The Birmingham Railway and Electric Company was both a

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

and electricity provider in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, US. Created in 1890 after the consolidation of several street railway operators, including the Birmingham Street Railway: * Highland Avenue and Belt Railroad 1885-1890 * East Lake Land Company 1886-1890 * East Birmingham Land Company 1887-1890 * Bessemer and Birmingham Railroad 1887-1890 * Enselt Company 1887-1890 In 1940, BREC became Birmingham Electric Company. The company faced increased pressure from car after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and ridership declined. By the 1950s streetcar operations gave way to bus service in the city. Forty-seven streamlined

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

s, which went into service in 1947, were sold to the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

in 1953. BEC changed its name to Birmingham Transit Company in 1951. In 1972, the

Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA) is the public transportation operator in the city of Birmingham, Alabama and surrounding areas. Created in 1972 to take over transit operations from private operators, it operates 109 buses ...

took over public transit operations.

Fleet

1950s

In addition to a variety of older cars kept in service, BEC ordered 47 PCC streetcars, at a cost of $25,000 each, from

Pullman Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

in 1947. Birmingham's cars were the 17425 model and were manufactured at the Osgood Bradley plant in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. The interiors were three shades of green with coffee-colored leather upholstery, stainless steel seat backs and chrome trim. The cars entered service on August 31, 1947. The exterior color scheme was updated to navy blue skirts with cream above, separated by a scarlet stripe.

References

* Hudson, Alvin W. and Harold E. Cox (1976) ''Street Railways of Birmingham''. Forty Fort, Pennsylvania: Harold E. Cox * Clemons, Marvin and Lyle Key (2008) ''Birmingham Rails: The Last Golden Era from World War II to Amtrak.'' Birmingham: Red Mountain Press.
Birmingham - Jefferson County Transit Authority
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birmingham Railway Electric Company Defunct Alabama railroads Defunct public transport operators in the United States Transportation in Birmingham, Alabama