Trolley Bus Ride

It was actually a bus, not a train, but that didn’t dull the boys’ excitement over riding the trolley today. Mass transit in the form of mule-drawn streetcars, or trolleys, began in Owensboro in 1887. Six years later, the system was upgraded to electric power. In 1934, buses replaced the local trolley cars, and while buses provided much more efficient mass transportation they lacked the trolley’s flair. In 1989, Owensboro purchased their first bus built like a trolley. I worked at city hall then and remember the excitement it generated. People loved the natural wood and polished brass appointments. The boys loved it too, each time we saw the trolley they would call our attention to it. We thought they might enjoy a ride, although riding in a moving vehicle without being strapped into their car-seats seemed to unsettle them.