Danville Street Railway & Light

Danville Street Railway & Light

by Stephen M. Scalzo

Headline image: The corner of Vermilion and Main in downtown Danville is a beehive of traction activity in March 1924, with two Birneys and a 160-series double-truck car visible in this view looking west. All photos are from the Stephen M. Scalzo Collection of the Illinois Railway Museum except where noted.

The Danville Horse Railway was incorporated on February 21, 1867, with $100,000 of capital. The company had the backing of the Beckwith family, but nothing was ever built.

The Citizens Street Railway was incorporated on June 13, 1883. After receiving a franchise on June 18, construction began in August on the 3.5 miles of trackage radiating from the Public Square. The line ran west on Main Street to Madison, east to the Wabash Railroad crossing, and north on Vermillion Street to English. Service began on September 22 with five horsecars operating from the Square to English Street. As the trackage was completed on other streets, service was gradually extended. By 1887, the company had a branch line to Danville Junction to serve the local railroad workers. By 1890, the company had 10 horsecars and 50 mules operating over five miles of first track and one mile of second track.

In January 1891, the Cannon Brothers purchased all of the local utilities and formed the Danville Gas Electric Light & Street Railway Company. A short time later, a franchise was granted for electric streetcars. Work began immediately to convert the horsecar system to a Thomson-Houston system, and the 7.5 miles of trackage from the Fairgrounds to the Cemetery, Douglas Park to Lincoln Park, and Ellsworth Park to Junction were rebuilt. A powerhouse was constructed on South Walnut Street. On August 30, electric streetcars began operating from the Wabash depot on East Main Street to Arlington House and to Madison Street, connecting with horsecars on Vermilion. Gradually the remaining horsecars were replaced with electric cars.

By 1896, the company was earning $102,232. On December 6, 1899, the Danville Street Railway & Light Company, a part of the McKinley Syndicate, was organized to acquire the property. Earnings were $300,276 in 1900. In 1900, Danville had a population of 16,354. By 1901, the company had 12 miles of track, 17 streetcars, and three trailers. On September 14, 1901, a Big Four freight train collided with a streetcar at the Vermilion Street crossing, injuring five passengers and killing the motorman. In November, construction began on an extension to the Danville Glass Works, and on January 11, 1902, shuttle streetcars began operating to connect with the Soldiers Home line.

One of the original seven electric cars dating to 1891 - the caption says 5, though to my eye it looks more like 2 - is southbound on Vermilion halfway between North and Main around 1900. The "Golden Rule" store was destroyed by fire in 1915.

Twelve-bench open car 102 is shown at the Soldiers Home streetcar station around 1910. This car was built in 1902 by St. Louis for the United Railways Company of that city and was purchased secondhand by Danville. This was a single-truck car, but oddly enough, at least two cars of this series were rebuilt in Danville as double-truck cars.

In August of 1902, the Danville Urbana & Champaign Railway was chartered, and in December took over operation of the Danville Street Railway & Light Company, the Urbana & Champaign Railway Gas and Electric Company, and the Danville Paxton & Northern Railroad; the entire stock of the company was owned by the Illinois Traction System. By 1904, the Danville system was operating 14 miles of trackage with 28 streetcars.

In September of 1904, construction began on the trackage loop on South Vermilion and South Street to connect with the Walnut Street trackage. In September, construction began on the Oaklawn and Roselawn lines, and service began on the Roselawn line on December 11. During the later part of 1905 and the first part of 1906, a new carbarn was constructed at the south end of Vermilion Street. During June of 1905, construction began along West English west from Vermilion for an extension; service began on August 17 as a shuttle line and in September the line was through-routed with the Soldiers Home line. During November, the Roselawn line was through-routed with the Oaklawn line, and five additional streetcars were received for use on the Vermilion Heights line.

Single-trucker 15, builder unknown ,is shown at Danville Junction, where the C&EI, Wabash, and Big Four met. L-R: unknown, student motorman George Murphy, motorman Wilbur Salisbury, conductor William Chapin.

The short-lived Danville Car Company was located in its namesake city, and in 1908 the ITS ordered 10 cars numbered 700-709. At least three, including 700 shown here, were assigned to Danville, while others were assigned to Decatur, Champaign-Urbana, and Bloomington-Normal.

The company also operated three Illinois Traction System subsidiaries. The Danville Paxton & Northern Railway, incorporated on July 1, 1904, constructed a 6.3-mile line south to Westville. The Danville & Eastern Railway, incorporated on July 19, 1906, with $500,000 of capital, constructed the two-mile long Fairchild line which began operating in October 1907; the line was planned as an interurban to Terre Haute but trackage was only built as far as the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad shops in Danville. The Danville & Southeastern Railway, incorporated on July 17, 1907, built a 4.5-mile line to Grape Creek (or the Brookville extension); construction of the line began in April 1909, and took more than a year to complete, with a substantial bridge being built between Perrysville Road and Highland, and a number of cuts dug between the Vermilion River and Grape Creek, with trackage ending on a deep grade a short distance west of the Village of Brookville. All three lines had poor returns, earning roughly $5,000 per year (with net earnings averaging about -$1,000).

On June 11, 1910, the Highland line to Brookville began operating from the Public Square. During 1915, three pay-as-you-enter streetcars were placed into service on the West English and Soldiers Home line. On July 28, 1917, the south end of the Grape Creek or Highland line beyond Douglas Park was abandoned, and the remainder later operated with one-man streetcars. A four-day strike by employees in September of 1917 led to a two-cent hourly wage increase; nine-hour daily rates ranged from $2.35 to $2.75. In 1917, there were six streetcar routes operating. Four new cars were placed into service on the Fairchild line in March of 1918. In 1921, 6,282,841 passengers were carried by the company. Fares were increased to seven cents in 1922.

Car 111, shown in service on the Oaklawn line, was built by Brownell in 1901 as an eight-bench open car. But by the time this photo was taken, its sides had been enclosed up to the belt rail only, making it something akin to a convertible without the ability to convert into a closed car. The dash sign advertises "Base Ball Today."

Car 162, shown here at the carbarn in 1921, was one of four cars delivered from St. Louis in 1918. The sign in the window reads "Depots - C&EI, Big 4."

Sixteen four-wheel Birney streetcars were ordered during 1922. The first Birney was placed into service on January 1, 1923, on the Oaklawn and Junction lines; later two Birney streetcars were placed on the Roselawn and West Main lines, and four Birneys placed into service on the Lincoln Park and Douglas Park lines. In July 1923, the Illinois Power & Light Corporation purchased the company.

On August 15, 1923, the Highland line was abandoned. Gradually throughout 1923, all of the older cars became one-man operated as an economy move, with the last two-man streetcar operating on August 16. In October of 1925, the company asked for permission to substitute buses on the Gilbert Street and East Main Street lines. In July of 1926, the first buses were put into service on the North Gilbert Street line between Redden Square and Roselawn Avenue.

In January of 1927, the city council adopted an ordinance granting the company a 20-year franchise, with streetcar lines to be abandoned by consent of the council. That new franchise, under one ordinance, replaced the separate franchises granted on each different line. On May 1, 1928, there were five streetcar routes that used 15 Birney and four double-truck streetcars to maintain schedules.

During the period of 1926-1928, earnings and ridership declined as the use of the private automobile and paved highways increased. On August 15, 1927, buses replaced streetcars on the Junction Street line, the first complete streetcar line to go. As the Depression progressed, the remaining streetcar system began operating at a loss.

After the war, 16 Birney cars numbered 204-219 were ordered from the St. Louis Car Company. Car 214 is shown here at the carbarn. In 1933, another 10 Birneys were brought over from Decatur.

It's 1929 and double-truck car 160 is on Vermilion Street in East Fairchild line service. This line was designated by a sign, mounted under that hood on the car's dash, with a large "F."

On November 19, 1931, in a spectacular accident, Birney streetcar 217 operating on the Roselawn line was struck by a Wabash steam locomotive at the East Main Street crossing and destroyed. Luckily the only person aboard the streetcar was the motorman, and he was not seriously injured. During 1933, eight secondhand Birney streetcars from Decatur were purchased and placed into service. On October 1, 1933, buses replaced streetcars on the Roselawn Street line. By 1935, only 16.17 miles of trackage remained over which 12 Birney streetcars operated.

On October 1, 1935, buses replaced streetcars on the Lincoln Park, Douglas Park, and West English Street lines, and 10 Birney streetcars were retired. On February 2, 1936, buses replaced streetcars on the East Fairchild line. In July of 1936, the remaining transit property was sold to the Danville City Lines, who announced plans to replace the remaining streetcars with buses. On November 25, the company was authorized to abandon the remaining streetcar lines. The last streetcar operated on December 14, 1936, on the Soldiers Home and Oaklawn lines. The unneeded overhead wires were quickly removed from the unused trackage; however, some trackage remained in use for the interurbans of the Illinois Terminal Railroad.

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 from the Stephen Scalzo Collection that were used to publish this history.

Roster of Equipment

An exceedingly complete and well-illustrated roster of the streetcars used on the Danville city system has been compiled by H. George Friedman, Jr., and is available online at his Danville Streetcar Album website. Rather than simply rehashing these efforts, readers are directed to that site.

This oddity was a headlight car, an item most systems seemed to somehow live without. It was rebuilt from one of Danville's horsecars and appears to have been unpowered, though it does have a trolley pole. Its precise function isn't entirely clear.

Route Map

Click here for a Danville street railway system route map

This 1909 Sanborn Fire Insurance map shows the Danville streetcar barn. North is to the left. The barn is located between Hazel on the east and Vermilion on the west, two blocks south of South Street. Today the site is a power station.

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