|
Interurban Railcar No. 360 |
If you were fortunate enough to live in Plano between 1908 and 1948, then you most likely had an opportunity to experience the rollicking, clickity clack sway of riding on a Texas Electric Railway Interurban Car. This second generation of rail transportation extended from Denison to Waco, with connections to Fort Worth, Cleburne and Denton possible through the hub station in Dallas.
Rail transportation powered by steam first arrived in Plano in 1872 and forever changed the agrarian lifestyle of early settlers who had traveled to this area by covered wagon. 
While steam engines guaranteed the survival and the likelihood of growth to a
community and transported farm crops to distant locations, the laborious process
of producing enough steam to drive the train forward limited the frequency of
stops along a line. In the late 1880s, ingenious inventors discovered the wonder
of electricity and devised ways to harness this marvel into driving trolley cars
previously drawn by mules or horses.
Economic Importance
Entrepreneurs, capitalizing on ways to market this new transportation, developed systems throughout the United States that connected small towns and outlying farms to a large, regional city. Overnight, farming families isolated from society by distance, had easy and affordable access to opportunities and amenities available to urban populations. 
Located in downtown Plano, the Texas Electric Railway Station served very much
as an early form of the Internet bringing people, goods, newspapers with worldwide
coverage, and traveling salesmen together in a timely fashion. A contract signed
with the  United
States Post Office in 1914 permitted mail to be carried and delivered to the
many towns along the way linked via the Texas Electric Railway System. Three
interurban cars were refitted with bins, sorting tables, mail slots and cancellation
stamps enabling two postal employees, in a secured rear compartment, to process
mail as the car traveled north. 
Connecting the Past to the Present
|
