The Streetcar Era in Grand Rapids

by Carl Bajema and Tom Maas

Step back in time to ride street cars in Grand Rapids. Horse cars (1865—1892) that first ran on Canal St. and Monroe Ave, cable cars that ran up and down Lyon and east Bridge (now Michigan Ave) street hills (1888—1891), steam dummy trains that ran to Ramona Park at Reed’s Lake (1881—1890) and to North Park resort (1890—1894) on the banks of the Grand River (1890—1894), electric street cars (1891—1935), and interurban cars (1901—1932) all carried passengers within and to-and-from Grand Rapids. They provide us with a window to view what it was like to live in Grand Rapids between 1865 and 1935.

The first horse car line ran south from the Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad depot down Canal Street (now lower Monroe Ave) and passed through the factory district along the east side power canal, the business and shopping district, Campau Square, up Monroe Ave and ended at Fulton St. and Jefferson Ave intersection. A horse line was built south on Division to Hall in 1873 ending at the fairgrounds.

Small dummy locomotives replaced horses on the line to Reed’s Lake in 1881 enabling the line to transport more passengers in a shorter time to the Reed’s Lake resorts. Another dummy steam locomotive line was built to Soldiers’ Home and North Park Resort in 1890.

Cable cars began running up and down the steep Lyon St. hill in 1888 and the east Bridge St. (now Monroe Ave) hill in 1889 forming a loop. Cable cars could be pulled up hills that were too steep for horses to pull cars. The cable cars also could be pulled at speeds up to 12 mph. The cable railway era lasted only three and a half years and was a financial disaster because of the cost of the initial investment and the fast rate at which the cable wore out.

The electric street car era began in 1891 after the financially ailing cable and horse street car railway companies merged. As many as 100 electric street cars could be seen traveling through Campau Square in downtown Grand Rapids in an hour by 1894. Electric street cars had several advantages over horse cars and cable cars. Electric power made it possible to not only run street cars at speeds as high as 20—30 mph, but also to run heavier and thus longer cars which meant more passengers could be carried per car.

The Grand Rapids street car system was a leader in innovation with respect to street car designs, efficient operation and courteous service during the 1920s. Buses which could be operated more cheaply began replacing Grand Rapids electric street car lines in 1932. Miles McDonald was the motorman in charge of the last electric trolley car to ride the rails on Grand Rapids streets early Sunday morning, August 26, 1935.

“The Streetcar Era in Grand Rapids”, Thursday, January 12, 2017, 7:00pm Ryerson Auditorium, Grand Rapids Public Library, presented by Carl Bajema and Tom Maas.