Electric tram (streetcar)
Tranvía eléctrico
- Date
- 1881–1888 · confidence high
- Place
- Lichterfelde, Berlin, Germany
- Credited to
- Werner von Siemens (Lichterfelde, 1881); Frank J. Sprague (practical trolley system, Richmond, Virginia, 1888)
- People
- 👤 Frank Julian Sprague1857–1934👤 Werner von Siemens1816–1892
- Field
- Movement
What it is
Urban transport vehicle running on rails powered by an overhead line. The Richmond network demonstrated its viability, and within a decade it replaced the horse-drawn tram worldwide.
What it led to
- Expansion of cities along the lines (streetcar suburbs)
- The underground and electric railway
- Mass leisure: amusement parks at the end of the line