Metro Streetcar

By the 1890s, Little Rock had begun to grow out into the countryside of Pulaski County in large part due to the construction of a street railway system. Similar to many other cities in the South after the Civil War, Little Rock’s lack of development attracted businessmen eager to take advantage of expected economic growth in real estate, banking, and other merchant ventures. Little Rock's first horsecar line (horse tramway) opened in 1876. The horsecars operated until 1895. Steam-powered streetcars operated between July 3, 1888, and 1889. The construction of street railways in the United States began to overlap with real estate and banking enterprises as the lines electrified in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Electric traction in Little Rock was introduced on December 23, 1891, after consolidation by a company formed to run the streetcar system exclusively.[5] Eventually, that company was bought by Arkansas Power & Light. Electric streetcars operated until September 1, 1947, extending as far west as the city's Hillcrest and Stifft's Station neighborhoods.

Streetcar crossing the Arkansas River

What is now named the Metro Streetcar opened on November 1, 2004, as the River Rail Streetcar, operated by the Central Arkansas Transit Authority.[3][4] Phase I consisted of a single 2.5-mile (4.0 km) long line that connects two cities, Little Rock and North Little Rock, situated on opposite sides of the Arkansas River.

The line carried 200,000 passengers in its first year of operation.

In January 2006, construction began on Phase II, which was a 0.9-mile (1.4 km) extension to the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Heifer International headquarters. This section opened on February 16, 2007, with a ribbon cutting by Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines, Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, and North Little Rock Mayor Pat Hays. The extension increased the length of the line by about 33%, making the total mileage 3.4 miles (5.5 km).

In 2015, the Central Arkansas Transit Authority changed its name to Rock Region Metro,[6] and in line with this rebranding, the River Rail Streetcar was renamed the Metro Streetcar.

Additional extensions to the system are under discussion, the most ambitious of which is a 2.5-mile (4 km) extension to Little Rock National Airport. If the expansion is completed, the status of the line could take on a role as some form of light rail line, instead of its current role as a heritage trolley. The proposed extension, among others in Savannah and Tampa, is considered a hybrid form of transport known as "rapid streetcar".[7] The expansion of the River Rail Streetcar line, turning it into a more effective rail rapid transit line, would be the first example of such a system in the United States.

Metro Streetcar initially used three replica vintage electric trolleys. Two more streetcars were added as a part of the new Phase II extension. The design of these cars is generally similar to Birney-type streetcars used in Little Rock until after World War II. The original number series for those cars was 400–407. The present cars continue that number series, albeit 60 years later, with the current cars being numbered 408–412. All of the cars in the present fleet were manufactured by the Gomaco Trolley Company.

• List of heritage railways
• Streetcars in North America

Wikimedia Commons has media related to River Rail Streetcar.

• Metro Streetcar on Rock Region Metro website