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peculiar facet of the Rock Creek
Railway, whose revenues were rather sparse but whose charter placed no limits on the amount of money that might be raised through the sale of stock and bonds. "This providential clause was turned to good advantage in the reorganization of the prosperous Washington and Georgetown Railroad which was severely crippled by its fixed capital ceiling of only $ 500,000", according to a 1966 history of D.C. streetcars.
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less expensive contact shoe. At the same time, the place where cars changed between the
Capital Traction and Metropolitan systems was moved from U and 18th Streets, the original city terminus of the Rock Creek Railway, to the Calvert Street Loop, just east of the Calvert Street Bridge over Rock Creek. Service on the old line on Florida Avenue between 18th and Connecticut was discontinued that year and the track removed.
276:
184:. The company replaced the cable cars it served with an electric system, using horses in the interim. The electric wire for the cars was placed in the old cable system's underground conduit. The 14th Street branch switched to electric power on February 27, 1898, the Pennsylvania Avenue division on April 20, 1898 (March 20 west of the Capitol), and the 7th Street branch on May 26, 1898.
101:
187:
In the spring of 1899, Capital
Traction replaced the underground conduit system that delivered power to its streetcars where overhead trolley poles were forbidden. The Love conduit system and its balky trolley wheels originally installed by the Rock Creek Railway were changed to the more standard and
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and south along Eighth Street where it connected to the
Pennsylvania Avenue line and the Navy Yard. Trains began serving Union Station on June 24, 1908, and the other lines were completed soon thereafter. During this time the 14th street line was expanded north to Colorado Avenue where it connected
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This 4-wheel, electric motor car was one of sixteen built for the
Capital Traction Company by the American Car Company. Car #303 was assigned to the 7th Street line, which ran from the Wharves to Boundary. It was used as a motor car and regularly pulled a light trailer car until its retirement from
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As the Key Bridge was under construction in the early 1920s, Capital
Traction sought to expand its operations across the Potomac River to Virginia. The company struck a deal with the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad, which had operated from Virginia to a terminal next to Capital Traction's
129:
On March 1, 1895, Congress authorized the Rock Creek
Railway to purchase and merge with any connecting company, and to change its name to the Capital Traction Company. The company consequently merged with the Washington and Georgetown on September 21, 1895. The merger also took advantage of a
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Georgetown car barn: the W&OD did not seek rights to operate on the new bridge, and in exchange, Capital
Traction built a new terminal for the Virginia railroad next to its Rosslyn loop. The D.C. company began operations on the new bridge in 1923.
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North
American tried to purchase Capital Traction as well, but Capital Traction always remained widely owned by the residents of Washington, without a principal stock holder. North American never owned more than 2.5% of Capital Traction stock.
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306:. Washington Railway continued as a holding company, owning 50% of Capital Transit and 100% of PEPCO, but Capital Traction was dissolved. For the first time, street railways in Washington were under the
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east of downtown. Connections were made from New Jersey Avenue, F Street NE, and from the spur to the B&O station. Second, a new crosstown line was laid down on
Florida Avenue to
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holding company, began to acquire stock in Washington Railway in 1922, gaining a controlling interest by 1928. By December 31, 1933, it owned 50.016% of the voting stock.
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and extended the 14th Street line north to reach it. Further expansion came with Congressional approval on May 23, 1908. First, three new connections were built to serve
195:, between Thirty-second and Potomac Streets northwest. Power for the overhead line is furnished by a station situated at the northern terminus of the Chevy Chase line."
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The former Capital Traction Power House on the Georgetown waterfront. Built in 1910-11 it was shut down in 1933, decommissioned in 1943 and demolished in 1968.
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In the mid-1890s, numerous streetcar companies operated in the District. Congress tried to deal with this fractured transit system by requiring them to accept
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The Washington electrical hand-book; being a guide for visitors from abroad attending the International electrical congress, St. Louis, Mo., September, 1904
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In 1910, Capital Traction began construction on a power house in Georgetown to power its streetcars. The facility opened on the waterfront in 1912.
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79:
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217:, built in 1906 by Capital Traction. This barn would later become WMATA's Northern division until it closed in 2019 for rehabilitation.
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regular service in 1913. This car, on display at the Museum of American History is the only Washington streetcar still in the District.
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On September 29, 1897, the Capital Traction Company's powerhouse at 14th and E NW burned down and the city took the site for its
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In 1904, "Power for the entire conduit system is furnished from a power station of 2,625-kilowatt capacity, located on the
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622:. University of Michigan. Washington, D.C., Pub. under the auspices of the American institute of electrical engineers.
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The Great Depression hurt transit companies' revenue. On December 1, 1933, Washington Railway, Capital Traction, and
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at 3600 M Street NW in Georgetown. To be called Union Station, it was meant to serve four streetcar companies. The
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Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C.: Beginning of Street Railways in the National Capital
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took over the third floor. The station opened on May 27, 1897, and contained Washington's only cable loop.
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March, Charles E. (August 1934). "The Local Transportation Problem in the District of Columbia".
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would use the roof, the old Washington and Georgetown lines would use the ground floor, and the
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Within months of the merger, the new Capital Traction Company began building an ambitious
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Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847 – 1968 (3rd ed.)
379:. Washington, D.C.: United States, District of Columbia Board of Commissioners. p.
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122:, and by allowing them to use one another's track. But eventually it became clear that
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173:. But the Virginia companies never used it and the Metropolitan only sparingly. The
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Company. The company's streetcars connected the Washington, D.C., neighborhoods of
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17:
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Standard History of the City of Washington from a Study of the Original Sources
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Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees
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680:"Historical American Building Survey: Capital Traction Company Powerhouse"
682:. National Park Service: Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation.
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417:
730:
418:"Public Transport in Washington before the Great Consolidation of 1902"
119:
376:
Laws Relating to Street-railway Franchises in the District of Columbia
750:. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 27–31.
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States, United; Board Of Commissioners, District of Columbia (1896).
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405:. Charlottesville, VA: Columbia Historical Society. pp. 24–118.
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747:
The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro
422:
Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C
515:. The United States National Park Service. Archived from
166:, entering the second and third floors respectively on
484:"The cable power house fire at 14th & E Street NW"
313:
Today, parts of the former lines are run by various
616:American Institute of Electrical Engineers (1904).
711:The Journal of Land and Public Utilities Economics
634:"District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites"
78:In 1933, it merged with its major competitor, the
639:. January 2007 update. 2007-01-01. Archived from
560:. Knoxville, TN: H. W. Crew & Co. pp.
244:In 1916 Capital Traction took ownership of the
248:and its 2.591 miles (4.170 km) of track.
717:(3). University of Wisconsin Press: 275–290.
259:of America won recognition after a three-day
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341:Metrobus Route 54 running along 14th Street
329:Metrobus Route 52 running along 14th Street
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704:
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678:William Gwin & Daniel Reiff (1969).
541:, New Cars to Georgetown, March 21, 1898
597:from the original on September 26, 2023
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152:Washington, Arlington, and Falls Church
80:Washington Railway and Electric Company
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771:Harwood, Herbert H. Jr. (April 2000).
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668:, Station Cars To-day, June 24, 1908
302:, a bus company, merged to form the
221:In 1906, Capital Traction built the
836:Defunct Washington, D.C., railroads
205:14th Street Line (Washington, D.C.)
57:Washington and Georgetown Railroad
25:
581:Bolles, F.G. (January 14, 1893).
40:was the smaller of the two major
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322:
236:Baltimore and Washington Transit
84:Washington Rapid Transit Company
787:from the original on 2017-09-28
686:from the original on 2024-02-07
513:"Pennsylvania Avenue Railroads"
436:from the original on 2023-09-27
238:Company's Kennedy Avenue line.
158:were to cross the Potomac from
51:It was formed in 1895 when the
826:Streetcars in Washington, D.C.
255:in 1916 when Local 689 of the
86:, a bus operator, to form the
32:Streetcars in Washington, D.C.
1:
399:Tindall, Dr. William (1918).
48:, in the early 20th century.
490:. 2007-09-27. Archived from
156:Great Falls and Old Dominion
566:Brightwood Railway Company.
857:
831:Defunct Maryland railroads
202:
175:Washington and Great Falls
29:
554:Tindall, William (1914).
193:Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
27:US street railway company
583:"The Rock Creek Railway"
355:of Georgetown powerhouse
300:Washington Rapid Transit
227:Washington Union Station
38:Capital Traction Company
744:Zachary Schrag (2006).
605:– via HathiTrust.
455:"The Historic Car Barn"
416:White, John H. (1966).
304:Capital Transit Company
246:Washington and Maryland
223:Decatur Street Car Barn
215:Decatur Street Car Barn
126:was the best solution.
89:Capital Transit Company
841:Streetcars in Maryland
285:North American Company
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148:Metropolitan Railroad
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73:Chevy Chase, Maryland
804:: CS1 maint: year (
587:The Electrical World
231:Gallaudet University
71:; and the suburb of
665:The Washington Post
538:The Washington Post
459:Douglas Development
271:The end of the line
424:. 66/68: 216–230.
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182:Municipal Building
154:and the projected
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67:, the Armory, and
53:Rock Creek Railway
757:978-0-8018-8246-3
118:and set standard
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353:1967 photos
820:Categories
791:2023-10-24
690:2007-03-13
650:2007-04-17
523:2007-02-06
498:2023-09-20
469:2007-02-08
440:2023-09-08
360:References
308:management
203:See also:
142:-designed
140:Waddy Wood
82:, and the
61:Georgetown
800:cite book
430:0897-9049
289:utilities
253:unionized
234:with the
199:Expansion
116:transfers
782:Archived
684:Archived
595:Archived
434:Archived
317:Routes.
315:Metrobus
171:trestles
144:car barn
731:3139173
162:on the
160:Rosslyn
120:pricing
110:Origins
96:History
754:
729:
564:–429.
428:
261:strike
785:(PDF)
778:(PDF)
727:JSTOR
644:(PDF)
637:(PDF)
168:steel
806:link
752:ISBN
603:2023
426:ISSN
283:The
213:The
36:The
719:doi
562:414
381:200
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
