Rutland Horse Railway (1885 - 1894) which became Rutland Street Railway (1895-1924)after electrification in the summer of 1894.

On January 27, 1906 the Rutland Street Railway merged with Chittenden Power Company, Peoples Gas Light Company and the Vermont Internal Improvement Company. The result was Rutland Railway Light and Power Company. This huge (by Vermont standards), trolley company had a maximum of 35 miles of track, including North and South Belt lines, and the Rutland to Fair Haven & Pultney interurban line with a seasonal a route to Lake Bomoseen trolley and amusement park.

At the peak of trolley operations in 1913, these lines carried almost three million passengers and made considerable income on express and freight shipments. In 1914 there was a decrease in earnings and an increase in operating expenses. This continued untill the line ceased in 1924. The last run to Lake Bomoseen was in the summer of 1916.

Some of the large interurban cars were converted into one man cars douring WWI. The increasing popularity of the automobile after World War I, brought the trolley and interurban lines to thier knees. The interurban line to Fair Haven & New York State contined thanks to freight operations. July 6, 1924 was the day of the last interurban run from West Rutland to Fair Haven. The trolleys operated untill December 29 1924, although The company sought a December 1st closing date Merchants convinced them to operate through the Christmas Season.

The Main Line's original horse cars were 5 single truck 18 ft cars. These could seat 15 people and were built by C.J.Brill in Philladelphia, PA. The cars were equiped with red marker lights after sunset. .........

The City Line cars also made by Brill consisted of 6 single truck 26 ft cars. There was seating for 16, the interior was lined with curly birch wood and had fine uphostry. Each car was fitted with a small coal stove for winter comfort. These cars were named as well as numbered ......

Rutland Street Railway's City line ran up Center St. to Wales St., onto Washington to Main St then Crescent to Grove St, while the initial mainline ran from the Rutland Fair Grounds to West Rutland, VT. Additions after electrification included a line from West Rutland to Castleton, VT, to Fair Haven, VT, with a branch line to Lake Bomoseen.

Bomoseen Trolley Park, Lake Bomoseen, Vt. A popular summer weekend destination, with swimming, picnic's, dancing and more.

Albert(Bud) Spaulding. unpublished notes, Collection).

Tour of Route 4 in Vermont

Left to Lake Bomoseen Inn and Lake Bomoseen State Park.

10.8 (0.1L) - Note the "gingerbread" house on the left.

11.8 (1.0L) - Marker for Edwin Drake, a native of Hydeville, who was the first person to drill for oil (in Pennsylvania) and "created" the American oil industry.

12.1 (0.3) - Junction with VT 30 (north + south) at Castleton Four Corners.

Right (south) leads to Poultney.

VT 30 (north) goes by Lake Bomoseen and north to Middlebury.

The trolley line from Rutland had special summer excursions to the Lake Bomoseen Amusement and Trolley Park.

12.5 (0.4L) - Old US 4 once made a sharp left, followed by a sharp right through a narrow bridge.

Crystal Beach at Lake Bomoseen was still a big attraction in the fifties. There were also some classy hotels for tourists on the lake and the big bands came in the summer. I can't be sure but it seems I remember there was a carousel at Crystal Beach.

I grew up on the Castleton Road in West Rutland. The old trolley line ran right through our back yard. Our house sat on a small hill above the railroad tracks. My brother and I used to walk to town for ice cream cones (less than a mile) on the tracks and one of the highlights of our young lives was when the train stopped and the engineer said "hop in". We rode home in the engine of the steam train and I remember watching them shovel coal into the firebox. Both the engineer and the man in the caboose used to wave at us when they went by.

From our house we could see the "lime plant" of the Vermont Marble company across the swamp, now called wetlands. :-) My father worked for several years at the VT Marble Company downtown as a marble cutter. The first time I realized I had a fear of height was when (as a child) I looked down into the quarry and saw the men down there looking as small as ants. I've heard that quarry has since been filled with water.

I literally can't "go home again" because our house was torn down to make way for an overpass when they put in the four lane highway. The old Castleton Road is still there. I've lived in several places around the country but my brother still lives in West Rutland.