Streetcars in Cleveland

Like most large cities in the United States, there existed a large network of streetcars in Cleveland in the first half of the 20th century. The streetcar lines in Cleveland, Ohio were operated by the Cleveland Railway, which was formed in 1910 with the merger of two companies. The Cleveland Railway converted a few streetcar lines in the 1930s, but the onset of World War II stopped any further conversions.

Cleveland street railways in 1900

In 1942, the Cleveland Transit System took over the operation of all streetcar, bus and trackless trolley lines from the Cleveland Railway. Following the war, CTS undertook a program of replacing all existing streetcar lines with either trackless trolleys or buses.

The last CTS streetcar ran on January 24, 1954 with a free ride celebration on the Madison line from Public Square to West 65th and Bridge.

List of streetcar lines

The following table lists the conversion of the Cleveland streetcar lines to trackless trolleys (or trolleybuses) or buses in reverse chronological order, with the last date of streetcar service, the line name, the modern line number, the type of vehicle replacing the streetcar, and the length of time that lasted. Shuttle lines or "dinkeys" are not included.

Date Line No. Replaced with From Until Then Notes
January 25, 1954 Madison 25 Bus January 26, 1954 Present —
August 15, 1953 Clark 23 Bus August 16, 1953 Present —
August 15, 1953 West 25th 20 Bus August 16, 1953 Present —
March 20, 1953 Superior 3 Trackless trolley March 22, 1953 April 12, 1963 Bus
March 7, 1953 East 55th 16 Bus March 8, 1953 Present —
June 14, 1952 Lorain
(Public Square to West 140th)		 22 Trackless trolley June 15, 1952 November 14, 1958 Bus Also used by the Cleveland, Southwestern and Columbus Railway[1]
April 26, 1952 Euclid
{Public Square to Windermere)		 6 Bus April 27, 1952 Present — Also used by the Cleveland, Painesville and Eastern Railroad (Main Line)[1]
November 3, 1951 St. Clair 1 Trackless trolley November 4, 1951 May 4, 1962 Bus Also used by the Cleveland, Painesville and Eastern Railroad (Shore Line)[1]
August 25, 1951 Detroit 26 Trackless trolley August 27, 1951 November 14, 1958 Bus
April 7, 1951 St. Clair
(East of East 129th)		 1 Bus April 8, 1951 Present — Became Bus # 5
Now Bus # 1 again
July 1, 1950 West 25th
(Broadview branch)		 20 Bus July 2, 1950 Present — Became Bus # 67
Now part of Bus # 35
June 17, 1950 Lorain
(West 140th to Puritas)		 22 Bus June 18, 1950 Present — Became Bus # 85
Now Bus # 22 again
March 25, 1950 Kinsman 14 Trackless trolley September 6, 1950 October 19, 1962 Bus Also used by the Eastern Ohio Traction Company (Cleveland and Chagrin Falls Railway)[1]
September 6, 1949 Mayfield 7 Bus September 7, 1949 Present — Also used by the Eastern Ohio Traction Company (Cleveland and Eastern Traction Company)[1]
August 15, 1949 Euclid
(Hayden branch)		 6 Bus August 16, 1949 Present — Became Bus # 30
July 31, 1948 East 55th
(Washington Park branch)		 16 Shut down because of construction of Willow Freeway (now I-77).
July 31, 1948 Fairmount  ? Bus August 1, 1948 Present — Became Bus # 32C
Now Bus # 42
June 30, 1948 Buckeye 13 Trackless trolley September 8, 1948 October 19, 1962 Bus
April 30, 1948 St. Clair
(East 140th Euclid Beach branch)		 1 Bus May 1, 1948 Became Bus # 44
Now part of Bus # 30
April 30, 1948 Fulton 24 Trackless trolley June 22, 1950 November 14, 1958 Bus Now part of Bus # 79
April 15, 1948 Euclid
(Windermere to Ivanhoe)		 6 Bus April 16, 1948 Present — Became Bus # 28
March 20, 1948 Euclid
(Ivanhoe to East 212th)		 6 Bus March 21, 1948 Present — Became Bus # 28
March 15, 1948 Woodland 12 Trackless trolley February 16, 1949 October 19, 1962 Bus
March 6, 1948 Harvard–Dennison 18 Bus March 7, 1948  ? — Now replaced by several bus routes
January 31, 1948 East 105th 10 Trackless trolley February 1, 1948 June 14, 1963 Bus
November 15, 1947 Clifton 27 Trackless trolley July 5, 1949 November 14, 1958 Bus Also used by the Lake Shore Electric Railway[1]
Now replaced by several bus routes
September 2, 1947 Union 15 Trackless trolley May 1, 1948 June 14, 1963 Bus
August 15, 1947 Broadway 19 Trackless trolley December 1, 1947 June 14, 1963 Bus Also used by the Northern Ohio Traction and Light Company (Akron, Bedford and Cleveland Railroad)[1]
July 31, 1947 West 25th
(Pearl Road branch)		 20 Bus August 1, 1947 Became Bus # 51
June 15, 1948 Cedar
(Downtown to Cedar Glen)		 8 Trackless trolley June 16, 1948 April 12, 1963 Bus
May 6, 1946 Scovill 11 Bus May 7, 1946  ? — Now no bus service
March 15, 1945 Cedar
(Cedar Glen to Taylor)		 8 Bus March 16, 1945 Present — Became Bus # 32
November 15, 1940 East 79th 2 Bus November 16, 1940 Present —
November 15, 1940 East 30th 17 Bus November 16, 1940  ? — Now no bus service
April 15, 1939 Wade Park 4 Trackless trolley December 16, 1945 April 12, 1963 Bus
June 15, 1938 Central 33 Bus June 16, 1938 Present —
October 31, 1935 Payne–Hough 38 Trackless trolley March 1, 1939 April 12, 1963 Bus
April 3, 1935 Fairfield 74 Bus April 4, 1935 Present Streetcar service ended when Central Viaduct closed
Now part of Bus # 81

See also

References

Inline references
  1. Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas, Report on a Rapid Transit System for the City of Cleveland, 1919, p. 55

Books
  • Christiansen, Harry (1975). Trolley Trails Through Greater Cleveland and Northern Ohio. Vol. 3. Lakewood: Trolley Lore/Western Reserve Historical Society. pp. 444–446, 470.
  • Toman, James A.; Blaine S. Hays (1996). Horse Trails to Regional Rails: The Story of Public Transit in Greater Cleveland. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-547-0.
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