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82:) for two 7.5 horsepower (5.6 kW) motors on each car. Large cars weighed 6,900 pounds (3,100 kg), provided 40 seats, and carried up to 100 passengers; small cars weighed 6,700 pounds (3,000 kg) with 22 seats and up to 65 passengers. Running speed was 7.5 miles per hour (12.1 km/h), with 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) as a maximum speed. By June 1888 the system contained 40 cars running on some 12 miles (19 km) of track, including
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105:. Boston's trolley was closely patterned upon Richmond's, and again demonstrated its practicality. By 1895 almost 900 electric street railways and nearly 11,000 miles (18,000 km) of track had been built in the United States, and in a little over a decade animal-powered street railways had essentially vanished.
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The
Richmond system was not the first attempt to operate an electric trolley. According to the IEEE, there were at least 74 earlier attempts to provide electric trolley service in over 60 communities in
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78:. After trials in late 1887, it began regular operation on February 2, 1888, with 10 streetcars. Electric power was supplied through overhead trolley wires (450
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Richmond's electric trolley service ended on
November 25, 1949. It would not be until 2018 that the city would once again be served by rapid transit, when the
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City
Council, after inspecting Richmond's system on September 7, 1888, approved construction the second such project by the
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71:. However, these earlier attempts were not reliable enough to replace the existing animal-hauled street railways.
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160:"Rails in Richmond", by Carlton N McKenney. Old Dominion Chapter, Nat. Railway H.S. (January 1, 1986).
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system, and set the pattern for most subsequent electric trolley systems around the world. It is an
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Map of
Richmond and Petersburg showing Communication Lines and Points of interest from 1907.
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An industrial rail siding alongside
Stockton Street between 4th and 5th Streets.
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Its success proved that electric traction was both safe and reliable. The
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List of streetcar systems in the United States (Virginia)
183:"Milestones:Richmond Union Passenger Railway, 1888"
16:Tram system in Richmond, Virginia (1888-1949)
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23:Richmond Theatrical District in 1923, with
257:Transport companies disestablished in 1949
252:American companies disestablished in 1949
242:Railway companies disestablished in 1949
181:IEEE Richmond Section (February 1992).
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262:American companies established in 1888
237:Railway companies established in 1888
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247:Transportation in Richmond, Virginia
74:The Richmond system was designed by
47:, was the first practical electric
211:"Richmond Union Passenger Railway"
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41:Richmond Union Passenger Railway
90:or 193.18-foot (58.88 m)
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267:History of Richmond, Virginia
187:IEEE Global History Network
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55:milestone in engineering.
156:List of IEEE milestones
103:West End Street Railway
232:Light rail in Virginia
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92:minimum radius curves
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76:Frank Julian Sprague
217:on January 7, 2007.
67:, and continental
45:Richmond, Virginia
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215:the original
194:. Retrieved
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84:steep grades
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86:, and with
27:streetcars.
226:Categories
165:References
110:GRTC Pulse
196:August 9,
88:30 degree
145:See also
116:Location
112:opened.
99:Boston
69:Europe
63:, the
80:volts
43:, in
198:2014
191:IEEE
53:IEEE
39:The
228::
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173:^
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