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- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Philadelphia Traction Company
- Providence, Rhode Island - Providence Cable Tramway
- Denver - Denver Tramway Company
- Paris - Tramway Funiculaire de Belleville
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Philadelphia Traction Company
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| A Philadelphia Traction ticket, showing a cable train hauled by one of its unusual round-fronted, enclosed grip cars. August, 2000 Picture of the Month. |
line: Fairmount Park
opened: 07-Apr-1883. Columbia Avenue from Twenty-third Street to a loop at the east entrance of Fairmount Park.
revised: 26-Jan-1885. Columbia Avenue to Seventh Street. Seventh to Master Street.
revised: ??-Oct-1886. Seventh from Master to Locust Street. Locust to Ninth Street. Ninth Street to Spring Garden Street.
revised: 10-Jan-1888. Seventh to McKean Street. McKean to Ninth Street. Ninth Street to Locust.
powerhouse: Twenty-Third Street and Columbia.
powerhouse: Ninth and Sansom.
grip: Low and Grim (really) top grip
gauge: 5'2 1/2"
cars: grip and trailer trains
turntables: loops
crossings:
| Intersection | Company | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 7th/Market | PTC | inferior |
| 9th/Market | PTC | inferior |
| 7th/Spring Garden | PTC | ? |
line: Market Street
opened: 26-Jan-1885. Market Street from 20th Street to 41st Street to about Haverford Street.
opened: 30-Jun-1885. Market Street from 20th to City Hall. Around City Hall tp Front Street.
revised: 1889. Market Street from Front to Delaware.
powerhouse: 19th and Market.
grip: Low and Grim (really) top grip
gauge: 5'2 1/2"
cars: grip and trailer trains
turntables: loops
crossings:
| Intersection | Company | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 7th/Market | PTC | superior |
| 9th/Market | PTC | superior |
notes:
Philadelphia was the third US city with cable cars and the first to use non-trust technology. The system was not a success for several reasons. The weakly built conduit squeezed shut when the ground froze. The line was poorly designed, requiring four pull curves each direction to get around City Hall. The hatches for servicing pulleys were very thin and bent under traffic. Many design problems were made worse by the Low and Grim (really) top grip.
The cable system was promoted by Peter Widener, who liked the idea of cable traction, but did not like the idea of paying royalties to the Trust. Under his encouragement, on 18-Mar-1882, the directors of the Union Passenger Railway decided to test cable propulsion on their Columbia Avenue branch. The Union Passenger Railway became the Philadelphia Traction Company in 1882.
On 07-Apr-1883, cable operation began on Columbia Avenue, from Twenty-third Street to the east entrance of Fairmount Park. Unlike a typical San Francisco iron and brick or concrete conduit, the Columbia Avenue conduit was made entirely of wrought iron and resembled a slotted pipe. The test line did not work very well; it closed after a short time, but the company was happy enough to push on.
On 20-Jun-1884, the Philadelphia Traction Company leased its lines to the Union Passenger Company for nine hundred and ninety years.
Philadelphia Traction chose to rebuild the conduit on Columbia Avenue. On 26-Jan-1885, cable operations resumed on Columbia Avenue and began on Market Street. Cold weather caused the slot to squeeze shut on 18-Mar-1885.
The loops at Fairmount Park and Market and First were operated with separate cables powered by reduction gears. These failed periodically and stopped the system. The company eventually removed the reduction gears.
The Fairmount Park line crossed Market at Seventh (southbound) and Ninth (northbound). These crossings, at flat intersections, barely worked with a top grip, which required a great distance to drop and pick up the cable. The company used horses to help cars which could not coast across.
The company made improvements in 1889 when it replaced some of the light rail it had originally used and strengthened the conduits. The lines were converted to electricity over the course of 1895.
On 22-Jul-1895, the People's and Electric and Philadelphia Traction Companies consolidated and formed the Union Traction Company.
US History.org has some very interesting excerpts from Early Railroad Transportation by Rudolph J. Walther, which includes a detailed chronology of Philadelphia transit history.
The Penn State Trolley Cars tells the story of the one-mile experimental electric railway operated by Penn State's Electrical Engineering Department during the 1890's and early 1900's. The line was used to train electrical engineering students in electric railway technology. The rolling stock was probably an old cable car donated by the Philadelphia Traction Company. Faculty and students installed the electric motors. In 1901, the department was looking for a new car to replace the old one, which had probably deteriorated from exposure to the weather. In 1905, the United Railways and Electric Company of Baltimore donated another old cable car. There are no records that indicate that the experimental line ran past 1910. The records may have been destroyed in a fire in 1918.
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| Philadelphia Traction cable cars on the narrow balloon loop at the Camden Ferry, foot of Market. |
from Poor's Directory of Railway Officials, 1887P. 257 * Philadelphia Traction R.R. co. operates 100 miles of road, owns 2,550 horses and 595 cars. Directors, William H. Kemble, P. A. B. Widener, Wm. L. Elkins, Thos. Dolan, Jas. McManes, James B. Altemus, Philadelphia, Pa. -- Wm. H. Kemble, Pres., P. A. B. Widener, 1st Vice-Pres., Wm. L. Elkins, 2nd Vice-Pres., D. W. Dickson, Sec. & Treas. -- GENERAL OFFICE, Forty-first and Haverford Sts., Philadelphia, Pa. |
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Providence, Rhode Island - Providence Cable Tramway
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"SCREW SPINDLE GRIP -- PROVIDENCE R. I., CABLE LINE." From Street Railways: Their Construction, Operation and Maintenance by CB Fairchild, 1892. July, 2008 Picture of the Month. |
line: College Hill
opened: 11-December-1889. From Market Square on College Street to Prospect Street. Outbound on Prospect from College to Angell Street. Angell to River Drive (?). River (?) to Waterman Street at Red Bridge. Waterman Street inbound to Prospect. Prospect to College.
powerhouse: Angell Street and River Drive (?)
grip: double-jaw side, wheel operated
gauge: 4'8 1/2"
cars: open grip and trailer trains
turntables: crossovers at Market Square
crossings: N/A
notes: The Providence Cable Tramway was the only Hallidie-type cable car line in New England. The Union Railroad provided horse-car service to most parts of Providence (According to the 1887 Poor's Directory of Railway Officials, it operated "58.855 miles of road, owned 1,850 horses and 272 cars."), but not to Brown University and the wealthy neighborhood on the east side of College Hill. The direct route over the hill would be too steep for horse traction.
Walter Richmond, a resident of the East Side, organized the Providence Cable Tramway and secured a franchise against the opposition of the Union Railroad. The Union Railroad was unhappy about losing its monopoly in general and was particularly unhappy about having to shares its tracks on Westminster Street to Olneyville and back via Weybosset Street. The line's trailers would be pulled by horses along this section (Proceedings of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 1909, page 58).
Richmond engaged engineer Henry M Lane, who had designed Cincinnati's Mount Adams and Eden Park and Vine Street Cable Railways.
The cable line was difficult to operate because the streets it covered were not straight, and included both steep and undulating sections. Because of a difficult pull curve at Collect and Prospect, by the entrance to Brown University, the company used left-hand operation. The cable broke 17 times in the first six months ("Cables connect College Hill", Karen Davis, Providence Journal, 25-January-1999).
Despite the difficulties, the company made money and in due time was taken over by the Union Railroad. Union failed to buy two shares of the Tramway and so leased it for 50 years, beginning in April, 1895, and kept the corporate structure intact. The Union Railroad had already electrified its lines and was anxious to convert the Tramway's operation.
The stretch up the hill from Market Square to Brown University was too steep for electric operation. In April 1894, the grip cars had started pulling electric cars up the hills. The cars may have been the former trailers, with one axle motorized. The company converted the line to a counterbalance, similar to the one on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. Weights ran on rails in the conduit and cars would latch on at the bottom and top of the hill and help each other up and down.
The original counterbalance was too inflexible, so engineer-in-chief Milton H Brondson designed a system using the grip cars, motorized and enclosed, to latch onto the weights. The motorized cars could handle two electric cars each, switch themselves at Market Square, and ascend or descend alone, giving more flexibility.
A tunnel replaced the counterbalance in 1914.
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A former Providence cable car equipped for the counterbalance. |
"Mr. M. H. (Milton Howard - JT) Bronsdon learned the business of his father (constructing engineer). His first work of importance was done at the age of 21 years, while foreman of construction of two cable railways at Los Angeles, Cal. (The Second Street Cable Railway and the Temple Street Cable Railway - JT), and afterward as master mechanic of one of them. He remained in Los Angeles from April, 1885, until May, 1889, when he went to Denver, Col., as manager of the Denver Tramway for seven months. He resigned his position in order to accept the office of superintendent of Providence Cable Tramway of Providence, R. I. In March, 1895, the road changed to electric motive power, and Mr. Bronsdon was appointed engineer-in-chief for the Union R.R. Co. of Providence, R.I., which position he now holds. In 1895 he designed and built the Inclined Counterweight System (his own patented invention) on the steep incline of College Street, Providence. In 1896, he built a similar railway at Morgan Park, 1ll. In 1898, he built the Inclined Railway Systems on St. Anthony's Hill, at St. Paul, Minn." (Bronsdon and Box Families: Part I. by Colonel Lucius B Marsh and Mrs Harriet F Parker, 1902)
from Annual Report of the Railroad Commissioner, January Session, 1891.Incorporated 1884. Road built in 1889. Began running January 1, 1890. OFFICERS.
DIRECTORS.
Returns for Six Months Ending June 30, 1890.
* Mr. W. D. Watson was fatally injured Jan. 26, 1890, (and died within a week) from attempting to cross in front of a grip car on Hope street, corner of Waterman. from ACCIDENTS DURING 1890. page 43 Jan. 26. WALTER D. WATSON, of Providence, while attempting to drive in a carriage across Waterman street, in front of grip car No. 18, of the Providence Cable Tramway Co., was struck by the car and so severely injured that lie died on the following Wednesday. page 46 May 15. JOHN COYNE, a laborer in the employ of the highway department, city of Providence, was struck by a car of the Providence Cable Tramway Co. on Angcll Street, and received severe injuries about the hips. He saw the car and stepped aside, but not far enough. page 47 July 19. ROY EVERETT BRYANT, 7 years old, was playing with other boys on South Angell street, Providence, and while running backward was struck by a grip-car of the Providence Cable Tramway Co. and run over. He was taken to the Rhode Island Hospital, and his right leg amputated below the knee. He was discharged from the Hospital cured, on the 7th of August. from CHANGES IN OWNERSHIP. page 89 The Providence Cable Tramway, having accomplished its object and secured direct transportation to the residents of the "East side," has been absorbed by the Union Railroad Company, and is now operated by that company. This I regard as a move in the right direction, as whenever two or more rival companies use the same tracks, there will necessarily be more or less friction between employees. |
from Annual Report of the Railroad Commissioner, For the Year Ending December 31, 1893.Incorporated July 24, 1884. OFFICERS.
DIRECTORS.
Returns for Six Months Ending June 30, 1893.
from ACCIDENTS DURING THE YEAR 1893. page 47 Feb. 26. Antonio De Angelis stepped from car No. 14, Providence Cable Tramway Co., while it was in motion, but fell and broke his leg. He was taken to the R. I. Hospital. May 29. As car No. 40, Providence Cable Tramway Co., drawn by horses, was passing up Dyer avenue, Johnston, a boy by the name of Willie Williams fell from the car and one wheel passed over his leg. He was taken to the R. I. Hospital. |
from Annual Report of the Railroad Commissioner, For the Year Ending December 31, 1894.Incorporated July 24, 1884. OFFICERS.
DIRECTORS.
Returns for the year ending June 30, 1894.
CABLE TRAMWAY. page 39 When the Union horse system was changed to an electric that portion of the Providence Cable Tramway line which had been operated by horse power was also transformed. Within the past year authority has been given the company to substitute electric power for the propulsion of cars upon the cable portion. The operation of cars upon the excessive grade on College Hill is to be assisted by a system of counterweights similar to those in successful use in the cities of Seattle and Portland. Without some such device it would be unsafe to make the ascent and descent of so heavy a grade, and this provision is being made by the company so as to preclude to the greatest extent any possible liability to accident. from ACCIDENTS. page 41 February 6. Herbert Dyer of Providence, while coasting down Grand Avenue, was struck by cable car No. 30, Providence Cable Co., and somewhat injured. |
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Denver - Denver Tramway Company
notes: The Denver Tramway Company built five lines that opened between late 1888 and late 1889. The lines faced no major grades, and the company started to convert them to electric in 1893.
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Denver Tramway car 40, preserved at the Forney Transportation Museum. Photo courtesy of the Forney Transportation Museum. All rights reserved. March, 2006 Picture of the Month. |
Remarkably, one of the Denver Tramway's cable cars survives. Pamela Bestall, director of the Forney Transportation Museum, explains that the car was built in 1886 by the Laclede Car Company of Saint Louis, as horse car 271. It was converted to cable car 40 in 1888 or later. It was later renumbered 901. When the Denver Tramway converted from cable to electric operation, most of the cable cars were burned. This car survived and was used as a tool shed by the Denver Regional Transportation District. When a Mister Horn, a former RTD employee, heard that the car (tool shed) was going to be destroyed, he arranged to purchase it and moved it to his ranch near Conifer. After the museum purchased it, Bill Wright of Fort Collins, Colorado coordinated its extensive restoration.
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Paris - Tramway Funiculaire de Belleville
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"Élévation d'une voiture funiculaire" (View of a funicular car) from the article "Tramway Funiculaire De Belleville" by G De Burgraff, from Le Magasin Pittoresque, 1890. November, 2003 Picture of the Month. |
line: Belleville
opened: 25-Aug-1891. From La Place de la République on Rues du Faubourg-du-Temple and Belleville to the Church of Belleville
powerhouse: Top of la rue de Belleville
grip: single-jaw side
gauge: 1M
cars: closed grip and trailer trains
turntables: ?
crossings: N/A
notes: The Tramway Funiculaire de Belleville was designed and built by Fulgence Bienvenüe, who later built the Paris Metro. It was a popular line, carrying up to 5 million passengers a year.
There was one serious accident on the line. In 1906, a car ran away down the hill to the Place de la République, running at speeds up to 120 kmh. Over 20 people were injured.
The cable line ran until 18-Jul-1924, when it was replaced by a bus.
Read the article "Tramway Funiculaire De Belleville" by G De Burgraff, from Le Magasin Pittoresque, 1890.
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