Tuscaloosa Trolley, circa 1945

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Title

Tuscaloosa Trolley, circa 1945

Subject

Trolley buses

Description

The streetcar stops at the corner of Broad Street (now University Boulevard) and Greensboro Avenue in front of Brown's Dollar Store that later became Brown's Department Store.

Streetcar service began in 1883 with the arrival of the town’s first horsecar trolley. Operated by the Tuskaloosa Street Railway, streetcars were pulled on rail by mules and mustangs.

The steam dummy train began operation in 1888 by the Tuskaloosa Belt Railway. There’s an overlap of about 8 years in which the dummy and the horsecar trolley were both in use. The horsecar trolley was no longer needed in the late 1890s when the dummy line was extended to Riverview.

"The Dummy" operated until 1915 when the street rail was electrified. In 1923, the Tuscaloosa Railway and Utilities Company sold the electric trolley line to Alabama Power Company for $1.1 million. In 1941, most electric streetcars were pulled offline during the transition to a bus system operated by the power company. All passenger service ceased in 1942.

Source

City of Tuscaloosa

Date

Circa 1925

Contributor

Betty Slowe (Description)
Jason Townsend (Description)

Type

Photograph

Identifier

168

Coverage

Tuscaloosa (AL)

Original Format

Photograph