On This Day In Alabama History: Electric Car Service Is Born In Birmingham

By Alabama NewsCenter Staff
Alabama NewsCenter

The Birmingham Railway and Electric Co. was incorporated on May 5, 1890, as a consolidation of the Birmingham Union Street Railway Co. and the newly incorporated Birmingham Electric Co., which had secured state charters to operate electric-powered streetcars in the city.

On Feb. 12, 1891, the company absorbed the Bessemer and Birmingham Railroad. That spring and summer, the first electric lines were strung along the lines from North Highlands to South Highlands and from Elyton to Avondale. The J.G. Brill Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ordered 24 small, two-ended covered cars. The first car went into service on the Highlands line on Oct. 10, 1891.

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