by Stephen M. Scalzo
Headline image: Car 20 is seen with a load of passengers in August 1914. The motorman is Louie Cameron, the conductor at rear is John Fuqua, the boy on the step is O. Ragan, and the girl with the bow leaning out the window is Merle Shoop. Frank E. Butts photo.
Ed. note: Mt. Vernon is a city in southern Illinois, east-southeast of St. Louis. In 1910, its population was roughly 8,000 people.
Local planners talked about building some sort of public transit in Mt. Vernon, IL, as far back as 1889, but nothing serious was done until the Mt. Vernon Traction Company was formed on July 5, 1912, and a franchise obtained for two routes. On October 14, 1913, the company became the Mt. Vernon Traction & Power Company, and it received a new franchise. That company became the Mt. Vernon Traction & Car Company, which planned to construct a 2.5-mile streetcar system.
On January 7, 1914, construction started when a steam tractor engine started plowing a trench on Broadway just south of the Southern Railway tracks. Bad weather slowed the work, but by February 4th, the construction grading crew was working on the south side of the downtown square. By the middle of February, bad weather stopped construction, and it was the middle of March before it resumed.
Car 22 is shown in service in 1914. Frank E. Butts photo.
Due to legal technicalities, the company was reorganized as the City Railway Company of Mt. Vernon on April 1, 1914, with $40,000 of capital. A new franchise was granted shortly thereafter, and construction resumed. By April 15th, most of the rail on the Broadway line had been installed, and by the end of the month, all work around the downtown square was completed. In July, construction started on the car barn on 9th Street near Taylor Avenue, and the Public Utilities Commission granted the company permission to install a crossing with the Southern Railway on Broadway Street. On July 21, 1914, streetcar service began from the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad depot out on the Broadway line, followed a few days later by service on the Oakland line. The company had 3.5 miles of trackage consisting of 55- and 60-pound secondhand rail over which three streetcars operated. The fare was five cents per trip.
Motorman Louie Cameron (left) and conductor Louis Pavey stand in front of car 20.
During 1915, earnings were only $3,231 with 64,616 passengers carried. Patronage never did come up to expectations, and on February 16, 1916, service was discontinued due to a lack of funds. In September, a receiver was appointed for the company, but operations were never resumed. In 1917, the property was sold by the receiver to Hyman-Michaels Company of Chicago, which dismantled the system.
The following was written about the Mt. Vernon system by James Buckley:
There isn't any doubt whatsoever that the entire project was part of a real estate speculation, the Columbia Heights subdivision especially. ...The Mt. Vernon Car Company and the other industries were located in the southeast section of the city and most of these workers lived on the east side, not in the north and west sections of the city. Yet there were not any plans to extend the car line to the east side (of course they would have to cross the C&EI tracks someplace). The north and west sides consisted of mostly single-family homes; many of these people were well-to-do and had automobiles. In fact the city was repaving and improving streets all over town at the very time the car line was under construction. The business just wasn't there.
This article was edited and laid out by Frank Hicks. Thanks to Ray and Julie Piesciuk and to Richard Schauer for making available the materials needed to publish this history. For the record, the Mt. Vernon streetcar line operated for just under 19 months, surely a strong contender for shortest-lived electric railway in Illinois.
Roster of Equipment
Cars #20 & 22 - single-truck closed cars - built by American, 1892 - 31'2" long, 7'6" wide, 10'1" high, 17500 lbs - 28 seats - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 800 motors, K-10 control - Note 1
Car #? - single-truck 10-bench open car - built by Pullman, 1895 - 29'6" long, 7'6" wide, 11' high, 17000 lbs - ? seats - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 800 motors, K-2 control - Note 2
Note 1: Two cars purchased March 27, 1914, from broker Lloyd J. Smith; built for the West Chicago Street Railroad as their numbers 875 and 805, first used as cable trailers, to Chicago Union Traction in 1899, motorized in 1907 and renumbered CUT 4423 and 4434, to Chicago Railways in 1908.
Note 2: Open car purchased March 27, 1914, from broker Lloyd J. Smith; original owner uncertain, then Chicago Consolidated Traction 181; converted to utility service in Mt. Vernon.
Track Map
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