TRANSIT IN CLEVELAND - HISTORY
The East Cleveland Railway Company began operating Cleveland's first street railway in 1860. The original horse car route operated on Euclid Avenue. Several other street railway companies were formed, and by 1901 all streetcar routes were electrified. And in 1910, all streetcar companies were consolidated into the Cleveland Railway.
In 1890, the Superior and the Payne lines were converted to cable cars. Those lines were converted to electric streetcars in 1900 and 1901, respectively.
Map shows the streetcar system at its peak in 1925, prior to the introduction of the first bus routes.
Map shows the streetcar and bus system in 1942, when the system became publically the owned Cleveland Transit System. New bus routes had been introduced primarily in outlying areas, and a few streetcar routes had been converted to bus routes and one trolleybus route.
Map shows the streetcar and bus system in 1953, after all trolleybus conversions had been completed, and one year before the last streetcar routes were eliminated.
Scanned images from a later Cleveland Transit System route map.