Streetcar And Interurban Deployment In The United States: 1894–1926

Haoang Li, Bahman Lahoorpoor and David Levinson
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David Levinson: TransportLab, School of Civil Engineering, University of Sydney

Working Papers from University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group

Abstract: We compile operating track lengths for US streetcar and interurban systems from the McGraw American Street Railway Investments Directories for 1894–1926, aggregated by state and by metro area, with a national total. The United States network reaches an observed maximum of 80,660 km (50,120 miles) in 1918, with a logistic asymptote of 84,208 km, inflection year 1901, and R 2 = 0.89. We report cities and states by extent and timing, and show that most city and state series follow logistic S-curves.

Keywords: transportation; public transport (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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https://doi.org/10.32866/001c.155283 Published version landing page, 2026 (text/html)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nex:wpaper:paper-2026-08

DOI: 10.32866/001c.155283

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