10
TIIE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE; MAttCIt 21, 1900.
I IIMHI lllll .11111 IMIU HP...im-.i. ' -CT-nTOB
No. 9
Period From
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With this installment the chronological history of the
street railways of Omaha is closed. Succeeding articles will
discuss certain phases of modern operation and service.
The first dividend ever declared by a'street railway in this
city was paid for the' year 1898 on the strength of the revenue
derived from the Exposition traffic. It was a dividend of 2 per
cent. By 1902 a 4 per cent dividend was paid. It is now
realized by the management, however, that these apparent
profits consisted of money which should have gone to make up
a renewal or depreciation fund.
Since 1898 Omaha has grown rapidly and the business of 1
the street railway has steadily increased in proportion. Prior
to 1903 some small extensions were
made and an amount of track re
construction accomplished, but in
the year before the Omaha Street
Railway Company found itself com
pelled to deal with a vital situation.
The growth of the city and the
.increase in passenger traffic had
outgrown the facilities of the com
pany. Its power equipment was
worn' out and expensive to operate;
its cars were much too small and
too few in number and most of the
track required reconstruction with
heavier rails and a firmer and more
costly roadway, Prevailing demands
were too much for the road with
out even considering the needs of
the future.
The stock and bond issuing
capacity of the company had been "
exhausted and the proposition had grown to a size too great to
be handled readily by local capital exclusively. In addition the
time had arrived which appeared opportune to unify the opera
tion of the Omaha lines with the Omaha & Council Bluffs
Railway and Bridge Company a property which had never
been able to earn profits operated independently.
To meet the demands and finance the rehabilitation and
consolidation of the two systems, a reorganization took place,
December 22, 1902, which brought the Omaha and Council
Bluffs Street Railway Company into existence. Under this re
organization a large amount of money was obtained from East
ern sources, the capitalization of the property was increased and
the Council Bluffs lines and bridge taken over for operation on
a 99-year lease.
The first Board of Directors of the new company were as
follows; Frank Murphy, Guy C. Barton, G. W. Wattles, W.
V. Morse and W. A. Smith, all of Omaha; C. R. Tyler- of
Council Bluffs; Albert Strauss of New York; Randall Morgan
of Philadelphia and Hugh J. McGowan of Indianapolis.
The officers, were as follows: Frank Murphy, president;
Guy C. Barton, vice-president; W. A. Smith, treasurer and
general manager; R. A. Leussler, secretary and F. A. Tucker,
general superintendent.
Following the reorganization and the acquirement of addi
tional capital, the Omaha and Council Bluffs street railway
systems (except the bridge) were practically made over, rebuilt
and re-equipped in all essential respects. In addition many miles
of extensions were made to the lines. Following is an attempt
to sum up the most important improvements in the briefest
possible way:
Modern, 10,000 horsepower, power station constructed and
equipped at the foot of Jackson Street, replacing two power
stations in Omaha and one in Council Bluffs and causing the
scrapping of old machinery formerly used.
New concrete sub-station, built at Twenty-seventh and
"OS
fill8
14' '
Carhouse at 20th and Harney, Partially Destroyed by Fire Feb. 8th, 1901.
Lake Streets, equipped with transformers and rotary converting
machines, and conduits for carrying high-tension cables laid to
central power station.
All of the light track construction in Omaha replaced with
73-pound girder rail, laid over rock, cinder and gravel founda
tion and connected with continuous joints.
Complete replacement of and large addition to rolling stock
with new and modern cars, the majority being 40 feet long and
upwards, on double-trucks fitted with powerful motors.
Large brick car-building and general repair shops con
structed at Twenty-sixth and Lake Streets.
Overhead construction thoroughly rehabilitated, including
the replacing of wooden with iron
trolley-poles on principal thorough
fares, and the running of heavy
electric feeder cables for the proper
distribution of power over the
system.
The following extensions of
lines were made in Omaha:
Twenty-fourth Street, Leavenworth to Cuming.
Tenth Street, Bancroft to Boulevard.
Florence Line.
Sherman Avenue Line on Thirty-sixth Street,
Ames to Grand and on Grand from Thirty-sixth to
Forty-second.
Thirty-second Avenue, Martha Avenue to G rover
street.
1 ' Dodge Street, Fortieth to Nevada and on Nevada
from Dodge to Underwood.
Forty-fifth Street, Grant street to Boulevard
avenue. . -
Spring Street, Twenty-fourth to Twenty-fifth
and on latter street to Vinton.
' , Farnam Street, Fifteenth street to Happy Hollow
Club entrance. '
Courtland Beach extension to Rod and Gun Club
- grounds.
Harney Line, Sixth street, Pierce to Center.
Thirteenth Street, Dominion to Missouri Ave.
Forest Lawn Cemetery branch.
North Thirtieth Street, Bristol to Spaulding.
Fortieth Street, Dodge to Cuming.
Twenty-fourth Street, Vinton to Leavenworth.
A second, or double, track was put down on the following lines:
Twenty-fourth Street, Ames Avenue to Fort street.
Fortieth Street, Farnam to Dodge.
West Leavenworth Street, Forty-fifth to Forty-eighth.
Q Street, South Omaha, from Thirty-third to Forty-third, several blocks being an extension
of both tracks.
Cuming Street, Twenty-fourth to Twenty fifth avenue.
The service has been steadily improved, and while it is not
perfect, the management believes that it compares favorably
with the service of any city of similar size.
In forty years the system has grown from two miles of a
single-track operated with four horse cars to a modern electric
street railway, equipped with the best centralized power equip
ment that money can buy, maintaining a service over 140 miles
of track, having at its disposal upwards of 350 modern cars, and
requiring the services .of 1,000 men the year round and 1,500
men during the construction season.
It seems proper at this time to submit a few words of appreciation of the
man who was the strongest single force in the upbuilding and unification of
the local street railways Frank Murphy. Mr. Murphy died suddenly Decem
ber 12, 1904, and the city and the company lost one of their most aggressive
constructors and wisest advisers.
Mr. Murphy was succeeded as president of the company by Guy C. Bar
ton, G. W. Wattles becoming vice-president. Upon Mr. Barton's retirement in
January 1908, Mr. Wattles was elected president and Frank T. Hamilton
vice-president.
The present Board of Directors is as follows: G. W. Wattles, Frank T.
Hamilton, K. C. Barton, L. F. Crofoot, W. V. Morse, W. A. Smith, C. R. Tyler,
Albert Stauss and Randall Morgan.
F. A. Tucker, who was general superintendent and a much valued officer
for many years, died in November 1906. About this time the title and duties
of assistant general manager were assigned to Secretary R. A. Leussler.
It is hoped that the following articles will make clear the policies of the
present management and the determination to dolts full duty as a public servant.
G. W. WATTLES, President,
Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Co.
The " 2 rack and Roadway" Will Be Discussed in Next Sunday's Installment.)
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