(from the Feburary 1995 edition of UP CROSSROADS)
Replying to the "Do You remember" in the "Sample This Column;"
Of the 29 cars in the picture, I counted nine of the little single-truck "Birneys," which had a single trolley pole mast in the center of the roof. The long double-truck had two trolley- pole masts spaced equally from each end of the car.
Each year, one of them would be given a special paint job promoting the Community Chest Campaign and would be rotated among the various lines daily.
The double-truck cars were numbered in the 240, 250, 260 and 270 series'. However, there was an 80's series usually used on the Evans Avenue line. If they were still in use in 1927, they were nearing the end of their service.
The 240's were Stone and Webster cars and were my favorites. They were regulars on the Hemphill and Stockyards routes.
The wooden seated 250's drew Lakeview/Central Avenue and Sycamore Heights routes.
The 260's and 270's served Arlington Height and Polytechnic and were the jewels of the carbarn. They had leather upholstered seats, red glass panels above the windows and had a wide off-white stripe below windows instead of being yellow like the rest of the stable. They rode like they were running on glass.
Of course, the cars were not air-conditioned, but with all the windows open and a cool night breeze coming thru, how good it felt rolling fast down a hill on Camp Bowie, Vickery or East Front Street without stops. The motors hummed while the wheels clicked off the rail joints like castanets. It was worth a hand full of tokens.
Just above the four cars at the extreme left corner of the picture shown,
there appears to be a single clerestory roofed car which was probably a survivor of an original order for electric cars. There are pictures of these cars lined up on Packers Avenue by the packing houses. They had open vestibules.
The lines listed omitted Sycamore Heights, South Summit, Evans Ave, and Packers Avenue. Destination roll-signs also carried such names as Ball Park, Union Depot, Loop and Court House.
Several lines also had abbreviated runs, such as the Evans Avenue Plug, Hemphill Plug, Rosen Heights Plug, and Polytechnic Plug. An Arlington Heights Plug turned off seventh street for about a block on Carroll to serve the many Montgomery-Ward employees.
On Sundays and Holidays, a Forest Park turned off the T.C.U. line on a short spur on a knoll just above the swimming pool. There was a small open wooden shelter which stood until about World War II.
The Summit and South Summit lines were different routes. Summit went west on Weatherford then south on Penn. It is pure conjecture, but I believe the South Summit line was created when the South Main line was discontinued. It had turned west on Magnolia, going to 8th Avenue. Summit ceased as an active route as the T.C.U. line served that territory with the South Summit serving Magnolia west of Hemphill to 8th Avenue. From there it proceeded south. Originally the line terminated at Elizabeth Blvd. When John Ryan developed Ryan Place, It also served the Frisco West Yard from that point. For a while, a car was left at the end of the line overnight.
The Sycamore Heights line went east on East Front Street sharing the tracks with the Dallas and Cleburne interurbans until it turned off on Purrington Street toward Meadowbrook.
At downtown car stops at the end of a block, safety zones were painted on the street next to the track. There were large conical cast iron pylons at the end next to oncoming traffic to protect passengers from automobiles.
Tenth and Houston was a major transfer point. The Transfer Drug Store was there and tokens and school passes could be bought in side.
During the Christmas Season, lighted green garlands were strung from the trolley support wires. Flags and banners were hung there during the annual Fat Stock Show.
There were two interurban stations on Main Street. One still stands at Third and Main. Traction Company offices were in this building until they were moved to the Sinclair Building. There was a model of their crack train, "The Crimson Limited," displayed in the front window. Each year it would be taken to the Fat Stock Show and the State Fair as an operating exhibit. It was powered by a motor from a vacuum cleaner. The other station was at 15th Street for the convenience of passengers from the railroad stations. I remember three car interurbans going down Main Street.
The red sandstone T&P Station at Main and Front Streets was a fabulous place for watching not only trains but the electric cars. All cars going to and from the Carbarn, Main Street, East- side lines and both interurbans came by.
At night, the south side lines could be seen going over the old wooden Jennings Avenue viaduct looking like a parade of glow worms.
As the cars made the Main/Front curve, the wheels bumped over the crossover, frogs and switch points of the double tracks with the flanges making high pitched squeals. Trolley wheels made green flashes as they arced, gliding over the intersecting wires. The motormen stomped the foot pedal gongs, and the electric bells of of interurbans sounded like fire alarms. There were hoots, honks from horns from automobiles with sputtering exhausts, not to mention assorted whistles and bells from the steam trains. Oh, it was great - a symphony of city sounds.
While the T&P Roundhouse and Yard was still downtown, there was no underpass on South Main. Streetcars had to make their way across the expanse of tracks between trains and switch drags. It played havoc with schedules and would cause a stack up of cars.
On each end of the streetcars, there were posters advertising movies at the Hippodrome, Pantages or Liberty theaters or the Majestic vaudeville. In baseball season the were signs "Baseball Today at La Grave Field," for our fabulous "Fort Worth Cats" team. A block west of North Main Street there was a large storage yard for cars out of service and for the line of cars needed when the ball games were over.
There was also anther street railway company which was not mentioned was The Rosen Heights Street Railway Company. It was built by Sam Rosen to serve the residential area he was promoting. The line ended at his White City Amusement Park on a small man made lake just west of Azle Avenue and south of 28th Street. After a lengthy court battle with the competition, it finally reached downtown.
Before the Paddock Viaduct on North Main was built, streetcars crossed the Trinity River on an iron bridge about even with the Texas Electric Company plant, and went south on Throckmorton Street. This bridge can be seen today just south of Randol Mill Road on the Woodbine Golf Course.
Before Carter-Riverside High School was built, each afternoon, a few minutes before the end of my 6th period study hall, two 240 series cars would stop on College Avenue opposite Central High School for the Riverside students. I always knew then hat in just a few minutes I could breathe the fresh air of freedom. But how I wished we lived in Riverside so I could ride those heavyweight Stone and Webster cars.
I rode the last street car into downtown Fort Worth - the Polytechnic. Shortly after getting off at the Courthouse, there were tremendous explosions. Weinstein's Hardware Store on Houston Street had a big fireworks stand in front of the store for the holidays. Somehow the whole thing went. I peeped down the alley behind the Union Bank and Trust. Skyrockets, Roman Candles and aerial bombs were going north, south and straight up on Houston Street, plus explosions equating with a major artillery barrage. The streetcars went out with a big bang. Maybe the Polytechnic line should have been named the "Pyrotechnic" for that last run.
But be of good cheer yet. There is always hope for sinners and ugly women. There are plans for a trolley system downtown as well as service to the Medical and Stockyard Historical Districts.
Be there a nice billionaire someplace who would replace the old T&P station with its clock tower?
Vernie Barber is a retired technical writer. He is life long resident of Fort Worth and the founder of Trinity Valley Railfan Club. He can usually be found at 8th Avenue Yard working on his beloved private railroad car, Stardust. 8-19-96