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Kentucky Interurbans and Streetcar Railroads

(Please note that the photo here do not depict Kentucky interurbans.)

Kentucky interurbans were not very common, except for those few systems that served Louisville and Lexington. Additionally, the state was home to a handful of small street railway systems although none of significance themselves. In any event, Kentucky systems followed the typical pattern of eastern lines. None, when first developed and planned, gave serious thought to the importance freight traffic would play in their overall revenues and earning potential. As such, Kentucky's two notable lines the Louisville & Interurban and Kentucky Traction & Terminal Company did not derive a serious amount of their income from freight (although the former line did develop extensive less-than-carload, or LCL, freight traffic and had some the most developed milk service of any system). This would result in the companies exiting the interurban business by the mid-1930s leaving the state with no such systems after that time.

Overall, it is a bit surprising that Kentucky did not have a more extensive interurban network given its many medium to large cities such as Paducah, Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Frankfort, Owensboro, London, and even Cincinnati, Ohio. Interestingly, even the rather small neighboring state of West Virginia had a quite prolific interurban system considering its size (although this was rather rare). In any even, the information below includes short paragraph descriptions of most Kentucky interurbans and streetcar railroads.

Ohio Valley Electric Railway: The Ohio Valley Electric Railway served Huntington, West Virginia; Ashland, Kentucky; and Ironton, Ohio beginning operations in September of 1899 when it took over the operations of three smaller systems the Consolidated Light & Railway Company, Ashland & Catlettsburg Street Railway, and Ironton & Petersburg Street Railway. It remained in operation until 1937 when streetcar service was discontinued. For more information on the railroad please click here.

Cincinnati, Newport & Covington Railway: The Cincinnati, Newport & Covington Railway began operations in 1892 taking over the South Covington & Cincinnati Street Railway a railroad which was made up of several small lines. The line served Covington and Newport. The CN&C's streetcar remained in operation until 1950 when it was discontinued in favor of buses.

Kentucky Traction & Terminal Company: The Kentucky Traction & Terminal Company began operations in the early 1900s connecting Lexington, Paris, Georgetown, Frankfort, Versailles and Nicholasville. It remained in operation until 1934 when streetcar operations were discontinued.

Louisville & Eastern Railroad: The Louisville & Eastern Railroad began operations in 1901 connecting Louisville and Crestwood and six years later extended its route to LaGrange. Because the route was built to a five-foot gauge specification it was extremely difficult to interchange with, thus the L&E was a rather unprofitable railroad. It lasted until October of 1935 when service was suspended.

Louisville & Interurban Railroad: The Louisville & Interurban Railroad opened in 1901 connecting Louisville to La Grange and soon after extended to Jefferstown (1904), Prospect (1904), Okalona (1905), Orell (1907), Fern Creek (1908) and Shelbyville (1910). It remained in operation until 1935 when its final operating route between Louisville and Orell was discontinued.

Louisville Railway: The Louisville Railway was one of the state's oldest interurbans dating back to 1859 when it was a horse-powered operation known as the Louisville City Railway. It was renamed the Louisville Railway in 1890 when the Louisville City Railway and another small operation merged. Streetcar service survived until 1948 when it was discontinued in favor of buses.

For a small gallery of photographs highlighting Kentucky interurbans and streetcars please click here.

Please Click Here To Return To The Main Interurbans Section

For more reading on Kentucky interurbans consider picking up a copy of the book The Electric Interurban Railways in America by authors George Hilton and John Due. Many consider their book to be the quintessential resource guide to the interurban and streetcar movement that was once so common in our country during the first half of the 20th century. At nearly 500 pages the book is stuffed full of information on trolley operations and covers virtually every topic on the subject. If you have any interest in trolleys and interurban railroads and/or would like to learn more about their history I would strongly consider Mr. Hilton and Mr. Due's book first before purchasing any other. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit the link below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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