Wakefield & Stoneham Street Railway, circa 1893

"Crews on the Wakefield and Stoneham Street Railway were responsible for removing the snow from the tracks to keep them clear while the Town cleared the sidewalks. The 'rolling stock' of the Wakefield and Stoneham Street Railway Company was said to be of the latest and best equipment. The cars were heated by electricity during the winter months, a fact that the riding public was said to 'fully appreciate.' Chartered in May 1892, the street railway attracted several 'strong capitalists' in its early years. By the summer of 1892, tracks were laid from the Post Office (at the corner of Albion Street) along Albion Street to the junction of Main and Elm Streets in Stoneham. The first car traveled the route on Auguust 14, 1892. The route was soon extended to Stoneham's Central Square. In November, tracks were laid from downtown Wakefield to the Melrose line, extending to Franklin Street in that city by the spring. Both the Stoneham and Melrose extensions resulted in connections with the Lynn and Boston Railway. In the fall of 1893, tracks were laid from the Town Hall, at the corner of Water Street, through Saugus to Lynn." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2005

Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Historical Society.

ca. 1893

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

[Wakefield, Mass.] : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department