Electric elevated railwayIn 1883, the first electric elevated railroad in the U.S. had its trial trip. It was built around the outer edge of the main exhibition building of the Chicago Railway Exposition. The 3 ft guage track was 1,552 ft long, with tight curves at each end of radius 56 ft. The line began operation on 9 Jun 1883, with trains hauled by The Judge, a 15 h.p. electric locomotive. In less than a month, it made 1,588 trips, carried 28,805 passengers, and ran overall 446 miles before the exhibition closed on 23 Jun 1883. It was demonstrated by the Electric Railway Company which was incorporated in the State of New York in the spring of 1883 with a capital of $2,000,000 to develop the patents and inventions of Thomas Edison and Stephen D. Field. |