Business and Industry | Page 79

Twin City Rapid Transit Company Express boat

Twin City Rapid Transit Company Express boat Hopkins on Lake Minnetonka, c. 1908.

Trolley track removal

Trolley track removal, Fourth and Wabasha, St. Paul, April 12, 1955.

Minneapolis farewell to streetcars

Minneapolis farewell to streetcars. TCRT Chairman, Fred A. Ossanna, smashes the window of an electric streetcar following the implementation of motor buses in Minneapolis, 1954.

Minneapolis Street Railway streetcar tokens

Minneapolis Street Railway streetcar tokens, 1947.

Twin City Rapid Transit Company and Electric Streetcars

Horse car and cable car systems in the Twin Cities spurred urban growth and gave residents more mobility. The coming of the electric streetcar in 1889 had an even greater impact. With cars that could travel faster and farther, the system grew to become one of the nation's finest public transportation networks before the dominance of automobiles and buses in the 1950s.

Cable Cars of the Minneapolis and St. Paul Street Railway Companies

Before Minneapolis and St. Paul upgraded their street railway systems from plodding horse cars to modern electric trolleys, both cities flirted with the use of cable cars. Costly to build, only two lines operated in St. Paul before both cities converted to electric streetcar systems.