photo courtesy of Mike Paul

The Trolley System
Elmira, NY

lmira waved farewell to its trolleys on March 11, 1939. Known as the Trolley Era, that period of Elmira's history began in 1890 and included an open car trolley to Rorick's Glen, the double decker to Eldridge Park and the Glen Route (shown above) from Elmira to Watkins, going through Horseheads and Pine Valley.

Before the electric trolley system there were horse-drawn cars between Elmira and Horseheads. This would have been in the 1870s. Regular service commenced in October 1871 and ran every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. The cost per passenger was 5 cents within the city of Elmira and 15 cents to Horseheads.