The first successful electric streetcar system originated in Richmond, Virginia

Streetcar in Richmond theatrical district.Photo byWikipedia

Richmond is the home of the first electric streetcar

The Great Blizzard of 1888 was not the only historic event in Virginia that year. There previously had been 74 attempts in 60 communities in the United Kingdom, North America, and Europe to create a proper electric trolley railway system.

One was finally designed in Richmond by Frank Julian Sprague. The Union Passenger Railway was the first practical electric railway system more efficient than animal-powered trolleys. The speed was 7-15 MPH.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers considered this system a milestone in engineering, setting the stage—or rather laying the tracks—for future railway trolleys.