When we think of streetcars most of us picture San Francisco cable cars or a streetcar in New Orleans and though these are among some of the oldest systems in operation they were not the first systems developed in America. In fact, the first mass transit vehicle in America was called an omnibus which resembled a stagecoach and was drawn by horses. Horse drawn carriages were not a new thing but what was different is these vehicles operated on a predetermined route and charged a small fare. The first omnibus ran along Broadway in New York City during 1827. Initially, the operator of the omnibus rode on top just like a stagecoach and riders would tug on a leather strap connected to the driver to signal they wanted to get off and those who wanted to get on would simply wave their hands to notify the driver. These systems ran in cities across America until around 1905 when the design was improved upon by the development of the streetcar.

Initially streetcars were also drawn by horses but these vehicles ran on rails that were put in the street which meant it was more comfortable and a single horse could pull a larger car that would hold more people. The wheels were made of steel so they would not jump off the rails and the first one began operation in 1832 along Bowery Street in New York. New Orleans was the next city to have the new streetcars in 1835. Usually they were operated by two men, one was a driver who controlled the horses and had a brake handle for stopping. The other person was a conductor who collected the fares, assisted people entering or leaving the car, and signaled the driver by ringing a bell attached to a rope.

Cable cars were introduced in 1873 and used a cable that ran under the city streets operated by a steam engine. The change from horse power to the new automated system required digging under the tracks and installing the cable with a system of pulleys so the operator could attach to the cable to start moving the car and detach from the cable to stop. The first city to have cable cars was San Francisco but Chicago had the largest number of cars in operation and by 1890 they were common in most big cities. As technology improved so did the streetcar and

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beginning in 1888 cities started converting to electricity. The wire was installed overhead, generators turned by steam engine would supply the electricity, and the streetcar would use a pole to reach them. The electrically powered vehicles came to be known as trolley cars and are still in operation in a few cities but the development of the personal automobile signaled the demise of streetcars as a major form on transportation.

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