Sunday, July 8, 2007


What Ever Happened to the old Tramway Lines?


In the Rocky Mountain News lately they have been talking about the tracks of the old tramway cars still visible some places in Denver. Mention was made that they were actually the same gauge as the current light rail trains, but those old tracks would not support the modern cars. Those old lines were first replaced with tramway cars that hooked to an overhead line but did not run on tracks. As I had posted previously, I recall riding those vehicles in the 1950s, I specifically remember the Tramway North-Bound on Broadway at Colfax, in front of the State Capitol Building. Broadway was a 2-way street at that time.


The rest of the story: Henry Ford, and a group of other businessmen representing the Oil Companies, made trips to Denver and other cities around the country in the period after World War 2, 1940s and 1950s, to discourage cities from using rail cars. He felt that he could sell a lot more cars, and we would use a lot more gas by promoting this vision. He was right. We have become so dependant on oil that we go to war to protect the Oil Companies.