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Denver Tramway Company
line: 15th Street opened: 22-December-1888. 15th Street and Colfax Avenue on 15th to Mary Street (now Umatilla Street). Mary Street to Fay Street (now 30th Street). Fay Street to Gallup Street (now Zuni Street). Gallup Street to Ashland Avenue (now 29th Street). Ashland Avenue to 15th Street. powerhouse: 15th Street and Colfax Avenue. grip: Henry M Lane single-jaw side grip. gauge: 3'6" cars: Dummy and trailer trains. turntables: terminal loop at outer end crossings:
line: Broadway opened: 22-December-1888. From turntable at 15th Street and Larimer Street on 15th to Broadway. Broadway to turntable at Alameda Avenue. extended: ??-???-1890. Broadway to Alaska Avenue. Alaska Avenue to Bannock Street(?). Bannock Street(?) to Dakota Avenue. Dakota Avenue to Broadway. powerhouse: 15th Street and Colfax Avenue. grip: Henry M Lane single-jaw side grip. gauge: 3'6" cars: Dummy and trailer trains. turntables: terminal loop at outer end crossings:
line: Colfax Avenue opened: 22-December-1888. From Colfax Avenue on Colfax Avenue to Cleveland Place (now Fillmore Street). Cleveland Place to Park Boulevard (now 17th Avenue(?)). Park Boulevard to Detroit Street. Detroit Street to Colfax Avenue. powerhouse: 15th Street and Colfax Avenue. grip: Henry M Lane single-jaw side grip. gauge: 3'6" cars: Dummy and trailer trains. turntables: terminal loop at outer end crossings: line: 18th Avenue opened: 03-November-1889. From 15th Street and Tremont Place on Tremont Place to 18th Avenue. 18th Avenue to Humboldt Street. Humboldt Street to 26th Avenue. 26th Avenue to Lafayette Street. Lafayette Street to 18th Avenue alternate loop: ??-???-1889. Washington Street from 18th Avenue to 22nd Avenue. 22nd Avenue Marion Street. Marion Street to 24th Avenue. 24th Avenue to Washington Street. Washington Street to 18th Avenue. powerhouse: 15th Street and Colfax Avenue. grip: Henry M Lane single-jaw side grip. gauge: 3'6" cars: Dummy and trailer trains. turntables: terminal loops at outer end crossings: notes: In 1887, the Denver Electric and Cable Company gave up on Professor Sidney Howe Short's (ironic name) conduit electric system. The company had changed its name to the Denver Tramway Company in 1886. The Denver Tramway Company built four 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.
Henry M Lane of Cincinnati designed the lines using his non-trust grip. The 18th Avenue line turned out to be a disaster. With a blind conduit to connect the powerhouse to the tracks and two outer loops, the cable was subjected to too much curvature and wore out quickly. The loop via Washington Street was abandoned on 11-December-1889, a little over a month after the line opened. The whole line was abandoned on 28-November-1891, as part of a deal with the Denver City Cable Railway, which allowed them to avoid crossing the line on Tremont Street when it built its 17th Avenue line.
On 01-May-1893, the Broadway line was converted to electric traction. The Colfax and 15th Street lines were converted on 06-July-1893.
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. Go to top of page. Denver City Cable Railway
line: Larimer Street opened: 16-October-1889. Greenwood Street (now Tennyson Street) and Colfax Avenue on Colfax to Larimer Street. Larimer to Downing Street. Downing to Market Street (now Walnut Street?) to 40th Avenue. powerhouse: 18th Street and Lawrence Street. grip: Gillham double-jaw side grip. gauge: 3'6" cars: Dummy and trailer trains. turntables: ? crossings:
line: 17th Avenue opened: 01-November-1889. Goss Street (now Tejon Street) and Humphrey Street (now 41st Avenue) on Goss to 16th Street. 16th to Court Place. Court Place to 17th Avenue. 17th Avenue to York Street. powerhouse: 18th Street and Lawrence Street. grip: Gillham double-jaw side grip. gauge: 3'6" cars: Dummy and trailer trains. turntables: ? crossings:
line: Welton Street opened: 01-November-1889. Welton Street and 16th Street on Welton to 30th Street. 30th Street to 28th Avenue. 28th Avenue to Gaylord Street. Gaylord to 38th Avenue. powerhouse: 18th Street and Lawrence Street. grip: Gillham double-jaw side grip. gauge: 3'6" cars: Dummy and trailer trains. turntables: ? crossings:
line: 17th Street opened: 22-December-1891. 17th Street and Wyncoop Street at Union Station on 17th to Court Street. powerhouse: 18th Street and Lawrence Street. grip: Gillham double-jaw side grip. gauge: 3'6" cars: Dummy and trailer trains. turntables: ? crossings:
line: West Denver (11th Street) opened: 06-June-1892. Curtis Street and 17th Street on Curtis to 11th Street. 11th Street became Kalamath Street (now 11th Street). Kalamath to 4th Avenue. powerhouse: 18th Street and Lawrence Street. grip: Gillham double-jaw side grip. gauge: 3'6" cars: Dummy and trailer trains. turntables: ? crossings:
notes: The Denver City Cable Railway secured the rights to used the patent trust's technologies. Robert Gillham designed an installation similar to his Kansas City Cable Railway. The powerhouse at 18th Street and Lawrence Street was set up to drive 13 cables in an extensive system. The company went bankrupt in 1895 and became the Denver City Railroad in 1896. The new management wanted to convert the company's lines to use electric traction, but the city would not allow it. The city wanted the company to pave the streets where it operated. When the company would not, the city had the work done and sent the company the bill. The company went bankrupt in 1898 and the Denver Tramway took over. The Tramway management wanted to convert the cable lines to electric, but the city held out for a high fee. The city and the Tramway reached a deal in 1900. The West Denver line was converted on 28-March-1900. The Welton line was converted on 29-March-1900. The 17th Avenue line was converted on 30-March-1900. The Larimer line was converted on 01-April-1900.
Go to top of page. The Cherrelyn Horse Car
From 1883 to 1910, an unusual horse car line ran in Englewood, south of Denver, Colorado. A horse pulled a car from Hampden and Broadway up a steep hill on Broadway to Quincy. At the top of the hill, the horse backed onto the rear platform, and the car proceeded down the hill by gravity. This line became a major tourist attraction and was a popular subject for postcards. I understand the car is still on display in the Englewood Civic Center. Similar lines ran in West Denver and Southern California. It is a popular story that when the horses used on these lines were sold to farmers, that they would pull plows uphill, but not down. Go to top of page. Mount Manitou Incline Railway
Go to top of page. Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway
Zalmon G Simmons founded the Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway in 1888. The Abt rack system reached the summit of Pike's Peak in 1891. In March, 2018 the railway announced that it would not open for the 2018 season. There was concern that the current owners, the Broadmoor Hotel, were evaluating whether they should continue in the train business. In November, 2018 they announced that the line would reopen in 2021.
Go to top of page. Royal Gorge Incline
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Last updated 01-November-2018