Streetcars in Cleveland

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Cleveland street railways in 1900

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.

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

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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

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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[citation needed] | 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

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* Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
* Northern Ohio Railway Museum
* List of streetcar systems in the United States (all-time list)

## References

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### Inline references

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1. ^ a b c d e f g Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas, Report on a Rapid Transit System for the City of Cleveland, 1919, p. 55

### Books

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* 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.

## External links

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* Tom's North American Trolleybus Pix Cleveland Page