the.com/streetcar
A train that refused to leave town, gliding down Main Street on borrowed rails.
means A passenger vehicle that runs on rails laid into a public street, typically electric-powered and used for urban transit.
from A plain American compound of "street" and "car," emerging in the 19th century as horse-drawn and later electric rail vehicles spread through city streets. "Street" traces back through Old English strǣt to Latin via strata, "a paved way," while "car" comes via Old North French carre from Latin carrus, a Celtic-rooted word for a wheeled wagon. The British, meanwhile, called the same thing a "tram"—so the two nations parted ways on rails as on so much else.
- named desire
- New Orleans' Desire line inspired Tennessee Williams' play
- killed deliberately
- GM-backed firms bought and dismantled US systems
- comeback kid
- Modern streetcars now returning to dozens of cities
- older than cars
- Electric versions ran before the automobile existed
new orleans streetcar line — st. charles avenue line, oldest continuously operating streetcar in north america since 1835
san francisco f-line — historic streetcar line restored in 1995, runs along market street and the embarcadero
toronto streetcar — the 505 dundas west line, part of the largest streetcar system in north america with 11 active lines