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Electricity for Streetcars
Power from Brown's Island began to run streetcars in 1894, when Richmond Railway & Electric built a coal-fired generating plant.
In 1888, the Richmond Union Passenger Railway became the first streetcar line in the world to be successfully powered by electricity. Designed by Frank Julian Sprague, the Sprague streetcar system was installed in cities around the globe.
The main generating plant in 1888 was two blocks north of here, on 7th Street between Canal and Cary Streets. In 1890, Richmond Union Passenger Railway merged with another streetcar company and three electric companies to form Richmond Railway & Electric. In 1893, this company built a generating plant with two engines on Johnson's Island and a year later built a ten-engine plant on Brown's Island. The Brown's and Johnson's Island plants were replaced by the 12th Street Hyrdo [sic] plant in 1901. |