The Phoenix Trolley Museum

From 1887 to 1948, transportation in the City of Phoenix Arizona was provided by the Phoenix Street Railway System. The System founded by General Moses Hazeltine Sherman, utilizing horse cars was converted to electrical power in 1893 and was, in large measure, responsible for the pattern of real estate and other development in the early days of the City. The Glendale interurban line, completed in 1911, was the first of several lines — including Tempe, Mesa, and Scottsdale — planned to be built through the subscription of property owners along the line.

The City of Phoenix acquired the street railway in 1925 and, as the result of a successful bond issue, completely rebuilt the System and purchased 18 modern Streetcars. The Streetcars were very popular with the public and remained in operation until a 1948 when, after a carbarn fire, they were replaced by buses.

Map, Lines of the Phoenix Street Railway
as drawn by Marc Pearsall, 2002

The Phoenix Street Railway was an essential ingredient in the formation of modern Phoenix. Streetcars had their shortcomings, for they were noisy, hot in summer and cold in winter, sometimes had flat wheels and the ride could be rough. They did however run every 10 minutes, and went everywhere worth going in their day for only a nickel. The Motto was “Ride a Mile and Smile the While.”

Phoenix Street Railway, 1938

The City of Phoenix Street Railways, in 1938 were numbered and operated as follows:

• #1 Brill Line (10th Street Line). Ran south on 10th Street from Sheridan to Pierce, west on Pierce, south on 4th Street, west on Washington Street, and terminated at 2nd Avenue station. Return trip traveled north from 2nd Avenue, east on Monroe, to 4th Street, and north via Pierce.
• #2 Capitol / W. Adams – East Lake Park (Washington Street Line). Ran east from 22nd Avenue, across the Santa Fe Railway tracks, to end of the line at 16th 1/2 Street.
• #3 Kenilworth (5th Avenue Line). Ran south from Encanto Blvd. along 5th Avenue, past the Kenilworth School, and terminated at 2nd Avenue station.
• #4 Indian School (3d Street Line). Ran south from Indian School Road along 3d Street, with double-track mainline as far as the loop at Monroe. Looped west at Washington and terminated at 2nd Avenue station. Return trip north and via Monroe back to right-hand track and north again on 3d Street.

The Arizona Street Railway Museum, Home of the Phoenix Trolley, is located next to Margaret Hance Deck Park above Interstate 10, and is being enhanced as an operating museum which will allow visitors to step back in time and experience some early Phoenix history. It will give children a chance to experience a ride that even “Virtual Reality” can’t duplicate.

• 1887 to 1948: Mule Cars to Light Rail

Selected Reading

• Phoenix Street Railway article on Wikipedia
• Ride a Mile and Smile the While A history of the Phoenix Street Railway 1887-1948, by Lawrence J. Fleming. Swaine Publications, Phoenix, 1977. LCCN 75-27581.
• “Ride a Mile and Smile the While” segment, KNXV-TV Channel 15, Noon News, 29 May 1998
• “Clang, Clang, Clang Went the Trolley” in Arizona Highways magazine, June 1986, pp. 38-43.
• “Phoenix Street Railway” in The Western Railroader, Vol. 24 No. 2, February 1961, Issue # 254.
• Article in Phoenix Point West magazine, March 1964, pp. 37, 38, and at least two other pages.