The electric motor is one of the marvelous inventions of the nineteenth century. The railway system had not long been introduced when the first proposition to employ electric locomotive traction was made. As early as 1835 experiments in this direction were made by Thomas Davenport, who constructed a model electric car operated on a circular track by means of batteries.

In 1850, Professor Page of the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, D. C., employed the current from one hundred large Grove cells to operate an electric locomotive which developed sixteen horse-power, and ran at the rate of nineteen miles an hour on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; but it was quite impracticable for it was far too expensive. The discovery of a cheap and easy means of electric traction was later developed. The first practical overhead trolley line was built in Kansas City in 1884, in which double overhead conductors were used with a trolley wheel riding on top of the wire. In 1885 Mr. Daft constructed a third rail line in Baltimore, and Mr. Depoele installed an overhead trolley at Toronto, Canada.

The next step made in the development of the electric railway in the U. S., and the one which did most to stimulate capitalists and inventors to the action which has produced the marvelous perfection in electric railway transportation which we witness today, was the contract made by the Union Passenger Railroad Company of Richmond, Va., with F. J. Sprague to equip its thirteen-mile system of street railways for electric traction.

On January 1, 1888, there were thirteen electric railways with forty-eight miles of track in operation in the IJnited States and Canada. These followed a period of consolidated interests among electric railway builders, and the modern era of electric railway development was opened. Since 1888, or in twenty-nine years, electric railways have grown wonderfully until now the valuation of electric railways in the United States is approximately one billion dollars.

THE BRADDOCK AND TURTLE CREEK RAILWAY COMPANY

Street Railway service for Braddock began on Saturday, July 25, 1891, when the Braddock and Turtle Creek Street Railway Company brought three old horse-cars from New York City and converted them into electric cars. These cars were put in commission on Braddock Avenue and ran from the Baltimore and Ohio Station at Rankin to Thirteenth Street, Braddock. The novelty of the Electric cars at that time is shown by the fact that the receipts of that short line on that first Saturday amounted to Sixty-five dollars, in consequence of 1,300 persons having taken advantage of this new mode of travel.

Early in 1892 the line was extended to the McKinney homestead near Bessemer, on the East, and as far as Keating station on the West.

The late William Yost, Esq., was President, and George E. T. Stamets, lately deceased, Superintendent, of the company opening this line. Other stockholders were Joseph Wolf, the late Fred Edwards, Mrs. Mary Matlack. Hens y Foye, present Lieutenant of Police, was motorman, and Charles Johnson, conductor, on the first of the three cars sent out. In 1892 Mr. Foye was appointed assistant superintendent. Henry McNany of 201 Main Street, North Braddock, was motorman on one of the three cars mentioned and has acted in that capacity somewhere on theorize ever since. His present run is between Rankin and Keating. In an accompanying illustration a very commendable trait of character of Mr. McNany is exhibited. It was his custom on the Fourth of July to invite the children along his route to participate in a free trolley party, and he had no trouble in getting a crowd.

Byron Pierce and Herman Steiner were conductors on this line, David Bradford, J. E. Griffith and Christ Forney were motormen.Herbert Delafield was a conductor on one of these early cars and the youngest street-car conductor in the country at that time, being but sixteen years of age.

The second invoice of cars obtained for service on this line was the product of the Braddock Union Planing Company, now the Braddock Lumber Company.One of the noteworthy results of the coming of the electric cars to Braddock was the doing away with the old-time cobble-stone paving.

THE SECOND AVENUE PASSENGER COMPANY

In the year 1893, the Braddock and Turtle Creek Railway was taken over by the Second Avenue Passenger Company, and the line extended as far as Glenwood. The latter company continued the line to East Pittburg in 1895, and to Wilmerding in 1896. Herbert Delafield, the young man already mentioned, was conductor on the first car that went through to Pittsburg from Wilmerding.

The Corey Avenue line was built by the Second Avenue Passenger Company and the franchise was granted August 2, 1887. The object of this branch was perhaps to divert the traffic from the proposed line of the Monongahela Company through North Braddock to East Pittsburg.

THE BRADDOCK ELECTRIC

Beginning in 1893 the Braddock Electric, with A. L. Saylor of Pittsburgh, President, and Charles Ellis of Swissvale, Superintendent, Operated a strictly local line. Starting at the South Side of Braddock Avenue, the track led down Thirteenth Street, to Talbot Avenue; along Talbot to Second Street; up Second to Mills Street; along Mills to Fourth Street; up Fourth and across Pennsylvania railroad tracks at Copeland Station to Hawkins Avenue, and along Hawkins east, as far as Dookers Hollow; also fiom Talbot Avenue up Eighth Street to Haddock Avenue, up Librai y Street and Jones Avenue to Bell Avenue.

An effort was made to complete the circuit of this line at Thirteenth Street by crossing the tracks of the Pennsylvania railroad and connecting with the line in North Braddock. Put this was met with strong opposition at all times, and the opposition was so acrimonious and the through lines so advantageous that the Braddock Electric was forced out of business.

THE MONONGAHELA STREET RAILWAY COMPANY

The Mellon Brothers, buying out the holdings of the Braddock Electric Company, began the development of street railway business upon a vastly larger scale, under the corporate name of The Monongahela Street Railway Company. The contract with the borough was signed November 10, 1896.

L. Wheeler, now deceased, was superintendent of this division and served until the summer of 1898, when Frank McCoy, who had been superintendent of the Pittsburgh and Birmingham South Side lines, was elected, and served until the time of consolidation. During the incumbency of Mr. McCoy, the development of the street car service was amazingly rapid.

In the road-building series begun by this company, the first unit was completed July 5, 1897, when the first car operated between Braddock and Homestead over the West Braddock bridge.

This route had a decided advantage over the Second Avenue line, which took its serpentine course down the right bank of the Monongahela river to Highland Station, and there transferred its passengers across Brown's bridge to Homestead.

The Yellow Line, so called because of the color of its cars, operated its first cars from Thirteenth Street on Talbot Avenue over West Braddock bridge to Pittsburgh, December 4, 1898. Twelve cars were scheduled, and made the round trip in two hours. When it came to opening the road to Duquesne and McKeesport, the first thought of the Mellon Brothers was to go up Talbot Avenue to Thirteenth Street and these cross the river on a bridge to what is now Kenny Wood Park. This of cow se met no opposition in borough council for the company had paid $5,000 for the franchise. To the surprise of all concerned the company began the construction of a line along the hill on the south side of the river, leaving Braddock on the other side of the river from the main traffic between the two principal cities of the county.

Thus the line was opened and the initial cat operated between Duquesne and Braddock over the West Braddock bridge, December 10, 1898.

Onward is the word that charms the willing power s of the ambitious, and the next line was opened to East Pittsburgh via Eighth Street across Braddock Avenue; up Library and Jones Avenue and out Bell Avenue, February 1, 1900. On the same date, the Fist car on the upper line from Wilkinsburg through North Braddock to East Pittsburgh, was operated.

Another unit was added to the numerous lines already in operation when the Blue line, or the Swissvale and Rankin, on January l0, 1901, sent out its first car from Thirteenth Street on Talbot Avenue connecting with Rankin at West Braddock Bridge by extending the over the B & O tracks. This line was believed to be the shortest and consequently the quickest route to the city. The road from Wilmerding to Pitcairn was opened in 1902 and continued to Trafford in 1903.

So engrossed was the company in the thought and work of putting their lines into speedy operation, that the housing of the cars seemed to have been lost sight of. When the matter was forced upon them, temporary quarters were secured with the consolidated company in the Homewood barns until the completion of their own barn at Rankin in 1900.

When the lines were completed and about to open, Superintendent McCoy, with other officials, took representatives of the Pittsburgh and local press over the road in two special cars. Returning from this tour of inspection a banquet was given in the assembly rooms of the new car barn on Talbot Avenue, Rankin.

THE PITTSBURGH RAILWAYS COMPANY

The Monongahela Street Railway Company in building their roads and operating their rolling stock had rendered a service to this community better than they knew.

The climax in the development of street railway service was reached when, on the first day of January, 1902, the Monongahela Street Railway Company, the Consolidated Traction Company and the limited Traction were merged into the Pittsburgh Railways Company.

Mr. Fred. R. Wilhelm, who came here in April, 1899, as dispatcher, was made superintendent of the Monongahela Division No. 4 at the time of consolidation, and has been the efficient executive ever since.

The street car industry has worked to the development of Braddock as a residence section for working-men in the mills. A five cent fare will carry a man from Braddock to any of the important works of the Monongahela Valley, including Homestead, Munhall, Duquesne, across the river; the enormous furnaces and machine shops in Rankin; the immense Switch and Signal Company's works in Swissvale; the Westinghouse in East Pittsburg; and the entire Edgar Thomson Works in North Braddock. Or a five cent fare will carry a resident in any of the communities named to any of the Braddock industries. Thus through the instrumentality of the street car lines above described more than 40,000 men are carried daily from home to work and from the mills back home for a nickel fare.

The traffic on these lines is enormous, having increased front those three small cars and one mile of track in 1891 to one hundred large cars, 66 miles of track and serving approximately 100,000 people.