The Burlington Interurban Railway was part of a focused effort to modernize the City of Deadwood at the turn of the century. The town had transformed in a relatively short period of time from a lawless gold camp to a law abiding community and regional center for banking, commerce and culture with many modern amenities, including new electrical lighting and public transportation.
By 1888, only twelve years after the settlement of Deadwood Gulch, two public transportation systems served the community: the horse-drawn Deadwood Street Railroad and the steam powered Deadwood Central Railroad. Beginning in 1893 several companies were organized to undertake the construction of electric railways that would connect communities throughout the northern Black Hills. The proposed interurban trolley lines never came to fruition.
In 1901 the Burlington & Missouri Railroad began construction on the Burlington Power Plant and converted existing railroad track into an electrical interurban railway between Deadwood and Lead. In late 1902 three electric trolley cars began service between the two cities, making fourteen roundtrips daily. The time it took to travel between Deadwood and Lead was expected to be about seven minutes and fares were 15 cents one way and 25 cents round trip.
On September 24, 1902, the Lead Daily Pioneer-Times
described the new electric trolley as:
"a finely finished affair, with seaweed, spring back and bottom seats; lighted and heated by electricity; always clean and always comfortable."
After the Burlington Powerhouse was decommissioned in 1910, the larger power plant located in the Pluma area supplied electricity for the trolleys until its final trip on April 24th, 1924. Automobiles had quickly displaced the interurban trolley system. Two of the trolley cars were eventually converted into cafes that were located in Lead and Deadwood. The third was sold to a railroad in the eastern United States.
In 1992 the City of Deadwood revived the trolley tradition with six gasoline and diesel powered trolleys. This service still runs today with trolley stops throughout the City of Deadwood.
STREETCARS
The rise of the streetcar as a modern, convenient and profitable mode of transportation throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe went hand in hand with technological developments in electricity and electrical motors, and was seen as a hallmark of a stable, thriving metropolis. The Interurban Streetcar was a uniquely American concept, appearing in the late 1800's, growing rapidly to a network of over 18,000 miles and disappearing by the 1930's after motor vehicles became widely used.
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