[Don't you love little facts that make you go, ‘ohh cool’ …? I certainly do! So I've decided I'll start writing a few posts every now-and-then to 1) keep me writing and 2) make some one out there say, "ohh cool." Hope you enjoy!]
On the topic of my last post about my new home in Richmond, I thought I’d tie it back in with my native state, Louisiana. Anyone who has been to NOLA has probably ridden the streetcars, a staple of the city that has been through some tough and recently good times. Some residents say the only people who use them are the tourists, but we know that’s not 100% true; especially considering the NOLA RTA is expanding their lines to add service to the French Quarter and eastward, and the Warehouse District. But where did New Orleans get the idea for electric streetcars? You guessed it, Richmond. Richmond installed the first successful electric streetcars in the U.S. in 1888. The trend would take off across America, spurring economic development in the new American suburbs. Though New Orleans’ St. Charles Line is the oldest continually operating street railway system in the country (see facts here) it was not electrified until 1893, five years after Richmond installed the system invented by Frank J. Sprague.
Electrified streetcar line on Broad Street in the 1920's
Unfortunately, the Richmond streetcar lines did not survive the introduction of the automobile and the american highway system. There are some efforts now to bring a Bus Rapid Transit system (full explanation/definition here) to Richmond in the previous location of the streetcar along Broad, but these efforts are not seeming to produce a real result, much less bring back a cleaner form of transportation that never should have been taken out in the first place. That’s just my opinion though.
Anyway, hope you’ve enjoyed the post!
