This is a list of interurban railways in North America. Elsewhere, the term was not used or did not have the same meaning. The vast majority of these systems are defunct. All were opened primarily as passenger carriers, although many survived as freight railways after passenger service ceased.
Canada
Provinces not listed did not have interurban systems, which were commonly called radial railways in Canada.
Alberta
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Calgary Municipal Railway |
British Columbia
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
British Columbia Electric Railway |
Manitoba
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Winnipeg Electric Company | |||
Winnipeg, Selkirk and Lake Winnipeg Railway |
Nova Scotia
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Cape Breton Electric Company | earlier Sydney and Glace Bay Railway; later Cape Breton Tramways | ||
Pictou County Electric Company |
Ontario
Quebec
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Hull Electric Company | |||
Montreal and Southern Counties Railway | 1909 | 1956 | |
Montreal Tramways Company | 1911 | 1951 | Continued as the Montreal Transportation Commission until 1959 |
Quebec Railway, Light and Power Company | 1904 | 1959 | Operated under Canadian National Railway 1951 – 1959 |
Cuba
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Ferrocarril Cubano de Hershey | 1917 | Present |
Mexico
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Ferrocarril Electrico de Lerdo a Torreon | |||
Ferrocarril Electrico de Tampico a la Barra | |||
Ferrocarril Mexicano | Jalapa Branch, not electrified | ||
Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos |
United States
Alabama
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama Power Company | |||
Birmingham Railway and Electric Company | |||
Mobile Light and Railroad Company |
Arizona
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Douglas Street Railway | |||
Phoenix Railway of Arizona | |||
Warren–Bisbee Railway | March 12, 1908 | May 31, 1928 | Operated by Warren Company |
Arkansas
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Central Power and Light Company | |||
Fort Smith Light and Traction Company | |||
West Helena Consolidated Company | Also Interurban Traction Company |
California
Colorado
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railway | |||
Colorado Springs and Interurban Railway | |||
Denver and Intermountain Railroad | 1909 | 1950 | Largely rehabilitated as the Regional Transportation District W Line light rail in the 2010s |
Denver and Interurban Railroad | 1908 | 1926 | |
Denver and South Platte Railway | |||
Durango Railway and Realty Company | |||
Grand River Valley Railroad | |||
Trinidad Electric Transmission, Railway and Gas Company |
Connecticut
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Bristol and Plainville Electric Company | |||
Connecticut Company | 1907 | Consolidation of several street and interurban railways — see article | |
Danbury and Bethel Street Railway | 1887 | 1926 | |
Hartford and Springfield Street Railway | |||
Shore Line Electric Railway | 1910 | 1923 | Some services acquired by the Connecticut Company |
Waterbury and Milldale Tramway | November 19, 1913 | October 29, 1933 |
Delaware
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Wilmington and Philadelphia Traction Company | Used standard streetcar technology |
District of Columbia
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Washington Railway and Electric Company |
Georgia
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Northern Railway | July 17, 1905 | 1947 | |
Augusta–Aiken Railway and Electric Corporation | 1902 | 1929 | |
Fairburn and Atlanta Railway and Electric Company | |||
Georgia Railway and Power Company | |||
Savannah Electric and Power Company |
Idaho
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Boise Valley Traction Company | |||
Caldwell Traction Company | |||
Lewiston–Clarkston Transit Company | |||
Sandpoint and Interurban Railway | |||
Utah Idaho Central |
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Arkansas Valley Interurban Railway | 1910 | 1938 | |
Iola Electric Railway | 1901 | March 1919 | |
Joplin and Pittsburg Railway | 1907 | c. 1930s | Freight traffic continued until 1951 |
Junction City and Fort Riley Railway | |||
Kansas City, Clay County and St. Joseph Railway | 1913 | 1933 | |
Kansas City, Kaw Valley and Western Railway | 1914 | 1949 | Later Kansas City, Kaw Valley Railroad. Freight traffic continued until 1963 |
Kansas City, Lawrence and Topeka Railway | 1903 | 1934 | Earlier Kansas City and Olathe Electric Railway; later Kansas City, Merriam and Shawnee Railroad |
Kansas City, Leavenworth and Western Railway | January 16, 1900 | March 31, 1938 | |
Manhattan City and Interurban Railway | 1914 | 1926 | |
Missouri and Kansas Interurban Railway | 1906 | July 9, 1940 | |
Southwestern Interurban Railway | |||
Union Traction Company | 1904 | 1947 | Later Union Electric Railway |
Westmoreland Interurban Railroad |
Kentucky
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Kentucky Traction and Terminal Company | |||
Louisville and Interurban Railroad | 1901 | 1935 |
Louisiana
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Orleans–Kenner Electric Railway | |||
St. Tammany Railway and Power Company | |||
Southwestern Traction Company |
Maine
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Androscoggin and Kennebec Railway | Earlier Lewiston, Augusa and Waterville Street Railway | ||
Aroostook Valley Railroad | July 1, 1910 | 1930s | |
Atlantic Shore Line Railway | |||
Bangor Railway and Electric Company | |||
Biddeford and Saco Railroad | |||
Cumberland County Power and Light Company | Earlier Portland Railroad | ||
Lewiston, Augusta and Waterville Street Railway | |||
Portland–Lewiston Interurban | July 7, 1914 | June 29, 1933 | Androscoggin Electric Company |
Rockland, Thomaston and Camden Street Railway |
Maryland
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Cumberland and Westernport Electric Railway | |||
Kensington Railway | |||
Hagerstown and Frederick Railway | August 22, 1896 | February 20, 1954 | Later Potomac Public Service Company |
United Railways and Electric Company | |||
Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway | 1908 | August 20, 1935 | Later Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad |
Washington Interurban Railway |
Massachusetts
Michigan
Michigan had 981 miles (1,579 km) of interurban.
Minnesota
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Electric Short Line Railway | 1913 | 1947 | Not electrified |
Mesaba Railway | December 24, 1912 | April 16, 1927 | |
Minneapolis, Anoka and Cuyuna Range Railroad | |||
Minneapolis Municipal Waterworks Railway | While not technically an interurban railway, since it did not connect two cities, it was a freight and passenger hauling electric railway | ||
Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Company | Not electrified; later Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway | ||
Minnesota Northwestern Electric Railway | 1914 | 1940 | Not electrified |
St. Paul Southern Electric Railway | November 17, 1914 | July 31, 1928 | |
Twin City Rapid Transit Company |
Mississippi
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Gulfport and Mississippi Coast Traction Company | |||
Laurel Light and Railway Company |
Missouri
Montana
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Anaconda Copper Mining Company | |||
Gallatin Valley Railway |
Nebraska
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Omaha and Lincoln Railway and Light Company | |||
Omaha and Southern Interurban Railway | |||
Omaha, Lincoln and Beatrice Railway | Remains in operation as a switching railroad |
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Piedmont and Northern Railway | |||
Piedmont Railway and Electric Company | |||
Tidewater Power Company |
North Dakota
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Valley City Street and Interurban Railway |
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Oregon Electric Railway | January 1908 | ||
Portland Traction Company | Earlier Portland Railway, Light and Power Company and Portland Electric Power Company | ||
Southern Oregon Traction Company | |||
Southern Pacific Company | January 17, 1914 | October 5, 1929 | Southern Pacific Electric Lines, earlier Portland, Eugene and Eastern Railway |
United Railways | |||
Willamette Valley Southern Railway |
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Caguas Tramway Company |
Rhode Island
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Newport and Providence Railway | |||
Providence and Fall River Street Railway | |||
Rhode Island Company | Later United Electric Railways | ||
Sea View Railroad |
South Carolina
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Augusta–Aiken Railway and Electric Corporation | 1902 | 1929 | |
Charleston – Isle of Palms Traction Company | |||
Columbia Railway, Gas and Electric Company | |||
Piedmont and Northern Railway |
South Dakota
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Deadwood Central Railroad | 1902 | 1924 | Narrow gauge railroad that hosted interurban service |
Tennessee
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Bristol Traction Company | |||
Chattanooga Traction Company | |||
Memphis and Lake View Railway | |||
Nashville–Franklin Railway | Earlier Nashville Interurban Railway | ||
Nashville–Gallatin Interurban Railway | Later Union Traction Company of Tennessee |
Texas
Utah
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Bamberger Electric Railroad | Later Bamberger Railroad | ||
Emigration Canyon Railroad | |||
Ogden Rapid Transit Company | |||
Salt Lake and Utah Railroad | |||
Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railway | |||
Utah–Idaho Central Railroad | |||
Utah Light and Traction Company | Long suburban lines |
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Name | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Sheridan Railway and Light Company |
See also
- List of town tramway systems in North America (covers countries other than U.S. and Canada)
- List of street railways in Canada
- List of town tramway systems in the United States
References
- ^ Middleton 1961, pp. 414–418
- ^ Hilton & Due 1960
- Rice, Walter E.; Echeverria, Emiliano J. "San Francisco's 40-line". The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. The Museum of the City of San Francisco. Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
- "Streetcars in Altlanta". RailGa.com. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
- "Joliet-Aurora Line is Opened". Rock Island Argus. Rock Island, Illinois. October 22, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
- Rice, R. H. (March 9, 1907). "Operation and Construction of the Elgin & Belvidere Railway". Electric Railway Review. XVII (10): 322.
- "Elgin". Sterling Daily Gazette. Sterling, Illinois. March 10, 1930. p. 2. Retrieved April 13, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Woodstock-Sycamore Line Quits". Electric Railway Journal. 51 (17): 827. April 27, 1918.
- Indiana Public Service Commission, Re Gary & Hobart Traction Company (No. 4802), October 25, 1919
- ^ "New Track Construction in 1907". Electric Railway Review. XIX (1): 4. January 4, 1908.
- Wright, Henry Andrew (1949). The Story of Western Massachusetts. Vol. II. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc. p. 603, 624.
- Environmental Impact Station and Section 4(f) Evaluation; Route 2- Greenfield, Gill, Erving, Wendell, Orange, Massachusetts. U.S. Department of Transportation. May 10, 1982. p. 30.
- "Chariots of Change - The Holyoke Street Railway". Holyoke, Mass.: Wistariahurst. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016.
- "Surrender of Franchise Stuns 'Hamp; But Officials Hope Bus Service May Be Restored Soon". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. October 31, 1951. p. 7.
-
- Appleton, John (November 3, 1981). "Springfield Street Railway Co. garage turned over to PVTA". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. p. 4.
- Appleton, John (November 3, 1981). "The Springfield Street Railway Co. — now it's another part of PVTA". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. p. 13.
- Olson 1976.
- Middleton 2001, p. 368.
- ^ Thompson 2008, p. 59
- ^ Robert A. Rieder: Electric Interurban Railways from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved August 2009.
- Crowley, Walt (September 19, 2000). "Interurban rail service between Everett and Seattle ends February 20, 1939". HistoryLink.org. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
Bibliography
- Hilton, George W.; Due, John Fitzgerald (1960). The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4014-2. OCLC 237973.
- Middleton, William D. (1961). The Interurban Era. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89024-003-8. OCLC 4357897 – via Archive.org.
- Middleton, William D. (2001) . When the Steam Railroads Electrified (2nd ed.). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-33979-9. OL 2510988W.
- Olson, R. L. (1976). The electric railways of Minnesota. Hopkins, MN: Minnesota Transportation Museum Inc. ASIN B0006WFVE2.
- Thompson, Richard (2008). Willamette Valley Railways. Mount Pleasant, SC (US): Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5601-7.