The Kansas City Public Service Company was the most well known name for a series of public transit operators in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, USA, until being sold to the

Kansas City Area Transportation Authority The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) is a public transit agency in metropolitan Kansas City. It operates the Metro Area Express (MAX) bus rapid transit service in Kansas City, Missouri, and 78 local bus routes in seven counties ...

in 1969. Streetcar operations in Kansas City began as horsecar operations in 1869, followed by cable cars and electrification after the 1880s. There were multiple operators during the consolidation and post-consolidation period, operating under multiple names. *Metropolitan Street Railway Company (1886-1911), but it did not control all independent systems until 1905. *Kansas City Railway & Light Company (1901-1916), became the parent company of the Metropolitan when it formed. *Kansas City Railways Company (1911-1925), a reorganization of the Metropolitan under the same ownership and then spun off into its own company. *Kansas City Public Service Company (1926-1960) *Kansas City Transit (1960-1969), a name change for the Public Service Company Kansas City acquired 184

PCC streetcar The PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) is a streetcar (tram) design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful in its native country, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the ...

s after 1941, but streetcar operations ceased in June 1957. Over the history of streetcar operations, there were 25 streetcar routes in Kansas City operating on 318 miles of track. Twenty-nine of the PCC cars were later acquired by the Toronto Transit Commission. One car was returned to Kansas City in 2006 and restored as KCPS 551 after serving in Toronto (ex-TTC 4752) and San Francisco (ex Muni 1190). It was placed on static display initially at

Kansas City Union Station Kansas City Union Station (station code: KCY) is a union station opened in 1914, serving Kansas City, Missouri, and the surrounding metropolitan area. It replaced a small Union Depot from 1878. Union Station served a peak annual traffic of mo ...

and later in 2017 at

River Market The River Market (formerly known as Westport Landing, the City Market, and River Quay) is a riverfront neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri that comprises the first and oldest incorporated district in Kansas City. It stretches north of the downto ...

. One of the most famous routes, "The Country Club Line", still had rail until the 1990s when it became a hike/bike recreation trail. Other segments of streetcar line could still be found around the city in 2013.

References

External links

1948 Kansas City Scout No. 1056

Pictures of KCPS 551
Defunct public transport operators in the United States Defunct Kansas railroads Defunct Missouri railroads Kansas City interurban railways {{Missouri-transport-stub

See also

References

External links