Decatur Railway & Light
by Stephen M. Scalzo
Headline image: Decatur single-trucker 35 navigates the bustling intersection of North Main and William Street around 1910. All photos are from the Stephen Scalzo Collection of the Illinois Railway Museum except where noted.
The Decatur Horse Railway & Carrying Company was incorporated on March 9, 1876, by Franklin Priest. Construction began after a franchise was obtained, and on November 14, two horsecars began operating over the narrow gauge trackage that ran from Lincoln Square via North Main and Cerro Gordo Streets to the Wabash Railroad depot. The fare was five cents. The carbarn was located at the rear of the owner's house at 224 North Main Street. Ridership was so low that horsecars would stop along the street to let passengers off in front of their houses.
The Citizen's Street Railway Company was incorporated on January 24, 1883. Construction began immediately on a line from Lincoln Square via North Water, North Street, Broadway, and Eldorado Streets to the depot. Three horsecars and 40 mules were used on the two-mile line. Later that year, a line was built along West Main Street to the Wabash Railroad tracks. For a short time, an extension to Greenwood Cemetery was operated, but that was unprofitable and was soon abandoned. Another line was built to the PD&E Railroad depot located on East Main Street.
This photo is reputed to be of a Citizens Street Railway mule car.
By 1886, the Decatur Horse Railway & Carrying Company, having been virtually wiped out by competition from the Citizen's Street Railway, had deteriorated so badly that the franchise was revoked. One night a group of irate citizens ripped up all the track from the streets.
The People's Street Railway was incorporated in June of 1888 with $25,000 of capital, and the Decatur & North Park Street Railway was incorporated in 1890. However, neither company ever built anything.
On April 4, 1889, the Decatur Electric Street Railway Company (DESR) was incorporated. The company became known as the "Short Line." The company announced plans to operate the first electric streetcar line in Decatur. After acquiring franchises, construction began in May on the North Edwards Street line and the Riverside line, with a branch on West Grand to Walnut Grove.
On April 27, 1889, the Citizen's Electric Railway was incorporated with $150,000 of capital with the intention of building an electric railway. Arrangements were made to install the Thomson-Houston electric system. On August 8, the company consolidated with the Citizen's Street Railway to form the Citizen's Electric Street Railway (CESR). Seeing the DESR as a serious threat to its established business, the new company quickly outpaced the DESR. AM Contractor Talbot began track reconstruction on April 24. In May, construction began on the $2,500 brick powerhouse on East North and Williams Street to house two 125-horsepower Ideal engines, two 80-horsepower generator dynamos, and two boilers valued at $6,000.
On August 28, 1889, six Pullman streetcars (eight were ordered) began operating over six miles of trackage, with four streetcars on the Depot/Oakland Park line, one streetcar on the Condit Street branch, and one streetcar on Water Street. A horsecar was operated on the Eldorado line temporarily until replaced by electric streetcars on September 29. The system was one of the first to operate electric streetcars in the United States. Construction later began on the Marietta Street line, which was opened in late 1889 using four closed streetcars ordered from St. Louis. In 1890, the company earned $31,661 with 633,200 passengers.
Photos of Decatur's earliest electric cars are tough to find. This shot of an unidentified open car may date to the 1890s.
The DESR began operating on September 16, 1889, when the first streetcar operated down Main Street to the New Deming Hotel and then headed for Lincoln Square via Cerro Gordo Street. The installation of the Rae electrical system had cost $55,000. The first line had trackage starting at South Water and Wood Streets, west on Main, north around Lincoln Square to Cerro Gordo, and east to the Union Depot. The second line had trackage from Main on Cerro Gordo to Edward and then north to Marietta.
Problems soon developed with numerous setbacks, and service was sporadic. First the curves on the tracks had to be rebuilt; then the trucks and motors on the cars had to be rebuilt. In October, the company's manager went to Louisville to confer with capitalists about replacing the generators that were too small and to see about reequipping the streetcars with Sprague motors. A new, large generator was received on October 22, and the other problems were later rectified. Realizing that the comapny had to expand its territory or risk death, a new line was built to land south of Cantrell Street, where on the north end the Riverside Place addition was developed and on the south end adjacent to the Sangamon River was developed the Riverside Park amusement center. The park attracted year-round crowds, with swimming, boating, and boxing in summer and skating and skiing in winter.
By 1892, the CESR had eight miles of trackage with nine streetcars and 10 trailers, and the DESR had four miles of trackage with nine streetcars. On January 9, 1892, the CESR and the DESR were consolidated to form the City Electric Railway Company. During 1892, another mile of trackage and three streetcars were added. In September, the company was granted a 20-year franchise by the city council. In 1893, a small transfer house was built in Lincoln Square where all streetcars met, and two years later the structure was replaced with a larger building. In July of 1898, construction began on a short extension to Fairlawn Park. The company soon started to experience declining revenues, and by 1899 owed $195,681; on January 18, 1899, the company went into bankruptcy.
We're in Lincoln Square looking northwest, probably around the turn of the century judging from the 1899-vintage 30-series streetcars and the iconic 1896 transfer house that seem to be on exhibit for the photographer.
On September 5, 1899, the company was sold under foreclosure to a committee of bondholders who organized the Decatur Traction & Electric Company on October 20. The tracks were rebuilt with 62-pound T-rail and 10 new double-truck streetcars were ordered. In 1903, plans were announced for a three-mile extension, rebuilding about two miles of trackage, and purchase of four new streetcars. The company operated the streetcar system until July of 1903, when the entire property was sold to the McKinley Syndicate. On December 9, the Decatur Railway & Light Company (DR&L) was incorporated to take over operations of the 13.5 miles of trackage, 20 streetcars, and nine trailers. Riverside Park closed in 1901 (and was sold in 1922 for housing development). McKinley eventually purchased the other utilities in Decatur, forming the DR&L.
The old carbarn, at 436 East North Street, is shown here around the turn of the century with cars 30 and 32 visible.
Single-truckers 50 and 42 await passengers in front of the Illinois Central station.
In June of 1905, a construction crew began working on the extension of the Jasper Street line in which one block of trackage on Leafland east of Jasper was removed and reinstalled north on Jasper to Garfield. Service over that trackage commenced on July 15. In August, construction began on the Country Club extension of the Riverside line, and that section opened on September 28. On December 1, 1906, an extension of the Edward Street line was started. In 1907, the company had 11.83 miles of first track and 1.17 miles of second track. During the later part of 1910, and on January 14, 1911, the line was opened from North Water Street to the ITS belt line trackage.
On January 18, 1911, the K of P Home and Fairview streetcar lines began operating; the K of P line operated from Water Street on Marietta to the ITS belt line, then north on the ITS belt line trackage to the K of P Home, while the Fairview line operated south and west on the ITS belt line to Fairview Park. During 1911, the Eldorado Street line was extended to Seventh Street and then north to the Wabash Railroad shops. By 1914, earnings were $228,551 with 4,351,595 passengers. In 1917, plans were made to double-track the North Water Street line, extend the Condit Street line to the new locomotive shops, and extend the Edward Street line to the new hospital.
Single-trucker 42 passes the iconic Transfer House in Lincoln Square in this David Mitchell view looking southwest.
Car 8 is on the north side of Lincoln Square, signed for the Edward Street line sometime around 1910. It's been rebuilt, with its front doors closed off.
On February 15, 1919, the company was ordered to extend the West Main Street line from the east side of Fairview Park to the west city limits. In April, construction began on extending the Eldorado line from William and Seventh Streets north to the Wabash Railroad tracks.
In 1919, 15 new one-man four-wheel Birney streetcars were placed into operation with the hope of improving service. On August 17, four Birneys were placed on the Edward Street line and four Birneys placed on the Eldorado line. Also in August, a contract was awarded for the construction of a new carbarn on East Wood Street just west of the IC tracks to replace the carbarn at 436 East North Street. Private automobiles and concrete highways started to draw passengers away from the streetcar system by the early 1920s. Fares were increased to six cents (or nine tickets for 50 cents) in 1921. In 1923, the company was sold to the Illinois Power & Light Company.
Steel streetcars came to Decatur in the form of double-truck cars 800-803, delivered in 1913. Car 801 is seen in front of the Decatur Hotel, just off Lincoln Square, not long after delivery. Note that even these long cars had a single trolley pole in the center of the roof.
Birney car 100, the first one-man safety car delivered to Decatur, is seen at the IC Railroad shops.
By 1924, Decatur had a population of about 45,000. On May 17, 1924, buses were introduced, and streetcar trackage began to shrink. The company purchased the competing bus lines, and on August 1, 1924, inaugurated a coordinated bus and streetcar system. The streetcar system had 17.7 miles of trackage served by 25 streetcars (with extras put into service at rush hours and for special events). In 1926, there were 15.74 miles of trackage, with 22 streetcars and 19 buses. Earnings for the first 11 months of 1926 showed 5,569,000 passengers carried on 22 streetcars.
On August 2, 1928, the company was authorized to use buses on the Riverside line from the IC crossing east to the end of the line. On November 24, fares were increased from seven to 10 cents. On November 26, 1930, the company was authorized to abandon the North Edward Street line, the Condit Street line, the K of P Home line, and the two-block spur to the Wabash depot. In December, the city council and the company were in controversy over ticket fares; the city made an aggressive fight to obtain a reduced rate by filing a complaint with the Illinois Commerce Commission. On December 30, the company agreed to ticket rate concessions that cut the average fare to a minimum of less than seven cents. Effective January 19, 1929, the new additional fare was seven tickets for 50 cents and 15 for one dollar.
Decrepit Birney 112 is southbound on Water Street at the switch onto Marietta in this early 1930s view. Everything in this photo is gone today save for the street itself.
Birney 116 traverses the southeast side of Lincoln Square as it passes the Transfer House near the end of streetcar service in Decatur. It wears an "M" placard for the West Main route.
As the Depression continued, the remaining streetcar lines started operating at a loss. On March 24, 1931, the ITS interurbans began using a new station at Van Dyke and Packard Streets, eliminating the use of the streetcar trackage except for about 200 feet on Marietta Street at the ITS belt line for a wye. By 1935, only 7.68 miles of trackage remained, along with 10 streetcars. On November 25, 1936, the company was authorized to abandon the remaining streetcar lines. On December 7, buses replaced streetcars on North Water. The Illinois Power & Light Company sold all of its transit property to the all-bus operated Decatur City Lines on December 7, and on December 14, the last streetcar operated over the Eldorado line.
Except for the trackage used by the Illinois Terminal Railroad, the overhead for the unneeded trackage was quickly removed for scrap and the remaining streetcars scrapped. A WPA project later removed 12.7 miles of trackage at a cost of $215,129, which cost the city $8,055; the city deducted from its cost the $21,635 realized from rail salvage, and the Illinois-Iowa Power Company spent $27,000 on the project.
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.
It's 1937 and Birneys 111 and 115 have passed on to a brief, undignified second life as fixtures at the Coffee Pot Tourist Cabins motel. Car 111 still wears an "L" placard, presumably denoting the Eldorado Street line.
Roster of Equipment
1-8 (eight cars) - ST DR closed cars - Pullman, 1889 - Thomson-Houston equipment
7-8 (two cars) - DE ST DR closed cars - American, 1906 - Brill 21E truck - does not show up in American Car Company order list
30-37 (eight cars) - DE ST DR closed cars - St. Louis, 1899 (order #81) - DuPont truck, 2 x GE 62 motors, K-10 control, hand brakes, 27'4" long
38-40 (three cars) - DE ST DR closed cars - St. Louis, 1902 (order #282) - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 80 (car 38) or 2 x GE 52 motors, K-10 control, hand brakes, 28'6" long - at least one car, possibly all three, originally equipped with an unknown, very unusual type of truck that most closely resembles a Wells & French design that was also built by Curtis
42-43 (two cars) - DE ST DR closed cars - American, 1905 (order #573) - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 67 motors, K-10 control, 29' long - originally equipped with same unknown truck described above
50 (one car) - DE ST closed car - builder? - Curtis truck, 2 x GE 80 motors, K-10 control, hand brakes, 29' long
51-55 (five cars) - DE ST open cars - builder? - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 80 (car 52) or 2 x GE 62 motors, K-10 control, hand brakes, 35' long
100-108 (nine cars) - DE ST AR Birney safety cars - American, 1919 (order #1197) - Brill 78M1 truck, 2 x GE 258 motors, K-10 control, WH air brakes, 27'10" long - cars 100-107 transferred to Danville in 1930 as that city's cars 217 and 220-226
109-114 (six cars) - DE ST AR Birney safety cars - American, 1920 (order #1260) - Brill 79E1 truck, 2 x GE 264 motors, K-10 control, WH air brakes, 28'4" long
704-706 (three cars) - DE ST DR closed cars - Danville, 1910 (order #553) - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 80 motors, K-10 control, hand brakes, 30'4" long
707-710 (four cars) - DE ST closed cars - Danville, 1910 (order #553) - Curtis S-5896 truck, 2 x GE 80 motors, K-10 control, hand brakes, 33'6" long
800-803 (four cars) - DE DT AR closed cars - St. Louis, 1913 (order #1018) - St Louis 99B Max Trac trucks, 2 x GE 216 motors, K-36J control, WH air brakes, 40'7" long
NON-REVENUE EQUIPMENT
1, 2, 8 (three cars) - ST flat cars - Curtis truck, hand brake, 20' long
6 (one car) - ST closed wrecker - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 80 motors, K-10 control, 28'4" long, likely rebuilt from streetcar of same series as cars 7-8 (which see)
7 (one car) - ST closed line car - DuPont C truck, 2 x GE 52 motors, K-10 control, 25' long
9 (one car) - ST AR snow sweeper - built by McGuire-Cummings - McGuire truck, 2 x GE 80 motors & 1 x WH 49, K-10 control, hand brakes, 27'6" long
Car 33, pictured on the north side of Lincoln Square signed for the Water Street line around 1910, was typical of the city's streetcars. It's fitted with a DuPont truck and has had its right side doors closed off.
Car 34, also on the north side of Lincoln Square around 1909, is dwarfed by Illinois Traction System car 301 - not one of the McKinley network's more imposing pieces - behind it.
Seven cars of the 700-series are thought to have run in Decatur at one time or another, though it's likely they never all ran in the city at once. The ten cars of this order were distributed by the McKinley system between its city operations in Decatur, Danville, Champaign-Urbana, and Bloomington-Normal.
An unidentified Birney can be seen in this 1920s photo taken at the imposing Illinois Central Railroad station, located north of Eldorado Street. The stub of the very southern end of the building, out of frame to the right, still stands, but most of the structure was torn down in 1951.
Big double-truck car 800 is seen at the carbarn in the later years. Metal bars across the underbody equipment suggest past run-ins with autos, while "Depots / C&EI / Big 4" is painted on the side of the car. It's been converted to one-man operation and - judging from the single pole - possibly also to single-end operation.
Route Map
Click here for H. George Friedman's photo essay on the Decatur Transfer House
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