We all know this building, don't we? 129 Campbell? Across from Twists & Turns. Well, ever wonder why it has those highly detailed overhangs above the doors? It used to be an office building, and headquarters for the Roanoke Street Railway & Electric Co.
In other words (forgive me), this weeks page is titled:
CLANG CLANG CLANG WENT THE TROLLEY
(ding ding ding went the bell....)
It all started with a
mule and a cart, back in the days of the "Big Lick News." Well the
demand for this mule grew, till there were more mules, and more carts.
Fancier carts which would recieve passengers at the Rail station and
ferry them to where they needed to go. Hotels, theatre,
shopping.. They were much like a bus, you simply needed to find one and
flag it down. For a nominal charge they would drag you across town,
across some of the worst roads imaginable. Poor mules. There was a
persistent need for these services, and the profitability of mule-carts
was dwindling as the roads took their toll on both the mules and the
carts themselves. In 1891, the mule-carts were making $9 a day, and
costing $12 a day.
That's not a good set of numbers if your the operator. Well, as Big Lick changed to Roanoke and the newly-minted city began to build itself the road conditions improved ever so slightly. Someone got the idea to remove the mules and just run the carts. On rails. The first set of rails laid down were flat bars of iron. Flat iron on bad roads led to constant derailments. The mules were still powering the first true Streetcars in Roanoke, but only alongside steam powered engines. In 1892, the mules were given the pink slip, the steam boilers were turned off, & the street cars were electrified.
That's not a good set of numbers if your the operator. Well, as Big Lick changed to Roanoke and the newly-minted city began to build itself the road conditions improved ever so slightly. Someone got the idea to remove the mules and just run the carts. On rails. The first set of rails laid down were flat bars of iron. Flat iron on bad roads led to constant derailments. The mules were still powering the first true Streetcars in Roanoke, but only alongside steam powered engines. In 1892, the mules were given the pink slip, the steam boilers were turned off, & the street cars were electrified.
You
can see here the rails on Jefferson, along with the early cobblestone
surface of the road.
These streetcars were powered overhead, by miles and miles and miles of catenary wires. The very first line run by the Roanoke Street Railway and Electric Co. was a small one. Jefferson from the tracks to Campbell, Campbell to Commerce (2nd), Commerce to Church, then Church to 5th. 5 cents please. The line was expanded 6 months later to run all the way to 16th St. SW. It made a loop around downtown Roanoke. The next line added was from Jefferson at the tracks, and out to Vinton. Shortly after, they went the other way to Salem. 3 miles to Vinton, 8 to Salem, and around Roanoke itself - all told probably 20 miles of travel, on 80 miles of track.
The cars themselves were not all that grand at first, as one would expect of open-sided vehicles with full exposure to every type of weather.
These streetcars were powered overhead, by miles and miles and miles of catenary wires. The very first line run by the Roanoke Street Railway and Electric Co. was a small one. Jefferson from the tracks to Campbell, Campbell to Commerce (2nd), Commerce to Church, then Church to 5th. 5 cents please. The line was expanded 6 months later to run all the way to 16th St. SW. It made a loop around downtown Roanoke. The next line added was from Jefferson at the tracks, and out to Vinton. Shortly after, they went the other way to Salem. 3 miles to Vinton, 8 to Salem, and around Roanoke itself - all told probably 20 miles of travel, on 80 miles of track.
The cars themselves were not all that grand at first, as one would expect of open-sided vehicles with full exposure to every type of weather.