Dubuque's Streetcars
Mapping Dubuque's Historic Streetcar Network
Horse Drawn Street Cars (1868-1891)
An original streetcar shown during a flood. The horse drawn street cars were small and carried only a few passengers. The passengers were mostly of higher economic status. Image: Interstate Power Co.
The Map: Augustus Koch 1872
- The Dubuque Street Railway Company (1868-1899) was the first to operate in Dubuque. The route, shown in red, spanned from the foot of Jones Street, which was the ferry wharf, to the streetcar barn on 24th and Central. This was the extent of the streetcar network until about 1887, when the company added an additional route up Rhomberg Ave.
The original streetcar began operations in 1868. The company was founded by a group of wealthy industrialists, mostly former railroad men.
In 1876, the Dubuque Street Railway Company was purchased by Rhomberg and the Linehan brothers. Over the course of two decades, the horse-drawn streetcars enjoyed modest success, but the Dubuque Street Railway Company was slow to add new routes and adopt new technologies.
Augustus Koch Image: Center for Dubuque History
Introducing the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
Detailed fire insurance maps will serve as basemaps for the upcoming slides. Zoom in to see more details by double clicking the map.
The Sanborn Map Company produced thousands of fire insurance maps throughout the United States. The maps were originally utilized by fire insurance companies to assess liability. The maps are an incredible record of past buildings, noting building locations, materials and size.
A georeferenced mosaic of Dubuque's 1884 Sanborn Map is shown in the right panel. The base layer is a current topographic map. On slide 7, the 1909 Sanborn is used as the basemap.
Steam, Dummy!
JK Graves, after selling his portion of the Dubuque Street Railway Company, became increasingly interested in ascending the steep bluffs to the west of downtown. It was believed to be inhumane and dangerous to have animals pull the heavy streetcars up the steep hills. Graves lived in a stately mansion on Fenlon Place, and according to local lore, he tired of making the long commute when the distance to downtown was so short. Graves founded the new line that would compete with the Dubuque Street Railway Company. Graves Portrait courtesy Randy Lyon - Dubuque Encyclopedia
The Hill and West Dubuque Railway Company (1877-1884)
In 1877, a company was formed to carry passengers up the bluffs on steam locomotive. J. K. Graves, formerly of the Dubuque Street Railway Co, was the promoter of the idea, he joined with the Langworthy Brothers, H.B. Glover and R. H. Collier to form the company.
Unlike the other streetcars, the steam streetcar used two cars rather than one. A "dummy car," which was really the engine, hauled a passenger car behind. The dummy car was designed to look like an ordinary car because it was believed that the engine movement would startle horses. Image: Interstate Power Co Collection.
The photo above is thought to be the maiden voyage of the Steam Streetcar, Choo Choo! Image: Dubuque County Historical Society.
The Steam Railway route is shown in gray.
The Steam Railway had some advantages over the horse drawn system, but it failed to last. The steam engine was cheaper to maintain than a barn full of horses. The steam car was powerful enough to ascend the incline, it moved more quickly, and could haul more passengers. However, the Steam Railway was plagued with issues. The engines proved to be unreliable, and had regular breakdowns. The departure "schedule" was virtually ignored. The steam engines were also very loud, and were considered a nuisance for people who lived along the route.
The Elevators, or Funiculars!
Following the failure of the steam railroad, J.K. Graves once again turned to the issue of ascending the bluffs.
This time, rather than starting yet another railway company, the millionaire installed an elevator on Fourth Street, up to his home on Fenlon Place. The first two iterations of the elevator had a hemp rope pully that was pulled by a steam engine. The system burned twice, once in 1886 and again in 1893! After rebuilding it the first time, Graves, being the enterprising millionaire he was, charged a five cent fare to those who wanted a ride. After it burned the second time, Graves sold the company to a group of neighbors on the bluff. The Fenlon Place Elevator continues to operate to this day.
The 11th Street Elevator (1887 - 1927), was actually the first to adopt the Funicular system of operation, where a steel cable connected the ascending and descending car, providing a counterweight for efficient operation.
Images:
- Iowa Trolleys Bulletin 114, Chicago Railway Association, 1975.
- Dubuque, The Birthplace of Iowa, Vol. 5. Telegraph Herald
Storage Batteries, we barely knew ye. (1891 to 1891)
Its difficult to determine for sure, but this image may show a storage battery car. The image appears to be taken on northern Central Avenue near the baseball field and race track. Image: Center for Dubuque History.
At the start of the electric streetcar service, the Dubuque Street Railway Company was compelled to modernize its line by the City of Dubuque. The company was under threat by new competitors that had efficient electric trolley systems that made the horse-drawn cars obsolete. (The new electric companies are discussed in the next slide)
Joseph Rhomberg, the owner of the Dubuque Street Railway Company, did not own any part of an electric company, but his horse-drawn lines were all on flat geography, giving him the ability to utilize the revolutionary battery system which required flat ground to work.
The Dubuque Street Railway Company attempted to modernize, not with overhead electric power, but with a system of wet-cell lead storage batteries. The system was discussed with great excitement in national journals about street railway technology. It promised many advantages over electric trolleys.
The lead battery, Image from: The Street Railway Review, 1891.
The technology failed just six months after it was implemented. The problem was not with the speed or power of the batteries, but with longevity. The manufacturer of the batteries claimed that they would cost $2.50 per cell per year. By the time the storage battery cars were retired, the batteries were on track to cost $24 per cell per year.
The system failed miserably. Rhomberg was forced to upgrade to an overhead electric trolley system, thus putting an end to the use of experimental technologies in Dubuque's streetcars.
The Battle over Electric Trolleys (1885-1900)
In the late 1880s and early 1890s, three companies ran competing street car services in Dubuque. The original company, The Dubuque Street Railway Company (1868-1899), was still in service, offering horsecar service until 1891 when it briefly experimented with a storage battery system. The company electrified the line later that year and maintained service until 1899. Track shown in orange.
The Key City Electric Railway Company (1888-1892) took over the old uphill route of the extinct steam car company. The line was quick to experience financial troubles and was placed under recievership. It was sold to Dubuque Electric Railway, Light and Power, in 1892. The track is shown in blue.
The Key City Electric Street Railway Car. Image: Telegraph Herald, Dubuque the Birthplace of Iowa.
Dubuque Electric Railway, Light and Power Company or the "Allen and Swiney" line (1889-1893), was formed and offered service to Stewart Park, the Windsor Route, and later, the Linwood- Dodge Route. The company expanded the track rapidly, but was unable to pay its debts and was placed in receivership in 1892. The track is shown in green.
The Dubuque Light and Traction Company (1893-1899), took control over the network of the Dubuque Electric Railway, Light and Power Company in 1893.
Image: Telegraph Herald, Dubuque the Birthplace of Iowa.
The Star Electric Co., ended up buying both Allen and Swiney and the Dubuque Street Railway Company in 1899, to avoid acquisition from an outside investor. Another company, Home Electric, also owned some of the streetcar network for a brief time around 1900.
Basemap: 1899 Iowa Geological Survey Map of Dubuque Township, showing lead crevices. Courtesy Center for Dubuque History.
The Union Electric Co - Consolidation and expansion
The Union Electric Company (1900-1924)
An "Open Air" Union Electric Trolley. From Telegraph Herald, Dubuque the Birthplace of Iowa.
The Union Electric Company incorporated in 1900 and in 1901. As it was founded the company demolished all of the existing track, replacing the system entirely with a standardized rail width and gauge. The company simplified the system, removing some unnecessary trackage leftover from the competition between Allen and Swiney and the Dubuque Street Railway Company.
Under the new company, the streetcar system entered a golden age. With an efficient and reliable system, Dubuque residents could live farther away from their workplace, and build homes on less expensive land. The cars were fast, comfortable and roomy. What's more, the cars ran at an incredible 10 minute frequency, meaning that riders did not need to plan around the time when catching a trolley car. Electric trolley cars introduced Americans to commuting, and enabled people to live farther away from the center of a city.
A culture developed around the streetcar network and their associated attractions. Rides to Union Park and Eagle Point Park were an especially popular activity that was enabled by the new mode of transportation. North of town, there was also a wildly popular baseball field, which drew crowds of 3000 to watch competitive minor league baseball.
Two routes were added after the consolidation, shown in peach. The West Locust Route that connected with the Main Atreet line at 13th Ave was built out west to Asbury road in 1913. A branch to Eagle Point park was built off of the Rhomberg Ave line before 1909 when the park was opened.
After 1913, as electric motors became more powerful, the trolleys grew in size. The new trolleys were less quaint, but more effective as people movers. Image from: Iowa Trolleys, 1974.
Interstate Power and the end of the line. (1924-1932)
In 1924 the flagging streetcar network was taken over by the Interstate Power Company. A bus system was started in Dubuque in 1925, but the real death knell to the streetcar network was the growth of automobile ownership. Dubuque became the first large city in Iowa to discard the electric trolleys in 1932.
The 1909 Sanborn Fire insurance Map serves as the background for this map. The Fire insurance maps covered the most developed parts of Dubuque. Take a moment to notice how closely Dubuque's developed areas tied to the presence of the streetcar routes.
Sources:
The Telegraph Herald, various articles.
Iowa Trolleys, 1974, Central railway Association.
Images and Support From:
Telegraph Heralds Birthplace of Iowa Series.
The Dubuque County Historical Society Collections.
The Center For Dubuque History, Loras College.
Image in right pane from: A City at Work, 1912. Loras College Press, Tim Olson and Mike Gibson.
