Presbyterian College > Academic Web Server > Jon Bell > Transit > Last Streetcars
This list attempts to include all electric streetcar systems in the United States and Canada that lasted until after World War II. They are sorted in order of year of abandonment. You can see clearly the effects of wartime restrictions that artificially extended the lives of many systems; most of these systems were abandoned in the 1945-50 period.
This list does not include interurban lines. Most of the U.S. data comes from Bill Vandervoort's compendium of U.S. transit systems, and the Canadian data from David Wyatt's Canadian Street Railways list. I simply extracted all the streetcar systems I cound find, and sorted them in chronological order. Some additions and corrections come from Arthur S. Wheeler and David Burnette.
I welcome corrections and additions!
| Year | City | State | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Austin | Texas | |
| Bangor | Maine | ||
| La Crosse | Wisconsin | ||
| Lincoln | Nebraska | ||
| Newport News | Virginia | ||
| Salt Lake City | Utah | ||
| Savannah | Georgia | ||
| Worcester | Massachusetts | ||
| 1946 | Albany | New York | |
| Hershey | Pennsylvania | ||
| Kitchener-Waterloo | Ontario | ||
| Lévis | Québec | ||
| New Albany | Indiana | ||
| New York (Manhattan) | New York | ||
| Oklahoma City | Oklahoma | ||
| Peoria | Illinois | ||
| Schenectady | New York | ||
| Stoneham | Massachusetts | ||
| Tampa | Florida | ||
| 1947 | Akron | Ohio | |
| Boise | Idaho | ||
| Dayton | Ohio | ||
| Fairmont | West Virginia | ||
| Fort Wayne | Indiana | ||
| Hagerstown | Maryland | ||
| Knoxville | Tennessee | ||
| Lancaster | Pennsylvania | ||
| Lethbridge | Alberta | ||
| Little Rock | Arkansas | ||
| Marion | Indiana | ||
| Memphis | Tennessee | ||
| New Bedford | Massachusetts | ||
| Niagara Falls | Ontario | ||
| North Vancouver | British Columbia | ||
| Parkersburg | West Virginia | ||
| Pueblo | Colorado | ||
| Tuscaloosa | Alabama | ||
| 1948 | Fort William | Ontario | |
| Louisville | Kentucky | ||
| New Haven | Connecticut | ||
| New York (Bronx) | New York | ||
| Norfolk | Virginia | ||
| Oakland | California | ||
| Phoenix | Arizona | ||
| Port Arthur | Ontario | ||
| Providence | Rhode Island | ||
| Roanoke | Virginia | ||
| Québec | Québec | ||
| Quincy | Massachusetts | ||
| St. Catherines | Ontario | ||
| Saint John | New Brunswick | ||
| St. John's | Newfoundland | ||
| Sioux City | Iowa | ||
| Victoria | British Columbia | ||
| Wheeling | West Virginia | ||
| 1949 | Atlanta | Georgia | |
| Columbus | Ohio | ||
| Cornwall | Ontario | Electric freight service continued until 1971. | |
| Halifax | Nova Scotia | ||
| Jersey City | New Jersey | ||
| Nelson | British Columbia | ||
| Richmond | Virginia | ||
| St. Petersburg | Florida | ||
| San Diego | California | ||
| Toledo | Ohio | ||
| 1950 | Buffalo | New York | |
| Calgary | Alberta | ||
| Covington | Kentucky | ||
| Denver | Colorado | ||
| Portland | Oregon | ||
| Regina | Saskatchewan | ||
| Sudbury | Ontario | ||
| Westchester | New York | ||
| 1951 | Cincinnati | Ohio | |
| Des Moines | Iowa | ||
| Edmonton | Alberta | ||
| Fort Collins | Colorado | ||
| Hamilton | Ontario | ||
| Saskatoon | Saskatchewan | ||
| Wilkes-Barre | Pennsylvania | ||
| 1952 | Reading | Pennsylvania | |
| Yonkers | New York | ||
| 1953 | Birmingham | Alabama | |
| Indianapolis | Indiana | ||
| Kansas City | Kansas | ||
| 1954 | Allentown | Pennsylvania | |
| Altoona | Pennsylvania | ||
| Cleveland | Ohio | City lines (Cleveland Transit System) | |
| Minneapolis / St. Paul | Minnesota | ||
| Scranton | Pennsylvania | ||
| 1955 | Atlantic City | New Jersey | |
| Omaha | Nebraska | ||
| Vancouver | British Columbia | ||
| Winnipeg | Manitoba | ||
| 1956 | Dallas | Texas | |
| Detroit | Michigan | ||
| New York (Brooklyn) | New York | ||
| Rochester | New York | light-rail subway | |
| 1957 | Kansas City | Missouri | |
| New York (Queens) | New York | Queensboro Bridge shuttle | |
| 1958 | Chicago | Illnois | |
| Milwaukee | Wisconsin | ||
| 1959 | Montréal | Québec | |
| Ottawa | Ontario | ||
| 1960 | Johnstown | Pennsylvania | |
| 1962 | Washington | D.C. | |
| 1963 | Baltimore | Maryland | |
| Los Angeles | California | ||
| 1966 | St. Louis | Missouri | |
| 1974 | El Paso | Texas | International line to Juarez, Mexico |
| still operating | Boston | Massachusetts | (a) Green Line modernized in 1970s; (b) Ashmont-Mattapan line still uses PCCs from 1940s |
| Newark | New Jersey | City Subway; modernized in 2001 | |
| Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | Subway-Surface lines modernized in 1980s; remaining surface-only lines suspended in 1992 | |
| Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | current lines modernized in 1980s; last unmodernized line (Drake) suspended in 1999 | |
| Cleveland / Shaker Heights | Ohio | former Shaker Heights Rapid Transit; modernized in 1980s | |
| New Orleans | Louisiana | St. Charles line; still uses cars from 1920s | |
| San Francisco | California | (a) Cable
cars; (b) remaining electric lines modernized as Muni Metro in 1980s | |
| Toronto | Ontario |
This page was last updated on 11 April 2005, and reviewed on 30 May 2005.
Presbyterian College > Academic Web Server > Jon Bell > Transit > Last Streetcars
This page is © 2005 by Jon Bell (jbell at presby.edu), who is solely responsible for its content.