New Bedford’s Forgotten Public Transport Systems; The Omnibus, Streetcar & Trolley

In 1872, the New Bedford and Fairhaven Street Railway Company was first incorporated. At this time the rail was still drawn by horse. In 1887 it consolidated with the Acushnet Railway company under its new name, the Union Street Railway Company. This company built a repair station in 1897 at 1959 Purchase Street, called the Union Street Railway Carbarn. If this sounds familiar, it should as the apartment complex that sits there today still retains its name “The Carbarn.”

The region was exploding in population and commerce. Using animals was quickly becoming an impractical method. In 1888, Richmond, Virginia led the world by setting a precedent and introducing a city-wide electric trolley system. The logistics behind setting up the electric system was far less than that of the cable car system. Regional powerhouses with steam engines and generators were set up to provide the electricity needed. Specifically, the power for New Bedford’s trolleys came from the first electric light company in New Bedford, the Edison Electric Light Company united with the New Bedford Gas Company and Edison Light Company in 1890. They had stations on Coffin Street and South Water Street. Electric wires would leave the powerhouse and thread throughout the city. The trolleys would connect to this grid through a pole that contacted one of the overhead wires.

The Advent of the Electric Trolley
In the 1890s, New Bedford began to catch up with the rest of the world and began to phase out the use of animals and replace it with the electric system. However, as late as the 1920s, New Bedford was still using animals for some of the streetcars. The Mayor at the time, Morgan Rotch had an intense dislike for the concept of overhead electric wires and claimed that horses would “Never, never become accustomed to the sight of electric cars.” Many other naysayers voiced concerns that fallen wires would electrocute people. In spite of this, by October of 1890, the first streetcar made its run.

From 1901 to 1927, the New Bedford & Onset (NB&O) company serviced the region with electric trolleys. One route went from New Bedford to Wareham then to Onset with occasional stops in Fairhaven, Marion and Mattapoisett. Another went from Middleboro to Wareham, and Onset. After the canal was built between Massachusetts Bay and Buzzards Bay in 1916, NB&O extended their tracks to include Monument Beach and surrounding towns.

Unfortunately for the NB&O, scientific and technological advances, brought us the automobile and the autobus, or bus. In 1925, buses began to become an increasingly more popular mode of public transportation. Slowly routes were replaced one by one with the bus. By 1933, most routes were replaced, and in May 1947 the trolley system had been completely replaced.

Trolley Today
Besides the obvious Carbarn on Purchase Street, there are still remnants of the old trolley system. Some of the buildings where the stations and waiting rooms sat, still exist. The corner of William and Purchase Streets where Cafe Arpeggio is today was a waiting room. Three “trolleybuses” run by the Harbor Development Commission (HDC) service New Bedford today and bring mainly cruise ship tourists to various points of interest including the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum, the New Bedford Whaling Museum and back to the ship. They are also used on special occasions like for the transportation of national and foreign dignitaries. Group rates are available from the HDC. More info can be had by contacting Debbie Yuille at 508.979.1456 or dyuille@newbedford-ma.gov.

For those of you interested in seeing the early streetcars in action, you’ll enjoy this video by the icon ML Baron. Mr. Baron restored this film that was produced by the Union Street Railway Co. You will see Mayor Charles Ashley, take a ride down Purchase Street and see familiar landmarks, see Lincoln Park as it was in 1921, and even Fort “Pheonix” when it had a wharf, main house, and water slide. Interestingly, Ashley grants a free year’s worth of transportation to Edwin B. Macy who is the oldest living veteran of the first streetcar trip in New Bedford. The fare at that time in 1921, was the same as it was in 1872: 5 cents.

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Photo Guide (From Left to Right)

#01: Waiting Room at William & Purchase Streets. Now Cafe Arpeggio. (Spinner Pub. Photo)
#02: Dartmouth and Allen Street Trolley. (Spinner Pub. Photo)
#03: Fort Phoenix horse-drawn streetcar. (Whaling Museum Photo)
#04: Fort Rodman Trolley in 1907. (Spinner Pub. Photo)
#05: Trolley on Purchase and Union Streets. (Spinner Pub. Photo)
#06: Fairhaven Horse-drawn Trolley #51 on Purchase Street & William. Cummings Building. (Whaling Museum Photo)
#07: Acushnet Park, Fort Rodman. (Whaling Museum Photo)
#08: South Water Street at Division Street. (Whaling Museum Photo)
#09: Trolley Interior. (Spinner Pub. Photo)
#10: Trolley passing over New Bedford/Fairhaven Bridge. (Whaling Museum Photo)
#11: Random shot. (Whaling Museum Photo)
#12: Trolley #607 on Acushnet Avenue. (Spinner Pub. Photo)
#13: USRC Trolley #76 on Ash Street. (Spinner Pub. Photo)
#14: Waiting Station at Lincoln Park. (Spinner Pub. Photo)