Horses pulled trolley up slope, but not downhill

... and the horse cart you rode in on

By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com

Horse transportation, in some ways, can suggest a high and mighty attitude. But it was the 'preferred' method of travel for a long time. Horses (and other animals) were used to pull wheeled vehicles, chariots, carts and wagons and horses were increasingly used for riding in the Near East from at least circa 2000 BC onwards. Horses were used in war, in hunting and as a means of transport. But a little more than 100 years ago, they also became a popular photo subject and focus of post cards.

"Perhaps the most photographed and fondly remembered horsecar line of the 19th century ran from 1883 to 1910 in Englewood, Colorado. Horses pulled passengers about one and a half miles uphill, and then the fun began. For the much faster trip downhill, the horse boarded the car via a wooden ramp, and rode back along with the passengers. You can get the flavor of this picturesque operation in the numerous images we have posted, the great majority of which are from the digital collections of the Denver Public Library," according to CERA, described as 'For, by, and about the members of Central Electric Railfans' Association.'

"The horses may be long gone, but the Cherrelyn horsecar itself has been preserved and restored, and is on display today in the Englewood Civic Center, model horse naturally included."

"In 1883, crews started laying tracks for the Cherrelyn Horse Car," says the city of Englewood Historic Archive.

"The horse car was a central part of life in Englewood between 1892 and 1910, with residents riding it to work and shop in Englewood. The horse car was dubbed the “Gravity and Bronco Railroad,” as it was the only gravity-powered streetcar in existence at that time. The horse pulled the car up the steep hill on Broadway between Hampden and Quincy, a mile long trip. At the top of the hill, the horse was unhitched and loaded on to the rear platform of the car. The driver would give the car a push, and the horse car and its passengers would coast back down the hill to Hampden," according to the archive.  

 

"In the early 1900s, electric streetcars also entered the transportation scene. In the early 1940s, the “Trackless Trolley” operated, using overhead electric wires for power. This trolley was more maneuverable than the streetcars, since it wasn’t tied to tracks. The area also boasted bus and taxi services. In 1969, the Regional Transportation District was formed to provide a comprehensive public transportation network in the Denver area."

"An early newspaper advertisement claims that your visit will remain incomplete if you miss a ride on this “only gravity system railroad in the world.” A round trip is only ten cents and you are encouraged to watch the horse during the return trip to appreciate how much he likes the ride downhill. The ad includes the owner’s name: M. C. Bogue," writes Ray Hahn, a retired educator, who has spent decades researching, writing and editing a newsletter for the South Jersey Postcard Club has been a world-class education in trivia.

"Marcus Cook Bogue, I suspect the first to be awarded the name, was the forefather of a large family of Bogue’s who lived in a variety of mid-west and south-west cities. When the lights went out the other night, I was reading about a trust-fund administered by Marcus C. Bogue III. Parenthetically, it was paying-off at 1.667% – net return $25,000," Hahn says.

"M. C. Bogue III’s grandfather was a real-estate developer through the west. The Denver suburbs was not his first project. The horse-car operation, according to newspaper accounts opened in 1892 (not 1883 as stated in the CERA’s blog) lasted for eighteen years. It was just one of many dalliances in which Bogue invested!"