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Allen County, Indiana Genealogy
Public Transportation Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana
May 16, 1939; Fort Wayne begins transition from streetcars to buses May 16, 2022 WANE 15 News on YouTube.
CHAPTER XLV.—1891-1894. "Trolley" Cars—Strike of Street Railway Men—City Building-Public Library on page 524 of The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River by Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Taylor, Samuel R., Mrs Publication date 1917 on Archive.org
Open electric trolley on Fort Wayne street, possibly 1896. Signs on side of trolley say (top) Hanna Street Line; (middle) Hanna St. Line & All Depots; (bottom) Bloomingdale & Walton Ave. The family in front are sitting in a small buggy (horse not visible). Original has inscription on back 'James W. Bell motor Bowser switch.' This may refer to George Bowser, fireman at Pennsylvania & Fort Wayne Railroad.This is one Trolley search result at the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.
Safety FirstMovement In Fort Wayne Launched and Carried Forward In Interest of Broadened HumanityClipped from The Fort Wayne Sentinel 08 Feb 1913, Saturday, page 11. Clipped by StanFollisFW on 16 Feb 2020 at Newspapers.com.
- Book Fort Wayne's Trolleys, 1870-1963: Horse Cars, Street Cars, Interurbans, Trolley Coaches, Motor Buses by George K. Bradley, published in 1963 and expanded by 20 pages in 1975 at the Allen County Public Library.
- Fort Wayne's Trolleys, 1870-1963 Horse Cars, Street Cars, Interurbans, Trolley Coaches, Motor Buses a Google eBook.
- GEORGE K. BRADLEY PAPERS, 1877–1991 22 page document at Indiana History.org.
- Fort Wayne IN Trolley Coaches Indiana Service Corporation (ISC) Fort Wayne Transit (FWT) on TrolleyBuses.net.
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A Nancy Vendrely Yesterdays article Exposed trolley rails tell story of city's transportation history in The Journal Gazette newspaper.
1915 - What has the Traction Company Done for Fort Wayne?
Clipped from The Fort Wayne News, 18 December 1915, Saturday, page 3, Clipped by StanFollisFW, 17 February 2023.
Tooting Their Own Horn: Fort Wayne and Northern Indiana Traction Company Richard M. Simpson, III Cities/Towns, Interurban, 19 January 2021 on Indiana Transportation History.
Fort Wayne Electric Traction Options Richard M. Simpson, III, 27 December 2019 at Indiana Transportation History
September 6, 2022 post by The History Center on Facebook:
Getting around Fort Wayne was extremely difficult and time intensive in the first 100 years of our existence. The populace either relied on horses and wagons or just their two feet. 1872 saw the introduction of Fort Wayne’s public transportation company, the Citizen’s Street Railway. This company relied on horse drawn street cars and the first route went north along Calhoun Street from the Pennsylvania Railroad to the Aveline Hotel on the corner of Main and Calhoun. In 1887, the company was in foreclosure and its property was sold to the Fort Wayne Street Railroad Company. During the operation of this streetcar provider, two other companies were established in Fort Wayne, the C.L. Centlivre Street Railway Company and the Lakeside Street Railway Company. The Centlivre line ran from the corner of Superior and Calhoun to the brewery and the other company serviced the Lakeside neighborhood. In 1892 the Fort Wayne Electric Railway Company was established to take over the Fort Wayne Street Railroad Company and convert it to an electrically run system. By 1894, the company had acquired the Centlivre line and was succeeded by the Fort Wayne Consolidated Railway, which in 1899 gave way to the Fort Wayne Traction Company. In 1900, the Lakeside line was brought into the company and in 1904 became the Fort Wayne and Wabash Valley Traction Company and eventually the Fort Wayne and Northern Indiana Traction Company in 1911. Starting in 1901, the Fort Wayne Traction Company and its successors began interurban service to Huntington and in 1906 to Bluffton. By the end of the decade, the company had lines to Ohio and Decatur, all emanating from Fort Wayne. In 1920, the company was sold to the Indiana Service Corporation, who replaced the trolleys with electric trolley buses. During this time at Transfer Corner (Calhoun & Main) one could take a bus to any part of the city. The Indiana Service Corporation continued interurban service that shuttled people between different communities until the service was discontinued in 1942.
September 8, 2022 post by The History Center on Facebook:
Part two: Today we share the final part in the story of Fort Wayne’s Public Transit System. Getting around Fort Wayne was extremely difficult and time intensive in the first 100 years of our existence. The populace either relied on horses and wagons or just their two feet. 1872 saw the introduction of Fort Wayne’s public transportation company, the Citizen’s Street Railway. Through several mergers and purchases it eventually became the Fort Wayne and Northern Indiana Traction Company in 1911. In 1920, the company was sold to the Indiana Service Corporation, who replaced the trolleys with electric trolley buses. During this time at Transfer Corner (Calhoun & Main) one could take a bus to any part of the city. In 1948, the Indiana Service Corporation sold the service to Fort Wayne Transit and by 1960 the last trolley bus was replaced with motor buses. The City of Fort Wayne established the Fort Wayne Public Transit Corporation (today it does business as Citilink) as a public utility and purchased the assets of the private Fort Wayne Transit company in 1968.
- Tooting Their Own Horn: Fort Wayne and Northern Indiana Traction Company by Richard M. Simpson, III, Cities/Towns, Interurban 19 January 2021 on Indiana Transportation History blog references a longer article: What has the Traction Company Done for Fort Wayne? 18 Dec 1915, Page 3 – The Fort Wayne News at Newspapers.com.
- Lots of photos for Indiana at NewDavesRailPix.com.
- Over 50 Trolley Coaches search results in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.
It's #waybackwednesday! We are nearing the close of Women's History Month. Take a look at this picture showing the...
Posted by Genealogy Center on Wednesday, March 27, 2024Wednesday, March 27, 2024 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:
It's #waybackwednesday! We are nearing the close of Women's History Month. Take a look at this picture showing the Indiana Service Corporation's first female streetcar operators!
Pictured in 1943-1944 (l-r) are Alice Clevenger, Edna Rentfrow, Ruth Newville.
Check out this image and more in our Community Album: Indiana Service Corporation: first women streetcar operators, 1943-1944 (l-r) Alice Clevenger, Edna Rentfrow, Ruth Newivlle
Indiana Historical Society imageParlor Car No. 504 and Staff, 1905 Description This photograph is of the Fort Wayne and Wabash parlor car, its conductor, and staff. For longer trips, many of the interurbans included a dining section, such as this line to Fort Wayne, Indiana. From the W.H. Bass Photo Company--Pamela Tranfield Memorial Collection
at the We Do History digital collection of the Indiana Historical SocietyCincinnati 1906 - Fort Wayne & Wabash Valley 504 at the Illinois Railway Museum states:
Description: Single-end railroad-roof wood buffet-observation
Equipment Information Fort Wayne & Wabash Valley 504, named the “Talisman,” was one of the most opulent interurban cars ever built when constructed in 1906. The single-ended car included a baggage compartment, coach seating, buffet for serving snacks and light meals, a parlor seating area, and huge curved-glass solarium windows at the rear of the car. It operated between Fort Wayne and Lafayette for years, later being converted to all coach seating. It was retired in 1932 and its body made into a house; rescued by IRM in 1993, its exterior has been completely restored to its appearance when new.
FUN FACT: The Fort Wayne & Wabash Valley’s parlor cars were all named after poems by Sir Walter Scott. When purchasing the body of car 504, it was at first thought to be the “Woodstock” and was only later found to have been named the “Talisman.”
$40,000 grant awarded for Indiana interurban car to operate for first time in more than 80 years Heritage Support Grant provided by the Indiana Historical Society and made possible by Lilly Endowment, Inc. to make Indiana interurban car operable for the first time since 1940 posted July 25, 2022 on Hoosier Heartland Trolley Co. Hoosier Heartland Trolley Co. on Facebook.
This information was posted in comments to a November 24, 2022 post with a photo on True Fort Wayne.
January 3, 2024 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:
It's #waybackwednesday! Take a look at this Fort Wayne snapshot showing Calhoun Street on a wet night, showing the electric streetcar in the center of the picture and Meyer's Drug Store, Beverley's, Lerner, Richman's, and Sherman's.
View this photo and more in our Community Album: http://contentdm.acpl.lib.in.us/
Allen County Public Library Digital Collection imageImage is titled: Indiana Service Corporation: remains of streetcars at American Iron and Metal Company, North Calhoun St., Fort Wayne. 17 April 1952.
June 1947 was the last run for Frank Carbaugh as conductor of an Indiana Service Corporation street car started in 1892 from the photo titled: Indiana Service Corporation: Frank Carbaugh, first conductor on streetcar in 1892, prepares for last run of streetcar, June 1947.
Another is titled: Fort Wayne Transit: inside trolley showing Frank Carbaugh, former operator, sitting in driver's seat before symbolic last trolley run, 10 June 1960.
There are at least 15 photos from a search for Frank Carbaugh, 15 images for streetcars, over 180 images for streetcar in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.
Another image: Indiana Service Corporation: last type of electric streetcar used in Fort Wayne. They were purchased in 1923-25 and ended their service in 1947.
Image below is titled: Staff of electric trolley company, Fort Wayne, at old horse-car barn, Glasgow & Washington, ca. 1890. Man in cap & braces, extreme right top is Frank Carbaugh.
Allen County Public Library Digital Collection image
Fort Wayne Search appears over 180 times in Electric railroads of Indiana by Marlette, Jerry, Publication date 1959 on Archive.org with several more volumes under the topic: Electric railroads--Indiana.
January 26, 2017 post by Hofer and Davis, Inc. Land Surveyors on Facebook :
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this picture taken last week on Calhoun Street outside of Riegel's Pipe and Tobacco Shop. Who remembers the streetcars that ran on the rails seen in this picture? If you look there is one set on either side of the double yellow line, and the other pair about 5 feet closer!Shared January 26, 2023 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.
December 30, 2023 post by Indiana University Press on Facebook:
Featuring over 90 illustrations and featuring contemporary accounts and newspaper articles from the period, Electric Indiana is a biographical study of the rise and fall of a onetime important transportation technology that achieved its most impressive development within the Hoosier state.
Order your copy now! #linkinbio #americanrailroads