Twin City Rapid Transit
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| Industry | public transportation |
|---|---|
| Fate | streetcar system dismantled completely in 1954, sold in 1970 |
| Successor | Metro Transit |
| Founded | 1875 |
| Defunct | 1970 |
| Headquarters | Minneapolis-St. Paul |
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Key people
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Thomas Lowry, Horace Lowry, Charles Green, Fred Ossanna |
| Products | streetcars, horse-drawn buggies, buses |
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Number of employees
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1000 (estimated) |
| Parent | Twin City Lines |
| Subsidiaries | Minneapolis Street Railway Company, St. Paul City Railway Company, Minneapolis & St. Paul Suburban Railroad Company, Twin City Motor Bus Company, Minnetonka and White Bear Navigation Company, Rapid Transit Real Estate Corporation, Transit Supply Company |
| Operation | |||||||||||||||||
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| Locale | Minneapolis-St. Paul | ||||||||||||||||
| Open | 1876 | ||||||||||||||||
| Close | 1954, sold in 1970 | ||||||||||||||||
| Status | defunct | ||||||||||||||||
| Owner(s) | Twin City Rapid Transit | ||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Twin City Rapid Transit | ||||||||||||||||
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The Twin City Rapid Transit Company (TCRT), also known as Twin City Lines (TCL), was a transportation company that operated streetcars and buses in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Other types of transportation were tested including taxicabs and steamboats, along with the operation of some destination sites such as amusement parks. It existed under the TCRT name from a merger in the 1890s until it was purchased in 1962. At its height in the early 20th century, the company operated an intercity streetcar system that was believed to be one of the best in the United States. It is a predecessor of the current Metro Transit bus and light rail system that operates in the metro area.
The origins of street rail transport in the Twin Cities are not entirely known. Some sources state that it dates back to 1867, when businessman and mayor Dorilus Morrison began building rails in downtown Minneapolis. He quickly joined forces with Colonel William S. King and other Minneapolis businessmen to create the Minneapolis Street Railway. However, the lines didn't go very far and the railway was useless for a time. There are some indications that a streetcar was purchased but never used, collecting dust for several years.
On the other side of the Mississippi River, the St. Paul Railway Company started the first successful horse-drawn streetcar system of the metro area in St. Paul. Then in 1875, the reformed Minneapolis Street Railway made a deal with the Minneapolis City Council where the company would have exclusive access to street rails for 50 years if they could be up and operating in four months. The company recruited real-estate mogul Thomas Lowry, who on September 2, 1875, brought on line a route between downtown Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota.
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Wikipedia