Trolleybuses in Dayton
|
|
| Operation | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Dayton, Ohio, United States |
| Open | April 23, 1933 |
| Operator(s) | 1933–72: Various private companies (see table in article); 1972–present: Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority |
| Infrastructure | |
| Electrification | 600 V DC |
| Website | Greater Dayton RTA |
The Dayton trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network serving Dayton, in the state of Ohio, United States. Opened on April 23, 1933, it presently comprises seven lines, and is operated by the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, with a fleet of 54 trolleybuses.
One of only five such systems currently operating in the U.S., the Dayton trolley bus system is the current manifestation of an electric transit service that has been operated continuously in Dayton since 1888 — longer than in any other city in the United States. By the 1970s, Dayton was already the smallest U.S. city still operating a trolley bus system. For both of these reasons, the city's trolley buses are locally considered an icon of Dayton.
The first electric trolley bus (ETB) service in Ohio began operation in Dayton, on April 23, 1933, when the Salem Avenue-Lorain Avenue line was converted from streetcars to trolley coaches — or trolley buses, as they are most commonly known today. Electric streetcar service in Dayton had started in 1888, and it continued through to, and indeed beyond, the start of trolley bus service. The last streetcar line in Dayton, City Railway's route 1-Third Street, was converted to trolley buses on September 28, 1947. Today, and already the case by the 1980s, Dayton's trolley bus system is the second-oldest in the Western Hemisphere (which in 2011 totals 18 systems), exceeded in longevity only by the Philadelphia trolley bus system, which opened on October 14, 1923.
The first trolley bus line in Dayton was opened by the Dayton Street Railway company (DSR). The impetus for the decision to adopt trolley buses was a 1932 fire at the company's carbarn (maintenance and storage facility), which gutted the building and destroyed 16 streetcars and two gas buses. After studying trolley coach systems then operating in other small cities, DSR placed an order with the J. G. Brill Company for 12 trolley buses, and these inaugurated service on the city's first ETB line in April 1933. However, the Dayton Street Railway was only the first of several companies to operate trolley bus service in Dayton, some of which operated concurrently and shared overhead wires on some sections, mainly in downtown.
...
Wikipedia