First Electric Street Railway | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

First Electric Street Railway

First Electric Street Railway | Wisconsin Historical Society

807 S. Oneida, Appleton, Outagamie County

On August 16, 1886, the Appleton Electric Street Railway Company began opera­tion of the world's first commercially successful electric street railway. The cars were driven by Van Depoele direct current motors, which received power from a hydro-electric generator through two trolley wires. In 1930, the expanded electric street railway system serving the cities of Appleton, Neenah, Menasha and Kaukauna was retired when bus service was begun to better serve the transportation needs of these communities.

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[Source: McBride, Sarah Davis. History Just Ahead (Madison:WHS, 1999).]