San Antonio, TX
After years of volunteers encouraging reintroduction of heritage streetcars in San Antinio (see Jones Avenue Streetcar below)
the local transit authority and business alliance have initiated a study of a modern streetcar system. This program advanced steadily, attracting
a commitment from the State of Texas for nearly $200 million to fund construction. However, in mid-2014 support for the project faded quickly
among area officeholders, with the project ultimately cancelled on August 1.
The following news notes describe the project's evolution from planning through withdrawal:
Jones Avenue Streetcar
Volunteers for some years advocated for creation of a heritage streetcar line
using in part a disused but intact trolley track formerly used for shifting
freight into a brewery. A surviving San Antonio streetcar, owned by the San
Antonio Museum of Art, actually operated over this track briefly in the 1980s,
but then was placed on long-term lease to an organization in Oregon. A
feasibility study covering the planned San Antonio operation was conducted in
1997 and a nonprofit then advocated for extension and reinstatement of
the trolley line.
The following provide more background about the San Antonio plans:
Click on images below to see map of proposed route and photos of San
Antonio car 300 running in the early 1980s.
|
|
|
 |
| Map of proposed San Antonio heritage line |
|
 |
| A photo taken in the early 1980s shows car 300 posing with a period auto. |
|
 |
| An early 1980s postcard view shows 300 on the brewery line. |
|
|
|
