Enid City Railway
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Dayton, Ohio |
| Locale | Oklahoma |
| Dates of operation | 1907–1929 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Enid City Railway Company was a street car franchise in Enid, Oklahoma, from 1907 to 1929.
On January 4, 1907, the Enid City Council awarded a street car franchise to C.H. Bosler of Dayton, Ohio, who had also constructed the Tulsa Street Railway. The chartered and municipal franchise was granted in 1907 for 50 years, and the Enid Railway Company was organized on January 7, 1907.[1]
The city council dictated the following requirements for service:[2]
- line must serve university, all three railroad depots, and all sides of the square, equally
- frequency of service was limited to no more than 20 minutes during 12 hours of the day, and no more than 30 minutes for another four hours.
- trolleys had right-of-way over everything but fire engines
- street car speed limit: 10 mph in the business district; 20 mph in residential areas
The construction of the road and the equipment cost $274,556.02.[3]
Service
Service began June 3, 1907. Enid Electric and Gas Company provided the electricity for car operation. In 1908, it owned 9 motor cars and 6 trail cars.[4]
On-duty policemen, firemen, and postmen rode free, as did children under five with adult supervision. The route took 14 minutes and covered 6.92 miles (11.14 km) of line. The route covered all three railroad depots, Oklahoma Christian University, the Enid Cemetery, baseball parks, residential areas, the public library, county courthouse, and hotels.
Lakewood Electric Park
The company also owned Lakewood Electric Park which was located on North Cleveland. It consisted of twenty-three acres of oak forest and an artificial lake covering eight acres.[5] Amenities included a bath house, band stand, open-air theatre auditorium, pavilion, boat house, bowling alley, scenic railway, and other varied amusements.[6]