Horsecars

The horsecar was similar to the omnibus. Basically the horsecar was a vehicle drawn by horses that was placed on rails, rather than riding freely on the ground as the omnibus. They appeared in Boston in the 1850's, and people thought they were a great improvement over the slow, bumpy omnibus lines that they replaced (Cheape 108).

As in New York City each company wanting to build or run a horse railway had to get a charter from the state. The charter required a special act by the state legislature, requiring them to look over every proposal. This power gave the state better control over the horse railways, and mass transit in Boston as well (Cheape 108). Even later, companies running trolleys or subways also had to get a charter from the state.

However, the city of Boston was growing and it would not be long until ridership outstripped the capacity of the horse railways. One issue was the topography of the city. Due to natural restraints and history there were limited entrances to the city. It was surrounded by Boston Harbor to the south and east, and the Charles River to the north. Geography bounded the entrance to three sides of the city. From the west, entrance was complicated by steep Beacon Hill and the Boston Common, "whose historical, social, and sentimental significance prevented their use" (Cheape 112-113).

Another issue involving the capacity of the horse railways had to do with the charters. The state issued charters for more than twenty companies. They believed that they were helping stimulate competition between the companies and drive the prices down. This is not the result it had. As in New York City, numerous lines meant overconstruction in the city, fragmentation of routes, and higher fares. However, within ten years of the operation of the first horse railway in 1856, the major companies combined to form four major lines. While this was less than before, it was still complicated. Each company had a regional monopoly, yet all four lines converged on the business district as their focal point. This made the business area very busy and congested (Cheape 109-110). The combination of geography and competition from the different lines led to chaos and congestion. As the cars from each line began to crowd into the business district, they began to clog the tracks and streets (Cheape 112).

One man stepped in to take control of the different lines, Henry Whitney. Within one year (in 1887), he absorbed all of Boston's four major lines and consolidated them into one company - the West End Street Railway Company. He did this by buying up stock form the companies (Cheape 113-116). However, this was not the end of the problems with the horse railways, but Whitney and his company found a way to keep up with technology and survive.

Horsecars were profitable for Whitney, but there were a number of disadvantages for the company and it's riders. Riders became uncomfortable with the inadequet ventilation in the cars and the smoky oil lamps used to light them. They may have been smoother than the omnibus, but they were not all that comfortable to ride in (Fischer 11). The disadvantages to the company involved the use of horses. Obviously, the company incurred high costs for the care and storage of the animals. They had to pay for stables, and the horses were susceptible to disease. The horse teams had to be changed frequently, especially in hilly sections. The horses were not inexhaustible. The horse carriages themselves were susceptible to bad weather and low speeds. Also, they had increasing problems with congestion, even after Whitney had consolidated them into one company (Clark 8).

With an increasing number of riders, the horsecar could not keep up with demand. Instead of building more horsecar lines and adding to the problem of congestion Whitney decided to look to new technology for the solution. He was looking for a new mode of transportation that would not have all the maintenance and problems of the horse railways. His next step was to the trolley.