The Minneapolis streetcar went only as far north as the intersection of Penn Avenue North and 32nd Avenue.The only way for people north of there was to get a ride to the stop by horse and wagon. On May 10, 1880, a meeting was held to talk about streetcar service between Minnenapolis and Robbinsdale. Everyone at the meeting was in favor of Mr. Robbins building such a line. On May 1, 1891 work began at Penn Avenue and 32nd laying tracks, by November they had tracks laid to the Johnson Road (36th Avenue) and Hubbard Avenue. The Lutheran Seminary students were helping do the job.
On May 29, 1891 the first car started. These were rather small, four wheel cars drawn by a team of horses, they held about 20 people. In the winter time they had a stove in the center of the car, everyone tried to get near the stove to keep warm. The fare was 3 cents. Mr. Robbins announced he would have a steam engine on the car before spring. On February 25, 1892 he started putting up the barns for the car, the cars could enter the building take on water and oil. While they were installing the engine in the car they had a horse and buggy express to Penn Avenue. The engine wouldn’t work so they had to get another, sent to Chicago for more rails.
They ran into more snags but the car was soon operating. The first self-propel led street car consisted of one unit with a gasoline engine mounted in front and room for passengers in back. It started operating June 15, 1892. Turntables were installed at Penn Avenue and at Hubbard Avenue by the barns so the car could turn around and make a return trip. Some of the Council men thought they should take the street car off as it frightened the horses on the road. In May 1893 a new car arrived. It had a separate car for the engine and a trailer car for the passengers, making its first run May IS, 1893. On September 26, 1896 the car ran into a man and team on the car tracks back of the Sessing’s house, killed one horse, broke the man’s leg.He was very drunk.
On January 14, 1897 the car barns and contents burned. The next day Mr. Garrett started driving a team from the Hotel to the streetcar line on Penn Avenue using Gus Urban’s sleigh. On January 25 he borrowed Mr. Shumway’s sled and hay rack to carry the passengers. There was a meeting that night to see about giving Mr. Robbins money to put in an electric line. A Village election was held on February 13, 1897 and the voters approved the electric street car with no opposition. By the last of March 1897 holes for the posts to hold the electric wires had been hand-drilled. Masons and carpenters worked on rebuilding the car barns. The new electric streetcar arrived on April 15 and started running on schedule on schedule three days later. There was a derailment on May 10, but for the most part the service ran smoothly. The original horse drawn car was made it into an electric one, and went into service on June 11, 1898.
This material was gathered from the North Hennepin Post and the diaries of Ellen M. Bisbee (sister of Mrs. J. P. Shumway and Nathan F. Russ). It was compiled and edited by Evelyn and Esther Shumway for a Robbinsdale Historical Society slide show in 1980. A few details have been updated since then.
The image at the top of the post features a 1913 map and bird’s eye view of the barns from about 1911.
The end of the line was West Broadway and 42nd avenue. I have ridden this street car. Then the bus line took over.