Friday, February 14, 2025

From the 'Turnback Tuesday' archives: Derby Electric Railway

This week's "Turnback Tuesday" features a photo of the first motor ever used on the Derby Electric Railway.

The Railway itself was the first electric road to operate in New England, and the second in the United States. The motor was built by Pullman Palace Co. in Illinois and was put into operation in April of 1888 between Derby and Ansonia.

The Derby Electric Railway was so successful that the Derby Horse Railway became the Derby Street Railway in 1889. However, the life of trolleys was relatively short-lived, as motor buses eventually took over in approximately 1937.

This photograph of the rail-car was taken in the early 1900s at Pine Rock Grove, where the locomotive had been placed as a historical item.


[First posted in February, 2018. Thanks FB memories.]


Thanks goes to the Derby Public Library staff for sharing interesting local history each week.


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