Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company
| Industry | Public transportation |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged |
| Successor | Omaha Traction Company |
| Founded | 1886 |
| Defunct | 1955 |
| Headquarters | Omaha and Council Bluffs |
|
Key people
|
George F. Wright, Gurdon Wattles |
The Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company, known as O&CB, was incorporated in 1886 in order to connect Omaha, Nebraska with Council Bluffs, Iowa over the Missouri River. With a sanctioned monopoly over streetcar service in the two cities, the O&CB was among the earliest major electric street railway systems in the nation, and was one of the last streetcar operators in the U.S., making its last run in 1955.
The predecessor of the O&CB was the Omaha Horse Railway Company, which was incorporated by an act of the Nebraska Legislature in 1867. Electric streetcar service in Omaha is said to be the outgrowth of the 1887 Omaha Motor Railway, which was formed when the Omaha Horse Railway and the Omaha Cable Tramway Company were consolidated under the leadership of Samuel D. Mercer.
George F. Wright, builder of the 1868 Council Bluffs Street Railway company, organized the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company in 1886, along with Frank Murphy and Guy C. Barton of Omaha and John T. Stewart, Thomas J. Evans and George F. Wright of Council Bluffs. Majority included Marshall Field of Chicago and U.S. Senator Joseph Millard of Nebraska, and officials from the American Smelting Company.
The last horse car route in the city ceased operation in June 1895.
The O&CB's proposal for a combined wagon and railway bridge over the Missouri River was accepted by United States Congress and the Secretary of War in 1887. This led to the construction of the Douglas Street Bridge, which was later known as the Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge. The bridge was opened to traffic on October 30, 1888.
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Wikipedia