Chattanooga Street and Local Railways, 1875-1947

CONTENTS

Introduction
Chattanooga Street Railroad, 1875
Tunnel Accomodation, 1886
Union Railway of Chattanooga, 1886
Lookout Point Incline Railroad and Mount Lookout Railway, 1886
Rossville & Chattanooga Railroad, 1886
Mission Ridge Incline Railway, 1887
Cameron Hill Incline and Street Railway, 1888
Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain Railway, 1889
Chattanooga Electric Railway, 1889
Chattanooga & Chickamauga National Park Railroad, 1890
Signal Mountain Railway (Northside), 1891
Lookout Incline and Lula Lake Railway, 1895
Chattanooga Rapid Transit, 1896
Streetcar Boycott Hack Lines, 1905
Chattanooga Railways Company, 1906
Chattanooga Railway and Light Company, 1909
East Tennessee Traction Company, 1912
Chattanooga Traction Company, 1913
Tennessee Electric Power Company, 1922

Introduction

Chattanooga once had one of the most extensive street and local railway systems in the country, some of which interacted with national long-haul railways.  The first wave was mule-powered, with lines mostly within the limits of the City of Chattanooga, with the exception of the suburb of St. Elmo.  The real explosion came in the second half of 1880s, when land developers built local rail lines to suburbs they were creating and later to attractions and resorts they owned.

Forney-type locomotive, 1880s

Although there were lines to transport freight and cargo locally, most significantly the Belt Railway of Chattanooga, owned by Alabama Great Southern Railroad, the focus here is on passenger lines.

CHATTANOOGA STREET RAILROAD, 1875

This system of mule-powered streetcars began operating in September 1875, its original car barn being beside Stanton House, a hotel that stood where the former Terminal Station now does.  The second car barn and stables of the system lay at the intersection of Whiteside (Broad) Street and White (West 25th) Street.  The third and final car barn and stables stood where the former car barn of the electric trolley still stands.

In April 1887, the name of the railway changed to City Street Railroad, and it began to electrify in 1888, the first line being electrified being the same as its first route.  However much of the railway was electrified, by December 1890, it was purchased entirely by Chattanooga Street Electric Railroad.

The initial tracks ran to the Tennessee River along Market Street from Stanton House, its chief reason for existence being to carry wealthy guests from Union Station to the luxury hotel. 

At its peak in 1890, City Street Railroad serviced seven lines.

Line No. 1

This line left the car barn travelling down Market Street, turned left on Branham (East 9th) Street to Georgia Avenue, then right on Vine Street before turning left on Palmetto Street, heading to Harrison Avenue (East 3rd Street), ending at Baroness Erlanger Hospital.

Line No. 2

This line travelled down Market Street to Montgomery Avenue (Main Street), where it turned right to go to Whiteside (Broad) Street, travelling along Whiteside to a terminus just before White (West 25th) Street.

Line No. 3

This line travelled down Market Street to Ninth Street, then from Ninth Street to Branham (East 9th) Street until turning right onto Park Avenue to go a short distance before turning left onto Griffin (East 10th) Street, to go another short distance to turn right onto Fairview Avenue, then left on Gillespie (East 11th) Street, before it terminated at East End (Central) Avenue.

Line No. 4

This line followed the same route as Line No. 3 until it turned left off Branham (East 9th) onto Palmetto Street, then right onto McCallie Avenue, until terminating at East End (Central) Avenue.

Line No. 5

This line came down Market Street and turned right onto James (West 9th) Street, then left down Carter Street, left onto Henry (West 19th) Street, travelling a short way to Fort Street, where it turned right to travel to White (West 25th) Street, where it turned left to get to Whiteside (Broad) Street, travelling down that until turning left for half a block until Chattanooga Valley Road (Georgia/St. Elmo Avenue).  At this point, one branch went to the station of Incline No. 1 near Chattanooga Medicine Co. and the other continued down Georgia Avenue until its terminus at Mountain Junction.

Line No. 6

This line came down Market Street, turned right onto James (West 9th Street) until turning left on Burch Street, then right onto Gillespie (West 11th) Street briefly until Grove Street, where it turned left until Frank Street, from which travelled on a private right-of-way to its terminus at Roane Iron Works.

Line No. 7

This travelled down Market Street to Montgomery Avenue and turned left, going along that street until Cemetery Avenue, where it turned to travel to the the Jackson Park perimeter to the National Cemetery, at the edge of which the line terminated.

TUNNEL ACCOMODATION, 1886

Around the same time that the residents of Tunnel got together and built a depot to replace the platform at Tunnel Station, they also made a deal with the yardmaster at Citico for him to run what’s called a plug-train ferrying passengers to and from Chattanooga, with a trip in the morning and another in the evening.  The special line was referred to by this name.

A plug train was an ad hoc service run over the tracks of a long-haul railroad pulled by a switcher locomotive making strictly local runs, often with more stops.  These operated on railroads in the country as early as the 1850s, but the practice died off as steam dummy railroads and streetcars took over.

This plug train ran from Tunnel (Sherman Heights) to Union Station, almost certainly stopping at Citico Junction Station and perhaps at Burgess Station, until the extension of the Belt Line into the neighborhood in August 1889 made this form of transport no longer necessary.

UNION RAILWAY OF CHATTANOOGA, 1886

Better known as the Belt Line, this railroad was built by C.E. James, the entrepeneur for whom the James Building downtown is named.  Passenger service began on its first line in 1886, leaving Fort (Chestnut) Street Depot and going south to South Tredegar Iron Works on the left bank of the Tennessee River just below Ross’ Towhead before heading to Oak Hills then National Cemetery then Highland Park and Ridgedale.  This line continued operation for freight after passenger services shifted to Newby Street.

The steam dummy railway grew quickly until it circled the entire city.  Though intended at first mainly to ferry cargo between the city’s different railroads, James saw the potential for passenger service, which opened the same year as its freight service.  The passenger cars resembled the later electric trolleys, as did the steam dummy engines designed to resemble the former that the railway used before switching to Forney locomotives.

In the beginning, the railway operated from the Chestnut Street Depot, which actually stood on Fort Street.  Later James moved operations to the Newby Street Depot on the corner of what’s now East 10th Street.  That depot still stands and serves the Alexian Brothers, making it at least two of James’ facilities they own, the other being his former Signal Mountain Inn.  Finally, James built the Georgia Avenue Depot where the Federal Building now stands.

At its peak, the Union Railway operated four passenger routes (its freight routes, of course, were much more extensive).  The line to East Lake from via Highland Park opened in March 1987; the line to St. Elmo opened in April 1887; the line to East Lake via East End and Rossville (Tennessee) opened in July 1887; and the line to Sherman Heights and East Chattanooga (Boyce) opened in August 1889.  The Orchard Knob Division and the Ridgedale Division operated out of the Georgia Avenue Depot, while the Radcliff Division and the Mountain Division operated out of the Newby Street Depot.

The Belt Line connected to all the major long-haul railways coming into Chattanooga.  It connected with the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia (ETV&G) and the Memphis and Charleston (M&C) at Citico Junction.  It crossed the ETV&G at Sherman Heights, the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis (NC&StL) and the Alabama Great Southern (AGS) at Cravens, the Chattanooga Southern (CS) and the Western and Atlantic (W&A) at Union Junction, the Chattanooga Southern (CS) at Thurmans, and the Chattanooga, Rome, and Columbus (CR&C) at Lookout Creek. 

Besides passenger services, the Belt Line operated in numerous areas mostly for freight purposes, which are detailed in John Wilson’s excellent series.  The freight lines were the River Division, the Newby Street Division, the Georgia Division, the Alton Park Division, the Citico Division, the East Lake Division, and the Boyce Division.

In addition, two local railways spurred off from the Belt Line: the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway (Incline No. 1, not the one we have today) and the Mission Ridge Incline Railway.

In 1888, the railway underwent a reorganization and came out as the Chattanooga Union Railway.  From April to September in 1891, it merged with the Chattanooga & Lookout Mountain Railway as Chattanooga Terminal and Suburban Railway, then reverted to its old name.  In 1892, another reorganization made it the Belt Railway of Chattanooga.  In 1895, it went out of business due to the growing popularity of electric railroads for local traffic, and was bought by AGS, which leased the entire line to Rapid Transit of Chattanooga, an electric railway, in 1900.

Much of the old Belt Line is gone.  One line still operates, however, the East Chattanooga Belt Railway, still under AGS.

For information on the railway’s individual depots, see the entry for UNION RAILWAY OF CHATTANOOGA, 1886 in Chattanooga Tri-State Region Rail Stops at https://notesfromtheninthcircle.blogspot.com/2016/09/tri-state-tn-ga-al-railway-stops.html.

Union Railway was not, for the most part, a street railway, though there were some sections that did utilize streets rather than private right-of-ways, such as the section that went down Anderson Avenue then Buckley Street or the section that traversed a few blocks of Vine Street.  Much of Holtzclaw Avenue north of Montgomery Avenue (East Main Street) began as a PROW for Union Railway.

Ridgedale Division

This division left the Georgia Avenue Depot travelling down Newby Street, then via private-right-of-way through the southern end of Park Place, crossing East End (Central) Avenue just south of the National Cemetery, travelling along its southern perimeter until making a semi-circle southward loop before turning north onto what is now Holtzclaw Avenue. 

Turning right onto Anderson Avenue, the division continued to Buckley Street, heading south on it until it ran out then on a PROW south which became 10th Avenue.  At what is now East 32nd Street, the main line continued south, but a switch turned right, looping behind East Lake Park in a wide sweep before turning west along what’s now East 36th Street to rejoin the main line at he later 10th Avenue.

Though the physical line itself continued on, Ridgedale Division terminated at East Lake Station, which stood at today’s East 37th Street and 7th Avenue.

This route passed through the neigborhood of Park Place and the suburbs of Orange Grove, Highland Park, Ridge Junction, Ridgedale, Fort Cheatham, East Lake, and Rossville, Tennessee (Cedar Hill).

Mountain Division

This division left Newby Street Depot following the same path as the Radcliff Division until the Radcliff Junction, where it turned south by southwest until turning west by northwest to reach the Rustville Junction, at which it was joined by Chattanooga & Lookout Mountain Railway. 

From there, it continued south by southwest to St. Elmo Junction at West 38th Street and Central Avenue, where Mountain Division A turned west to the spur to Incline No. 1, while Mountain Division B followed a slighty curvy track south to Oak Hills (later Alton Park), Doty’s Junction, and Arlington (South Alton Park) before turning west just south of Hawkin’s Ridge to get to Mountain Junction, a wye junction like the two above.

At Mountain Junction, the train curved north to Mountain Junction Depot just north of the wye or curved south to the resort at Blowing Springs in Walker County, Georgia.  If going north, the division followed tracks between Blowing Springs Road (Tennessee Avenue) and Georgia (St. Elmo) Avenue until the switch for the spur to Incline No. 1.

This route passed through the neighborhoods of Park Place and South Chattanooga, the suburbs of Rustville, St. Elmo, Beulah, Mountain Junction, Arlington (South Alton Park), and Oak Hills (Alton Park) in Tennessee, and the communities of Woodburn and Blowing Springs in Georgia.

Radcliff Division

This division left Newby Street Depot, travelled down Newby Street then through southern Park Place, and at the junction where the Ridgedale Division split off to the east continued southwest until splitting off at Radcliff Junction, which lay southeast of the intersection of Chattanooga Avenue (West 23rd Street) and Goldsmith Street (no longer extant).

From there the division headed southeast until reaching Clifton Hills where it travelled down Walthall Avenue until West 43rd Street, where it began to curve until meeting the tracks from Ridgedale Division in West 44th Street before continuing to its terminus, the Grandview Station overlooking East Lake Park.

This route took it through the neighborhoods of Park Place and South Chattanooga and the suburbs of Clifton Hills, East End, Rossville, Tennessee (Cedar Hill), and East Lake.

Orchard Knob Division

Leaving Georgia Avenue Station and travelling down Newby Street, trains on this division travelled through the southern end of Park Place to cross East End (Central Avenue) south of National Cemetery, paralleling its southern edge before turning north at what is now Holtzclaw Avenue.  It continued north on the future avenue until turning right at Vine Street.

The railway travelled down Vine Street until Locust Street (Orchard Knob Avenue), at which it angled a bit north to a private right-of-way, all of this through the suburb of Orchard Knob.

At Ivy Street, it turned north, following an entirely PROW route through Avondale and Sherman Heights, paralleling Harrison Pike (Dodson Avenue) until angling east to parallel Chamberlain Street (Avenue).

Finally, it turned east onto what is now Bachman Avenue, then north on Beck Street (Roanoke Avenue) until just past Wilder Street.  Originally, this division crossed the tracks of both the Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis Railroad and the Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Texas Pacific Railway to a switch on the far side of Boyce Station, which it shared with both.

This route brought it through the neighborhood of Park Place and the suburbs of Orange Grove, Highland Park (western edge), Cedar Grove, Orchard Knob, Churchville, Stanleyville, Avondale, Burgess, Sherman Heights, and East Chattanooga (Boyce).

After Passenger Service Ended

When Chattanooga Railways discontinued service on the former Union Railway lines leased from AGS, those reverted to that railroad for its Belt Railway of Chattanooga local haul freight line.  The Belt Railway operated the following lines: Newby Street Division, Citico Division, River Division, East Lake Division, Alton Park Division, St. Elmo Division, Georgia Division, and Boyce Division.

LOOKOUT POINT INCLINE RAILROAD and MOUNT LOOKOUT RAILWAY, 1886

Point Lookout became an attraction long before the National Park existed.  Visitors began to increase after Chattanooga residents flocked to the mountain to escape the yellow fever epidemic of 1878.  Harriet Whiteside, widow of railway and business magnate James Whiteside, owned the only stable road up the mountain, Whiteside Turnpike, the use of which she began to charge a hefty fee for.  When a group of entrepeneurs built another road to reach the summit, the Lookout Mountain Turnpike (now Ochs Highway), and offered its use at half the fee, Harriet fenced off access to the Point, which she also owned. 

Another group, including some of the rival turnpike crowd, built the Lookout Point Incline Railroad, commonly called Incline No. 1, to a spot just under the Point in 1886.  Its base was next to Chattanooga Medicine Company in St. Elmo.

The following year this group began operating a narrow gauge railroad on the summit, the Mount Lookout Railway, commonly referred to as the Narrow Gauge.  Its tracks ran along the path now called the Bluff Trail.

The modernistic Point Hotel of several stories and wraparound porches opened in 1888, with a depot on the east for Incline No. 1 and on the west for the Narrow Gauge.

Both Incline No. 1 and the Narrow Gauge ended service as such in 1899.  Its rival, Lookout Incline and Lula Lake Railway electrified the Narrow Gauge and operated the line as Lookout Mountain Local well into the 20th century after being bought by Chattanooga Rapid Transit in April 1901.

For information on Mount Lookout Railway’s individual depots, see the entry for LOOKOUT POINT RAILROAD and MOUNT LOOKOUT RAILWAY in Chattanooga Tri-State Region Rail Stops at https://notesfromtheninthcircle.blogspot.com/2016/09/tri-state-tn-ga-al-railway-stops.html.

ROSSVILLE & CHATTANOOGA RAILROAD, 1886

This local railroad was planned between the city’s corporation limits and the Georgia state line with a right-of-way along the east side of Rossville Road.

MISSION RIDGE INCLINE RAILWAY, 1887

Mission Ridge Incline Railway began as a Forney locomotive operation in 1887, beginning at Ridgedale Junction on the Belt Line.  The railway had one locomotive, named for its owner, The George Sherwood.  The Chattanooga Electric Street Railroad Company purchased a controlling interest the line in 1889 and electrified it.  Trolley service ran until 1945.

While many have claimed the exact route is unknown, the Platt map books in the local history section of the Chattanooga Public Library show that very thing.  With the exception of Suburba in the 1904 edition, however, none of the stations on the line are shown.

For information on the railway’s individual depots, see the entry for MISSION RIDGE INCLINE RAILWAY in Chattanooga Tri-State Region Rail Stops at https://notesfromtheninthcircle.blogspot.com/2016/09/tri-state-tn-ga-al-railway-stops.html.

CAMERON HILL INCLINE AND STREET RAILWAY, 1888

The original charter for this short range railroad was held by the Cameron Hill Incline, Hotel, Private Park, & Street Railway Co. from December 1888 to April 1889.  The “private park” in question was the ten-acre Boynton Park on the crest of the hill, admittance to which was granted along with the ticket for the incline.  Chattanooga Water & Power Co. took over in April 1889, but didn’t get either the street railway or the incline operational until November 1889.  In August 1891, the company reorganized as Chattanooga Water & Electric Co.  Both the street railway and the incline ceased operation in December 1891.

The incline ran along Fourth Street from Market Street until Fourth Street ended at Poplar Street, then continued on a private right-of-way to Boynton Park, while the street railway ran along Pine Street from First Street to Ninth Street, with side lines to tracks of the City Street Railroad on Market Street along Sixth Street also.  In just a month, the company ceased service on the Pine Street line north of Fourth Street.

For most of its operation, therefore, the three termini of the railway were at Market and Fourth Streets, Pine and Ninth Streets, and Boynton Park.

CHATTANOOGA AND LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN RAILWAY, 1889

Known popularly as the Broad Gauge to distinguish it from its narrow-gauge rival Mount Lookout Railway, this standard-gauge railroad began service to Lookout Mountain in January 1889 to take advantage of the growing interest in visiting its attractions.  Its chief developer was Richard Watkins.

After 1899, the entire line was purchased by Lookout Incline and Lula Lake Railway and electrified.  In April 1901, its parent company was purchased by Chattanooga Rapid Transit and operated as the Surface Car Line until August 1928, when it was replaced by a motorbus.

The Guild-Hardy Trail on the mountain follows most of this railway’s former roadbed.

For information on the railway’s individual depots, see the entry for CHATTANOOGA AND LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN RAILWAY, 1889 in Chattanooga Tri-State Region Rail Stops at https://notesfromtheninthcircle.blogspot.com/2016/09/tri-state-tn-ga-al-railway-stops.html.

CHATTANOOGA ELECTRIC STREET RAILROAD, 1889

This electric railroad was created by Charles Lyerly, Ed Watkins, and Sam Divine as Chattanooga Electric Street Railroad initially to serve their planned suburb of Highland Park.  Its terminal, known as Transfer Station, was located on West 7th Street between Broad and Chestnut Streets.

The Highland Park line began service 1 July 1889, and fifteen days later, the company bought Mission Ridge Railroad and began to electrify it.  Twelve days later, the company purchased the entire line of the mostly mule-driven City Street Railroad with the aim to electrify all of it too.

From there, events proceeded rapidly. 

By 13 September, the Highland Park Line was extended to Fort Cheatham at Missionary Avenue (East 23rd Street) and Grand (Dodds) Avenue. 

By 2 October the Montgomery Avenue Line opened to East End (Central) Avenue at National Cemetery (this was essentially Line No. 7 of City Street Railroad electrified). 

The Boyce (south Chestnut) Street line opened 6 May 1890.

The East 9th Street-Harrison Avenue line opened August 1890; it was projected to ultimately run to Sherman Heights and Boyce, but that didn’t happen until after the turn of the century.

In January 1891, the company became Chattanooga Electric Railway, and the system’s last mule-powered streetcar took its last run on 11 August 1891.  The two mules were retired to a farm in Wauhatchie, which in 1925 (the year of the news article with the info) could be anywhere in Lookout Valley west of the eponymous mountain.

The Chattanooga Electric Street Railroad and its successor operated five lines in its system until after the 20th century began, when the number increased to eight. 

The five divisions it operated until the 1900s were the St. Elmo and Lookout Mountain Division; the Alton Park Division; the Highland Park, Ridgedale, and Missionary Ridge Division; the East Lake, Central Depot, and National Cemetery Division; and the East 9th Street and Harrison Avenue Division.

Central Depot, originally built to handle freight for the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad (Alabama Great Southern Railroad), became the main hub for passenger service from September 1888 thru December 1909 for the East Tennessee, Virginia, & Georgia Railroad, AGS, Memphis & Charleston Railroad, and Cincinnati, New Orleans, & Texas Pacific Railway (all of which, with the exception of AGS, combined as Southern Railway in 1894).  The depot stood at Market and King Streets where the old Southern Railway office building is.

The railway contracted with the postal service to distribute mail to post offices and mail stations around the Chattanooga Valley, these points necessarily hosting depots, sometimes with a post office.  In 1900, these stations were Transfer Station, St. Elmo Station, Alton Park Station, East Lake Station, Highland Park Station, Ridgedale Station, Mission Ridge Junction Station, Suburba Station, and Ridgedale Station.

These were the lines at the peak of Chattanooga Electric Railway’s operation which came in 1905, by which time Transfer Station stood on West 5th Street between Markets and Broad Streets.  The car barns of the company lay at 221 Market Street, where they still stand.

Alton Park Division

This division served the neighborhood of South Chattanooga and the suburbs of Rustville, St. Elmo, and Alton Park.

After leaving Transfer Station, it travelled down Market Street until reaching Cowart Street to get to White (West 25th) Street, where it turned right for a short distance to Whiteside (South Broad) Street until nearly its end when the division curved right (west) slightly then left slightly on a private right-of-way which connected with the head of Blowing Springs Road (Tennessee Avenue).

The division then turned right and continued until West 40th Street, taking that to Lookout Avenue (also West 40th Street) to Central (Ohls) Avenue, down which it travelled three blocks before angling off on a direct PROW to Oakland Street (Avenue), terminating past Hill (West 45th) Street almost at Elm (West 46th) Street in Alton Park.

Carter Street Division

This division served the neighborhoods of College Hill (Westside), Tannery Flats, and Blue Goose Hollow.

After turning right off Market Street onto James (West 9th) Street, this division turned left onto Carter Street until turning left on Montgomery Avenue (Main Street) to Maple Street, where it turned right to go up a block and turn left on Frank (West 14th) Street, turned right to Elm Street going up to Cravens (West 12th) Street, where it turned left then immediately right onto Short Street, on which it continued past James Street to terminate almost at Mill (West 6th) Street, the divider between Blue Goose Hollow to the north and Tannery Flats on the south after travelling through all of College Hill (Westside).

East 9th Street Division

This division served neighborhoods of The Big Nine and Fort Wood (eastern end), and was accessible to Citico City (Lincoln Park).

Turning right off Market Street, the division followed East 9th Street (East MLK Boulevard) until East End (Central) Avenue, where it continued left, terminating just before Harrison Avenue (East 3rd Street), near Andrews Field (and later Engel Stadium).

Highland Park Division

This division served the neighborhoods of Brabson Hill and Fort Wood, the suburbs of Highland Park, Mission Ridge Junction, and Ridgedale, and the Oak Grove subdivision of Eden Park.

Leaving Transfer Station down Seventh Street to Georgia Avenue, the division turned right onto Oak Street, right at East End Avenue then left on McCallie Avenue, left briefly on National Avenue, where a spur in the opposite direction entered Olympia (Warner) Park.

At Duncan Avenue, the division turned left until Ruoh’s Crossing (Highland Park Avenue) for a block to Chamberlain Avenue, which it then took to Mission Ridge Junction at Dodds Avenue, turning right and continuing along it until terminating almost at George (East 14th) Street.

Missionary Ridge Division

This division served the suburbs of Suburba (and later Glenwood), Ridge Junction, and Mission Ridge.

Leaving Highland Park Division at Mission Ridge Junction (Chamberlain and Dodds Avenues*), this division continued east on Chamberlain Avenue until Kyle Street, turning left to McCallie, then at the end of McCallie entering what used to be the end of Shallowford Road, which it travelled along until the sharp switchback curve onto Bird’s Mill Road to North Crest Road, down which it travelled until almost reach its second (or southern) intersection with East View Drive.

*The original junction from the suburban railroads to the Missionary Ridge Incline was between the original autonomous railway and the Chattanooga Union Railway at the northeast corner of Bruce (East 12th) Street in Ridgedale and Buckley Street.

St. Elmo Division

This division served the neighborhood of South Chattanooga and the suburbs of Rustville, St. Elmo, and Mountain Junction.

After leaving Transfer Station, this division travelled south down Broad Street, turning right on James (West 9th) Street to Boyce (Chestnut) Street, where it turned left going down to White (West 25th) Street, then right on Whiteside (South Broad) Street to Georgia (St. Elmo) Avenue, on which it continued until its terminus at Mountain Junction, from which passengers could easily cross to the Fort Street Station base of Chattanooga & Lookout Mountain Railway.

This was essentially the same route as Line No. 5 of the mule-powered Chattanooga Street Railroad.

Rossville Division

This division served the Central Depot, the neighborhoods of Fort Negley and Jefferson Heights, and the suburbs of Orange Grove, Oak Grove, Ridgedale, Fort Cheatham, East Lake, and Rossville, Tennessee (later Cedar Hills).

Leaving Transfer Station and running along Market Street until Montgomery Avenue (Main Street), this division turned left, then continued until turning left again at Cemetery Avenue then right onto McMillin Street (East 14th in Orange Grove) then George (East 14th in Highland Park) Street until Dodds Avenue, on which it travelled until that street became Grand Avenue, still travelling that street past East Lake until Rossville Avenue (Boulevard), where it turned left, ending at the stateline in what was originally called Rossville, Tennessee, and later became Cedar Hills.

Sherman Heights-East Chattanooga Division

This division served the neighborhoods of Brabson Hill and Fort Wood, Erlanger Hospital, and the suburbs of Citico City (Lincoln Park), Bushtown, Churchville, Orchard Knob, Avondale, Sherman Heights, and East Chattanooga (Boyce).

After leaving Transfer Station, this division turned left off Market Street onto Georgia Avenue, running up it until reaching Mott (East 4th) Street, turning left off that onto Lansing Street (no longer extant), going one block to turn right at Harrison Avenue (East 3rd Street).

The division continued down Harrison Avenue until Division Street (Roanoke Avenue), passing north on it until turning right onto Jefferson (Ocoee) Street, then left onto Chamberlain Street (North Chamberlain Avenue) and continuing north until turning left onto Stuart Street, finally turning right onto Beck Street (Roanoke Avenue) and stopping just past Wilder Street, across the tracks of the Nashville, Chattanooga, & St. Louis Railway and Cincinnati, New Orleans, & Texas Pacific Railway from Boyce Station.

Chickamauga Park Division

This was unique for the company in that transport was not electric-powered nor was it on company-owned tracks.  In 1900, driven by competition from Rapid Transit of Chattanooga which had built its own railway directly to the park from the end of its East Lake Division, Chattanooga Electric Railway made a deal with Chattanooga, Rome, & Columbus Railway (later Central of Georgia) to use its line from Central Depot on Market Street in Chattanooga to Lytle Station just outside the west edge of the park.

CHATTANOOGA & CHICKAMAUGA NATIONAL PARK RAILROAD, 1890

This local railroad was envisioned to branch of the Mountain Division of Chattanooga Union Railway and pass through McFarland’s Gap, traveling east toward a terminus at Snodgrass Hill in the park, with the intention of later extending to Ringgold, Georgia, and possibly beyond.

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN RAILWAY (NORTHSIDE), 1891

This railway began as two separate railways in 1891, the Chattanooga and Northside Railway, serving Hill City and Vallambrosa, and North Chattanooga Street Car Railway, serving North Chattanooga, Chattanooga Golf and County Club, and Riverview, later adding Normal Park.  The two separate companies were owned by the same group of people.

In 1896, the two railways were brought together as the Signal Mountain Railway (Northside), though neither the Vallambrosa Line nor the Riverview Line (named after their termini line) went anywhere near Signal Mountain.

Rapid Transit of Chattanooga purchased Signal Mountain Railway in 1900, reorganizing it as Northside Consolidated Railway and discontinuing the private right-of-way extension to Vallambrosa from the Peak Street depot on Upper Ferry Road (North Market Street). 

Chattanooga Railways Company purchased Rapid Transit in 1906 and integrated these two lines into its system.

For information on the railway’s individual depots, see the entry for SIGNAL MOUNTAIN RAILWAY, 1891 in Chattanooga Tri-State Region Rail Stops at https://notesfromtheninthcircle.blogspot.com/2016/09/tri-state-tn-ga-al-railway-stops.html.

Vallambrosa Line

Originally Chattanooga and Northside Railway, serving the suburbs of Hilly City and Vallambrosa.

This line left its southern terminus at Ninth and Broad Streets, travelled one block to turn right onto Eight Street to go up to Walnut Street, turning left there to go two block and turn right onto Sixth Street to Lookout Street, turning left to two blocks then right again onto Fourth Street, where it turned back onto Walnut Street to cross over the County Bridge.

Once over the river, the line turned left onto Grace (Frazier) Avenue, then right on Woodland Avenue until turning left onto Bush Street then right onto Upper Ferry Road (North Market Street) to Hill City Station depot a half block north of Peak Street.

After leaving Hill City Station, the trolley travelled to the north limit of Upper Ferry Road, then curved southwest to begin an extended horseshoe curve to get to the top of the ridge on a shallower slope.  The terminus Vallambrosa Station stood about a block east of the later tunnel through Stringer’s Ridge, featuring a large gazebo overlooking Chattanooga.  The community of Vallambrosa itself lay to the west of Stringer’s Ridge, in the area now known as Woodland Heights.

Riverview Line

Originally North Chattanooga Street Car Railway, serving the suburbs of North Chattanooga, Normal Park, and Riverview.

Following the same route as the Vallambrosa Line until crossing the river, at this point Riverview Line turned right onto Grace (Frazier) Avenue, then left onto Main Avenue (Tremont Street), remaining on Main Avenue until it became Tremont Street (at Beck Street), on which it continued until meeting Dorchester Street, on which it travelled briefly before turning right onto Sevier Street, eventually terminating at the clubhouse for Chattanooga Golf and Country Club, which was originally at what is now 1635 Riverview Road.

The final stretch of Tremont Street of the early 20th century past Roxbury Avenue (Hixson Pike) is today Dorchester Road until Barton Avenue, where it becomes Riverview Road, including what used to be Sevier Street.

LOOKOUT INCLINE AND LULA LAKE RAILWAY, 1895

This railway, then popularly known as Incline No. 2, planned to build an electric railway to Lula Lake in Georgia, but it never got built.  Instead, the company took over operation of the Narrow Gauge tracks after that company folded, continuing well into the 20th century.

Incline No. 2 still operates as Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, with its base in St. Elmo and its apex at 827 East Brow Road at the summit.  Initially, it was built to the depot it shared with the Broad Gauge for Lookout Inn.

CHATTANOOGA RAPID TRANSIT, 1898

In March 1896, a group of investors led by Sam Devine, who also led the group that organized Chattanooga Electric Street Railroad, leased the Belt Railway from Alabama Great Southern Railroad to electrify it and run its cars from a powerhouse in Ridgedale.  This they did, opening the East Lake and Rossville Division as an electric trolley in December 1898 and the East Chattanooga (Boyce) and Sherman Heights Division in November 1899.

Electrification of already existing lines paused while CRT bought the North Market Street trolley and the Riverview trolley and merged them as the Northside Consolidated Street Railway in February 1900.  It also built a new line to Chickamauga Park, which it opened in May 1900, and another outfit, Chickamauga Transfer Co. (a wholly owned subsidiary of CRT), operated a trolley in the park itself.

In June 1900, CRT changed its name to Rapid Transit of Chattanooga.  As such, it purchased Lookout Incline and Lula Lake Railway, which owned Chattanooga & Lookout Mountain Railroad (Broad Gauge), Mount Lookout Railway (Narrow Gauge), and Lookout Incline (No. 2) in April 1901.

RTC never operated Radcliff Division, eschewing service thru East End, so to open its line to St. Elmo, it built entirely new tracks down Williams Street to Doak (West 37th) Street, where it turned right to get to St. Elmo Avenue and the tracks of the Belt Line’s former Mountain Division to Mountain Junction (which continued on Florida Avenue after Tennessee Avenue curved to the east).  RTC’s Lookout Mountain and St. Elmo Division opened in 1902.

RTC and its subsidiaries were purchased by Chattanooga Electric Railway in March 1906.  At its greatest extent in 1905, Rapid Transit operated on eight different divisions.

Alton Park Line

This turned right off the joint tracks of the East Lake-Chickamauga Park and the Sherman Heights-Boyce lines at King Street, going left on Market Street then right on Alabama (West 13th) Street before turning right down Williams Street to the private right-of-way that once circumnavigated Alton Park and St. Elmo, where it turned left.  At Oakland Street (Avenue), the line turned right down to Cedar (West 45th) Street, ending at the tracks of the Chattanooga, Rome, & Columbus Railroad (Central of Georgia Railway).

This route passed through the neighborhood of South Chattanooga and the suburbs of Rustville, St. Elmo, and Alton Park.

St. Elmo Line

This followed the same path as the Alton Park Line until the private right-of-way that used to encircle the suburbs on either side of Hawkins Ridge, here turning right instead of left to follow the tracks of former Union Railway’s Mountain Division to it terminus at Mountain Junction, the tracks no longer extending to Blowing Springs, Georgia.

This route passed through the neighborhood of South Chattanooga and the suburbs of Rustville, St. Elmo, Beulah, and Mountain Junction.

East Lake-Chickamauga Park Line

This followed the same path as the former Union Railway’s Ridgedale Division through Orange Grove, Highland Park, Ridgedale, Fort Cheatham, East Lake, and Rossville, Tennessee (Cedar Hills), including its East Lake Loop, only now extending on a private right-of-way into Rapid Transit Park on the edge of Chickamauga Park, where it connected with the Chickamauga Transfer Company trolley, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rapid Transit, around the entirety of the larger national park.

Sherman Heights-Boyce Line

This followed exactly the same route as the former Union Railway’s Orchard Knob Division.

North Market Street Line

This followed the same path north of the Tennessee River as the former Vallambrosa Line of Signal Mountain Railway, minus the private right-of-way extension to Vallambrosa, ending instead at Hill City or Peak Street depot.

Riverview Line

This followed the same path north of the Tennessee River at the former eponymous line of Signal Mountain Railway.

Lookout Inn-Point Hotel Line

Nicknamed “Dinky”, this utilitized tracks of the former Narrow Gauge or Mount Lookout Local Railway between the two named points.

Lookout Mountain Local-Ross Avenue

This line utilized the tracks of the Narrow Gauge not used by Dinky, plus those of the Broad Gauge on top of the mountain, except for the section between Ross Avenue Station and Incline No. 1, which were no longer needed or serviceable.

STREETCAR BOYCOTT HACK LINES, 1905

In July 1905, the State of Tennessee, whose original constitution in 1796 guaranteed universal suffrage to all men including free blacks, enacted a law segregating all public transportation in the state at all levels. 

In response, Randolph Miller, publisher of nationally-syndicated The Weekly Blade, and Hiram Tyree, Alderman from the Fourth Ward, led a boycott of Chattanooga’s streetcars.  As part of it, Miller organized four horse-powered hack lines to the Afro-American communities in St. Elmo (the Gambletown section), Fort Cheatham, Tannery Flats (along with College Hill and Blue Goose Hollow), and Churchville (serving Citico City, Bushtown, Stanleyville, and Orchard Knob as well). 

After some success with the hack lines, Miller and others set about forming the Transfer Omnibus Motor Car Company, patterned after a successful such venture in Nashville, an early version of a taxi service for which Miller and the other eight men envisioned acquiring forty-two motorcars.

The boycott collapsed after three months due to resistance from white political leaders and harassment by police, as well as opposition from a number of Afro-American businessmen and virtually the black religious leaders despite the fact that average Afro-Americans in Chattanooga supported it as did a large portion of the local NNBL chapter.

The effort to get Transfer Omnibus off the ground never materialized due to lack of investors for the same reasons that stunted the boycott.

CHATTANOOGA RAILWAYS COMPANY, 1906

In March 1906, Chattanooga Railways Co. acquired all electric trolley lines then existing in Chattanooga and its suburbs, uniting Rapid Transit of Chattanooga and its subsidiaries with Chattanooga Electric Railway.  For over three years, Chattanooga Railways operated both major systems side-by-side, even where the lines closely competed.

At its peak in its first year, Chattanooga Railways ran electric trolley service in the following divisions.

Market Street and Rossville Division

With the exception of having First and Market Streets as its starting point, this division followed the same route as Union Railway’s Ridgedale Division and Rapid Transit’s East Lake and Chickamauga Park Line after that, only ending at the state line instead of continuing into the park.

East Lake, Rossville, and Chickamauga Park Division

This went from Transfer Station to Central Depot, then along Montgomery Avenue (Main Street), through south Ridgedale, Fort Cheatham, Workhouse Hill, East Lake, Rossville, Craignahoola (past McFarland’s Switch), crossing Central of Georgia, then Chickamauga Park. 

This division followed Chattanooga Electric Railway’s Rossville Division down Dodds Avenue until turning right at Rossville Avenue and continuing south but turning west half a block before the state line then south to enter its own private right-of-way to Chickamauga Park.  This park extension previously continued from Rapid Transit of Chattanooga’s now defunct East Lake and Chickamauga Park Line.

Hill City and North Market Division

This division followed the same route as Rapid Transit’s North Market Line.

Hill City and Riverview Division

This division followed the same route as Rapid Transit’s Riverview Line.

East 9th Street and East End Avenue Division

This division followed the same route as Chattanooga Electric Railway’s East 9th Street Division.

Carter Street and West Side Division

This division followed the same route as Chattanooga Electric Railway’s Carter Street Division.

Oak Street, Mission Ridge, and Ridgedale Division

This division followed the same route as Chattanooga Electric Railway’s Highland Park Division, including the Hamilton County Courthouse, University of Chattanooga, Fort Wood, Olympia Park (later Warner Park), Highland Park, Mission Ridge Junction, and north Ridgedale, where it connected with the Missionary Ridge Incline.  At Olympia Park, it connected with a small trolley riding over the Olympia Loop.

Mission Ridge Division

This division followed the same route as the original Mission Ridge Incline Railway.

Lookout Mountain, St. Elmo, and Mountain Junction Division via Williams Street

This was formerly Rapid Transit’s St. Elmo Line.

Lookout Mountain and Alton Park Division via Williams Street

This was formerly Rapid Transit’s Alton Park Line.

Lookout Mountain and St. Elmo Division via Boyce Street

This was formerly Chattanooga Electric Railway’s St. Elmo Division.

Sherman Heights and Boyce Division

This division, originally part of Chattanooga Electric Rialway, served the county courthouse, Erlanger Hospital, Churchville, Avondale, Sherman Heights, and East Chattanooga (Boyce Station).  Use of Rapid Transit’s line inherited from Union Railway was discontinued.

Lookout Mountain Local Division

This line took in both of Rapid Transit’s Lookout Mountain lines.

CHATTANOOGA RAILWAY AND LIGHT COMPANY, 1909

Chattanooga Railways merged with Chattanooga Electric Light Company in May 1909 as Chattanooga Railway and Light Company.  CR&L’s first move was to cease operations on duplicate routes, which meant those leased from the Belt Railway of Chattanooga.  However, it built new lines that actually provided better coverage.

In April 1919, CR&L became Chattanooga Street Railway Lines.

Reaching its apex and plateauing in 1913, CR&L operated the following lines.

Sixth Street Line

This new line travelled on Sixth Street from Georgia Avenue all the way across downtown and up Cameron Hill until turning right onto Prospect Street to its terminus shortly thereafter.

North Chattanooga Line

This line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s Hill City and North Market Division, which it inherited from Rapid Transit of Chattanooga, which it in turn took it over from Signal Mountain Railway.

Riverview Line

This line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s Hill City and Riverview Division, which it inherited from Rapid Transit of Chattanooga, which it in turn took it over from Signal Mountain Railway.

Carter Street Line

This line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s Carter Street and West Side Division, which it inherited from Chattanooga Electric Railway.

East 9th Street Line

This line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s East 9th Street and East End Avenue Division, which it inherited from Chattanooga Electric Railway.

Oak Street Line

This line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s Oak Street, Mission Ridge, and Ridgedale Division, inherited from Chattanooga Electric Railway.

Missionary Ridge Line

This line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s Oak Street, Mission Ridge, and Ridgedale Division, inherited from Chattanooga Electric Railway, until the Ridge Junction at Chamberlain and Dodds Avenues, where it turned north and connected with the incline railway.

Vance Avenue Line

This new line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s Oak Street, Mission Ridge, and Ridgedale Division, inherited from Chattanooga Electric Railway, until Highland Park Avenue, where it turned right to Vance Avenue, then turned left to its terminus at Lyerly Street.

Willow Street Line

This new line travelled north from almost East 14th Street along Willow Street until turning right at East 3rd Street for a short distance stopping close to the Boyce Line.

Boyce/East Chattanooga Line

This line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s Sherman Heights-Boyce Division, originally of Chattanooga Electric Railway.  The name was changed from Boyce to East Chattanooga in 1911, but newspapers and most people continued calling it the Boyce Line.

East Lake Line

This line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s East Lake, Rossville, and Chickamauga Park Division, except that under Chattanooga Railway and Light Company it stopped at the state line.

Chickamauga Park Line

This route was the same as the section of Chattanooga Railway Company’s East Lake, Rossville, and Chickamauga Park Division to Chickamauga Park, except that as a route it began just above the state line at the end of the East Lake Line.  The rail-line was built by Rapid Transit of Chattanooga.

Rossville Line

This new line travelled on the same route as East Lake Line until Rossville Avenue, onto which it turned right and remained until turning left onto East 23rd Street, then right on Clio Avenue going southeast until hitting West 43rd Street, at which it cut diagonally across the block on a private right-of-way, turning right onto Avenue G (earlier Pinkard Avenue, later 7th Avenue), proceeding to turn left onto Rossville Boulevard, terminating just above the state line.

Oglethorpe Line

This route, opened in 1917, switched off the Rossville Line at West 45th Street, turning left and continuing down it, then on Gen. Thomas Boulevard until its end just above the state line, where it entered another private right-of-way somewhat to the east of the Chickamauga Park Line, continuing to the U.S. Army’s Fort Oglethorpe, home of the 6th Cavalry.

This line and the one above replaced the earlier Chickamauga Park Line, having been planned by Chattanooga Railway and Light Company subsidiary Chattanooga & Chickamauga Interurban Railway Company, organized in 1912 and folded in 1913, upon which it transferred its assets to its parent.

St. Elmo Line

This line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s Lookout Mountain and St. Elmo Division via Boyce Street, which it in turn inherited from Chattanooga Electric Railway.

Alton Park Line

This line followed the route of Chattanooga Railway Company’s Lookout Mountain, St. Elmo, and Mountain Junction Division via Williams Street, which it in turn inherited from Rapid Transit of Chattanooga.

Surface Car Line

The railway of the former Broad Gauge was revived and electrified as this route under Chattanooga Railway & Light Company.

Lookout Mountain Local Line

This route followed the same path as the Narrow Gauge, or Mount Lookout Local, of the late 19th century.

EAST TENNESSEE TRACTION COMPANY, 1912

The East Tennessee Traction Company was chartered in 1912 with the aim of building an interurban electric street railway between Chattanooga and Cleveland.  This project gained the support of the county courts in Hamilton, James, and Bradley Counties.  The route between Chattanooga and Cleveland was more or less secured by April 1913.  A month later, there were four line planned in all, with termini at Cleveland, Dayton, Dalton, and Bridgeport, and by August, seven lines were planned, as below.

Line No. 1: Chattanooga, thru McCallie Tunnel, along Bird’s Mill Road, private ROW to Hickory Valley, to Cleveland (original route for this line was Bird’s Mill Road thru Hickory Valley, Walnut Grove aka Whorley aka Concord aka East Brainerd, Ryall Springs, Parker’s Gap, Apison, to Cleveland)

Line No. 2: From a point on Line No. 1, turn southeast thru Ringgold to Catoosa Station, Tunnel Hill, Rocky Face, to Dalton (original route for this line was branching off the Cleveland line on Bird’s Mill Road to Graysville, Georgia, then to Ringgold, etc.)

Line No. 3: Chattanooga, across Walnut Street Bridge, thru Hill City, Dry Valley, Daisy, Rathburn, Graysville, to Dayton

Line No. 4: From Line No. 3, thru Suck Creek and Miller Cove to Sequatchie Valley, Inman, Sequatchie, Jasper South Pittsburg, Bridgeport, then Stevenson

Line No. 5: From East Chattanooga, northeast by private ROW thru Harrison to Decatur

Line No. 6a: From point on Line No. 5 at or near East Chattanooga, thru Tyner then Harrison to Cleveland

Line No. 6b. From point on Line No. 5 at or near East Chattanooga, thru Tyner to connect with line No. 1 in Hickory Valley to Cleveland

Line No. 7:  From St. Elmo thru Wauhatchie, eventually to Gadsden

In January 1914, promoters still talked about being eager to start, but then the project just diappeared from view.

There was another unconnected but similar company calling for a Birmingham & Chattanooga Interurban Railway starting in 1912 but likewise fizzling out.

CHATTANOOGA TRACTION COMPANY, 1913

While this was strictly an electric railway operation, I’m including it because of its connection with the Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Texas Pacific Railway (CNO&TP) and because it reached areas not included in any of the steam or diesel railways.  In addition to being the last major electric railway lines built in Chattanooga, they were also the last railway lines built by C.E. James.  The main purpose for building the first line was to carry passengers to another venture of his, the Signal Mountain Inn.  “Traction” in the title of the company refers to the kind of engine using electric power for propulsion.

The Chattanooga Traction Company (CTC) built three lines north of the river, the Signal Mountain Division, which opened in 1913; the Dry Valley (or Red Bank) Division, which opened in 1916; and the Hixson Division, which was sold to Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Texas Pacific Railway in 1917 before it opened. 

In building this last line, CTC had intended to load freight at CNO&TP’s Tenbridge Station to carry on its lines to haul into Chattanooga but discovered it would come under scrutiny of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and sold the line to CNO&TP.

For information on the railway’s individual depots, see the entry for CHATTANOOGA TRACTION COMPANY, 1913 in Chattanooga Tri-State Region Rail Stops at https://notesfromtheninthcircle.blogspot.com/2016/09/tri-state-tn-ga-al-railway-stops.html.

Unified Line

This route crossed the Tennessee River over the John Ross (Market Street) Bridge, turning left on the north bank onto a private right-of-way that eventually paralleled Riverside Avenue through a gap in Stringer’s Ridge, then turned north to end at Valley Junction at the intersection of Pineville Road and West Elmwood Road.  From there, the Chattanooga Traction Company Railway split into two.

Signal Mountain Line

This route proceeded north, then north by northwest, then north by northeast, then north by northwest again until reaching Glendale, where it swung west as it began to climb Walden’s Ridge following much the same path as Signal Mountain Boulevard.  Upon reaching the top of the ridge at Signal Mountain, it followed Palisades Drive, then Mississippi Avenue to its terminus at Signal Mountain Inn.

Dry Valley Line

From Valley Station, this route went northeast, paralleling Dayton Pike (Dry Valley Road) to its terminus at Red Bank Station at East Leawood Avenue and Dayton Boulevard.

Hixson Line

This line, completed in 1917 and sold to Cincinnati, New Orleans, & Texas Pacific Railway before CTC ever operated on it, connected C&D Junction (Harding Road and Dayton Boulevard) on CTC’s Dry Valley Line with Tenbridge Station on CNO&TP main line.

TENNESSEE ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY, 1922

In June 1922, Chattanooga Street Railway Lines merged with Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company (which operated Hales Bar Dam) and Tennessee Power Company to form the Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the largest private electric power monopoly in the state.

Eventually, TEPCO acquired both the lines and the assets of Chattanooga Traction Company.

Upon taking possession of the city’s trolley system, TEPCO announced there would be no new trolley lines laid, and that all existing lines would gradually be converted to motorbus.

TEPCO’s first motorbus line was to Brainerd and Eastdale, which had never had trolley service, established in May 1925.

TEPCO ended trolley service on the Dry Valley Line in April 1928 and converted the route to motorbus.

TEPCO ended trolley service on the Lookout Mountain Local (“Dinky Line”) and Service Car Line in August 1928, replacing both lines with a single motorbus route.

TEPCO ended the North Chattanooga Line trolley in September 1930, replacing it with a motorbus route.

TEPCO replaced the East 9th Street Line trolley with a motorbus route in March 1932.

TEPCO ended trolley service on the West 6th Street, Carter Street, and Willow Street Lines in October 1932, replacing them with motorbus routes or tying them into existing ones.

TEPCO replaced the St. Elmo and Alton Park Line trolleys with motorbus routes in November 1932.

TEPCO replaced the Chickamauga Park Line trolley, which ran from the state line to the park, with motorbus service in January 1933.

TEPCO replaced the Signal Mountain Line trolley with a motorbus route in July 1934.

TEPCO changed the Rossville Line trolley over to motorbus service in May 1935.

TEPCO converted the Riverview Line trolley to motorbus service in March 1937.

In August 1939, TEPCO turned its power facilities over to Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and became Tennessee Utilities Corporation (TUCO) until September 1941, when Southern Coach Lines bought the whole system, but didn’t get around to more conversions until after the war.

SCL’s first conversion from trolley to motorbus was the Missionary Ridge Line in November 1945.

SCL converted the Oak Street and Vance Avenue Lines from trolley to motorbus in September 1946.

The very last electric trolley in Chattanooga ran on the Boyce Line on 10 April 1947, with at least one rider who had also ridden on the very first electric trolley on the Boyce Line.

 

TEPCO trolley, 1930