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Akron & Summit County
Transit
The Akron-Bedford and Cleveland Electric Line,
above, connected the cities of Akron and
Cleveland. Known as the A.B. & C. or "alphabet" railroad, the interurban
line began operating on November 9, 1895.
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Both photos above and below
show horse drawn street cars belonging to the Akron Street
Railway & Herdic Co.
First Electric Street Car
On October 10, 1888 the
electric streetcar came to Akron and replaced the horse-drawn
herdic. On the trial run, with William Hilliard "at the lever"
and 40 men and boys as passengers, the car went out West
Market Street to Portage Path and returned - in 15 minutes.
Street Car Tracks at Market and Main
This photo was taken at
the turn of the century when Akron's original street car
tracks were being refurbished to carry heavier modern
electric street cars. Akron's original horse drawn "Herdics"
began operation in 1883 but were soon replaced by electric
cars, one of which is seen here. The Empire House, built in
1847 and long the city's finest hotel, had lost some of its
bloom by the time this photo was taken and would be replaced
by the Portage Hotel in 1912.
Streetcar tracks being
installed at Main and Exchange Streets, looking southwest in
1912.
Car 336 at the Miller Barn
Motormen on the
Akron-Kenmore-Barberton line of the Northern Ohio Traction
Co. look somber as they pose at the Miller street car barn
for this 1910 photo. Electric railcar service from Akron to
Barberton began in 1895. Service on the Kenmore Blvd.
portion started in 1901 and ended in 1947.
The mass-transportation
system set up in Goodyear Heights in 1915 became the first
in the nation to employ tandem buses. The 1920 six-wheel bus
shown in the left photo used a streetcar body. The bus on
the right shows us that passengers could ride this six-wheel
bus from Akron to Cuyahoga Falls non-stop for a dime in
1926. Business did not flourish because many thought the
fare was too high.
This was one of two double
deck buses used in express service between Firestone Rubber
Company in south Akron and Cuyahoga Falls during rush hours.
10c for express fare.
Akron
Terminal Building
In 1917 the N.O.T. & L. built
a four-story interurban building on N. Main near Federal. When
completed, it was said to be the finest terminal in Ohio.
Later it served as the office building for the Ohio Edison
Company.
Photograph Archives. Cuyahoga
Falls Library, Cuyahoga Falls, OH.
Courtesy of Akron Summit County Public Library:
Special Collections
Lane, Samuel A.
Fifty Years and Over, The History of Summit County. Beacon
Job Department, 1892.
Grismer, Karl H. Akron and Summit
County. Akron, OH: Summit County Historical
Society, n.d.
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