Brattleboro Tram
The Brattleboro tram was the tram company of the city of Brattleboro in the US state of Vermont , which existed from 1895 to 1923.
history
In 1893 the Brattleboro Street Railroad Company was founded to build an electric tram from Brattleboro to West Brattleboro. A citizens' initiative against the tram was formed. She was also supported by Rudyard Kipling , who lived near Brattleboro and who wrote a letter to the chairman of the initiative, a local lawyer, in February 1895:
“... Should the trolley-line be made through the steep, narrow and tortous streets of the town I should find myself entirely cut off from my present railway-station and base of supplies; for no man who has had experience of trollies and their workings would willingly risk the lives of his family or his horses by exposing them to the daily chances of accident from direct collision with the cars, from fallen wires or from runaways. ... ”
“... Should the tram route be built through the steep, narrow and winding streets of the city, I will be completely cut off from my current train station and shops; Because no one who has experience with trams and the way they work would voluntarily risk the life of his family or his horses by exposing them to the daily risk of accidents from direct collisions with the wagons, from falling overhead lines or from trains that roll away without a driver. ... "
Despite the opposition, the railway was built in the spring of 1895 and opened on July 30 between Prospect Hill (Washington Street / Central Street) and West Brattleboro (Western Avenue / Greenleaf Street). The route ran through Central Street, Pine Street, Canal Street, Main Street, Putney Road, Park Place, Chapin Street, Oak Street, High Street and Western Avenue. Depots were on Pine Street (corner of Central Street) and Western Avenue in Centerville, east of the Guilford Street intersection. The town's train station was at the intersection of Main Street and Vernon Street. The trains run every 30 minutes from around 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. In addition to passenger transport, the railway occasionally transported goods. For this purpose, the freight car was attached to a passenger railcar.
In 1906 the Twin State Gas and Electric Company acquired the tram. Until then, the railway had bought its traction power from the Brattleboro Gas Light Company. In order to connect some textile factories, the route was extended in 1911 over Washington Street and South Main Street to the intersection of Cotton Mill Hill, which increased the total length of the route to about nine kilometers. In 1917 the one-man operation was introduced and the drivers took over the duties of a conductor. However, it was soon recognized that the operation would no longer be profitable and on August 29, 1923 the last trams were running in Brattleboro. Buses took over the transport duties the following day.
vehicles
All new rail vehicles were purchased from Wason Manufacturing Company of Springfield, Massachusetts . The manufacturers of the vehicles bought used are not known.
| No. | Vehicle type | Construction year | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1, 5, 6, 8 | closed tw | 1895 | 1917 out of service, number 6 earlier |
| 2-4 | open tw | 1895 | |
| 1 ', 5', 8 ' | closed tw | 1917 | Tw 8 was sold to private customers in West Dummerston after 1923 and remained there for several years |
| 6 ' | closed tw | ? | Bought used, given back after a short time |
| 7th | flat freight wagon | ? | |
| 9 | open tw | ? | |
| 10 | snow plow | ? | |
| 17th | closed tw | ? | Bought second-hand from Bristol County Street Railway in 1918 , sold again after a short time |
literature
- Donald E. Shaw (1948): Trolley Days in Brattleboro, Vermont . Warehouse Point, CT: National Railway Historical Society.