A Splendid Ride

Illustrated history of Kansas City's streetcar system, beginning with horse drawn cars in 1870. In the 1880s, Kansas City built the country's third-largest cable car system. By the turn of the century, cable and horse cars were rapidly replaced by electric streetcars. The streetcar network grew to more than 300 miles of track, not including interurban lines that stretched in six directions, some more than 40 miles. In the 1930s, competition from automobiles and growing expenses caused the operators to begin converting to buses. Streetcars enjoyed a brief resurgence during and just after World War II, but then were increasingly replaced by gasoline and then diesel buses. Kansas City's last streetcar ran on June 23, 1957.