The region is trying to bring back streetcars with proposals for trolleys around the region.
But it was 50 years ago this month that they met their demise.
The National Capital Trolley Museum is hosting seminars on Jan. 28 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the city’s streetcar network. The Colesville, Md., museum plans to review the past with a slide show and discuss the future with a presentation on the District’s plans to build a new 37-mile network.
The last streetcars ran in the District on Jan. 28, 1962, following a congressional order, running along 14th Street and U Street, according to the museum.
Like the Metro system today, the streetcar networks helped fuel the city’s early development, creating streetcar suburbs such as Mount Pleasant, Chevy Chase and Brookland. The lines began as horse-drawn cars, then upgraded to cable cars that could travel more than twice as fast at 10 mph. Electric streetcars then extended the reach of commuters, running up to 75 mph on the Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis Electric Railroad.
Today, the District is hoping to bring back streetcars on some of those original lines. Arlington wants to build one along the Columbia Pike, while Maryland is seeking the Purple Line as light rail. Other lines are planned for Crystal City to Potomac Yard and possibly along the Interstate 270 corridor as the Corridor Cities Transitway.
