different streetcar companies in Washington, D.C. By the 1890s, streetcars had been in Washington for three decades, but they were about to undergo major changes. In navigating both new technology and public approval, many of the streetcar companies on the map soon found themselves swallowed up by a modernizing city.
Streetcars first appeared in Washington in July 1862. Pulled by horses, these early streetcars proved unsustainable. Although they served a vital role in city transportation, horse-drawn streetcars were slow, dirty and required constant maintenance. In February 1888, a company in Richmond, Virginia, found a solution by operating the first electric streetcar in the country, an idea quickly adopted in Washington.
On June 19, 1888, a congressional charter established the first electric streetcar company in D.C.: the Eckington and Soldiers’ Home Railway. But not everyone liked the new technology. The company first used overhead wires to power the cars, which sparked backlash from a local newspaper, the Evening Star. The paper had already opposed using overhead wires to electrify the city’s buildings, believing the wires to be ugly and potentially dangerous. The Evening Star launched a campaign against the company’s use of them, convincing Congress to pass an act prohibiting overhead wires in D.C. Under the new act, all streetcar companies had until July 1893 to both find an alternative and replace horse-drawn streetcars with electric, cable, or battery powered vehicles.
Underground electric conduits were the most viable option, but their expense led many companies to look for another solution. In 1890, the Metropolitan Railroad Company attempted using battery powered streetcars, but they proved ineffective. The Belt Railway Company tried compressed air motors to power their streetcars, but the smoky and dusty system inspired public disapproval. Some companies made the switch back to horse-powered streetcars, despite the new law. The Eckington Company, which had tried all these solutions, filed for bankruptcy, making it an ideal candidate for purchase.
By the mid-1890s, Washington’s multitude of streetcar companies posed a problem for the city. Worried about an incohesive transit system, Congress authorized their consolidation. In 1895, the Rock Creek Railway purchased the Washington and Georgetown Railroad, forming the Capital Traction Company. Other companies also consolidated, reincorporating as the Washington Railway and Electric Company. By the early 20th century, only two major streetcar outfits remained, eventually merging in 1933 with a bus operator to form a single company that would go on to shape the future of modern Washington: Capital Transit.
The multitude of Washington streetcar companies, as shown on the 1891 map, found themselves at a crossroads as the city approached the new century. By switching to electric power, the companies adapted to the modern world around them and took a big step in centralizing D.C.’s public transportation.
Bibliography
Deferrari, John. Capital Streetcars: Early Mass Transit in Washington, D.C. History Press, 2015.
King, LeRoy O. 100 Years of Capital Traction: The Story of Streetcars in the Nation’s Capital. Taylor Publishing Company, 1972.
Kohler, Peter C. Capital Transit: Washington’s Street Cars, the Final Era 1933-1962. National Capital Trolley Museum, 2001.
Schrag, Zachary M. The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014.
Tindall, William. “Beginnings of Street Railways in the National Capital.” Records of the Columbia Historical Society 21 (1918): 24-86.
This post was written in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition From A to DC: Transportation in Washington, an introduction to D.C.’s transportation history.
About the Author
Jack Seufert has a B.A. in English and history and is pursuing a master’s degree in American studies with a concentration in museums and material culture at GW. He enjoys researching historical artifacts and is interested in a public history career.