In September of 1910 the Cumberland Railway Co. began trolley service between Newville and Carlisle. The cars left Newville and Carlisle every hour on the hour from 6:00 a.m. to midnight. Each trolley carried a motorman and a conductor whose duties included taking care of packages, firing the stove in winter and collecting fares. From Newville the fare was five cents to Goodyear, ten cents to Plainfield, fifteen cents to Meadowbrook and twenty cents to Carlisle.
With the advent of cheap hydro-electric power in the 1800's trolleys, which were powered by electricity, could offer lower fares than railroads, and for short trips this method of travel became popular in the Cumberland Valley.
Because this line was a latecomer to the scene and automobiles were becoming popular, it failed to attract sufficient riders to keep it profitable. Even the trolley park east of Newville with its picnic grounds could not forestall the inevitable and the last trolley ran on Sunday October 31, 1920. The tracks were removed in 1921.
(Inscription below the photo in the upper center) L-R John Koch, H.B. (Ping) Koser, Bruce Bowman
(Inscription below the photo in the lower right) Trolley in front of the J.S. Elliott home on Big Spring Avenue. The building housing the Elliott Coffee Company is shown behind the house.
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