FCMR History: The Early Years

The Denver and Interurban Railroad (D&I), a subsidiary of the Colorado and Southern (C&S), built a three-legged streetcar line in Fort Collins in 1907 as part of their expansion along Colorado"s Front Range. The plan was to develop electric feeder or "collector" lines to connect with the existing steam line which was already the major transportation artery up and down the Front Range.

Fort Collins streetcar lines fanned out from the intersection of Mountain Ave. and College Ave. in downtown Fort Collins:

• West on Mountain Ave. to the Cemetery (later thru City Park)
• South to the (then new) high school on Pitkin
• Northeast on Linden, then East to Lindenmeier Lake

The first line to open was on West Mountain Ave. and served the annual Race Meet and Stock Show at the county fairgrounds, now part of the City Park complex. Because the power plant was not yet in operation, the C&S used a small steam switcher and old coaches to provide service from downtown to the fairgrounds. The fare for this three-day operation was five cents per ride, the same basic fare that would stick with the system throughout its life.

Four new Woeber double-truck streetcars arrived from Denver in the fall and begain operating on all three lines on December 29, 1907. The cars were numbered 101-104. Two additional pair of Jewett motors and trailers were added later. At left you see the two-man crew of car M-106 in the early years of operation. The conductor (right) is Red Brewster. The top of this page shows early cars departing from the Mountain and College Wye in 1910.

Daily operation consisted of three cars running on the three lines. Each car had a two-man crew. All cars meet at the wye at Mountain and College every 20 minutes, then departed on a different line. After three trips, each car had traversed all routes every hour. Cars ran from 5 AM through midnight, serving most of the businesses in the City, plus students at the high school on Pitkin St. and Colorado A&M College along College Ave.

After only a few years of operation, the D&I cut back on service by eliminating the conductor on each car. From then until the end in 1951, the motorman assumed the addional task of collecting fares and issuing transfers. Over the years, other economies were made to improve operation or save money, including dropping the stub line from Mountain and College to the C&S depot, and extending the College Ave. line East to Remington and Whedbee to form a loop though that southeastern residental area.

The C&S also built an interurban line between Denver and Boulder, and planned to extend the interurban north through Longmont and Loveland to the Fort. By 1918, however, the automobile had made a permanent dent in interurban and streetcar revenues. The D&I was loosing money on all its operations and fell into recievership. The Fort Collins system stopped running without warning on July 10, 1918.

Next: The Birneys Arrive