Nov

27

Back to the future

November 27, 2006 | 8 Comments

Amidst all of the chatter about the surprise passage of Clay Chastain’s latest light rail initiative petition, the Regional Transit Alliance recently unveiled a piece of history from KC’s original light rail system. This refurbished 1940s streetcar now rests outside the lower level of Union Station.

Streetcar

For an even bigger look back into the future, check out this map of the streetcar system in the 1920s and see just how extensive the system was back in the day.

Streetcar System Map


Comments

8 Comments so far

  1. Tim on November 27, 2006 10:01 am

    The rails should have never been removed.

  2. Scott on November 27, 2006 12:23 pm

    Wow, something like that would be really handy!

  3. bob on November 27, 2006 3:09 pm

    And in true KC fashion, you can’t actually go in the car.

  4. CWG on November 28, 2006 10:09 am

    My grandfather was conductor on a street car and worked on several different city routes. He said he was sometimes on a street car that traveled all the way to St. Joseph and back several times daily.

  5. Jeff on November 28, 2006 3:25 pm

    The Star has a great book on the street cars of old called “A Splendid Ride.” Worth checking out. The massive network of routes has since been forgotten by Kansas City.

    You can occasionally find remains of these old lines. I was riding my bike along Charlotte in late summer near TMC where they were doing street work. Old rails were exposed and being ripped out of the ground. They’d been paved over many times over the years. I’m sure more tracks are beneath our feet all over town.

  6. Jim S on November 29, 2006 12:39 am

    One of the great shames of Twentieth Century America was the destruction of the streetcar systems across the country.

  7. Tim on November 30, 2006 4:40 pm

    As I write this, heavy snow is falling. City buses are running about 30 minutes behind schedule and automobile traffic is snarled. Talk about wishing we still had streetcars…

  8. Wayne Flaherty on April 24, 2007 5:11 am

    I’m the secretary of the Citizens Transportation Committee. Formed April 2, 2007, we study and report on transportation issues in Mid-America.

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