Portal:Trains/Featured article/Week 47, 2005
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Washington streetcars operated from 1862 until 1962. The first streetcars in Washington, D.C., were drawn by horses and later cable cars were used. By the beginning of the 20th Century, the streetcar system was fully electrified; conduit cars were used downtown, and trolley cars were used in the outer areas and for the interurban streetcars. The system reached its greatest size in 1925. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, ownership of all streetcars in Washington was divided between two companies: the Washington Railway and Electric Company and the Capital Traction Company. In December 1933, the two companies merged to form the Capital Transit Company. After a strike action in 1956, the system was sold again to become DC Transit; the last streetcar ran on 27 January 1962. DC Transit's assets were purchased by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in 1973.
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