The Springfield Street Railway (SSR) was an

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

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

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

system operating in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

as well as surrounding communities with connections in Agawam,

Blandford Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...

, Chicopee, East Longmeadow,

Longmeadow Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,853 at the 2020 census. History Longmeadow was first settled in 1644, and officially incorporated October 17, 1783. The town was originally farmland wit ...

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

, Monson,

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and f ...

Russell Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) ** Bertrand Russell *Justice Russell (disambiguation) Places *Russell Island (disambiguation) *Mount Russel ...

Ware WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

, Westfield, and West Springfield. With the first modern streetcars appearing in 1891, by 1905 when it was acquired by the

New York, New Haven and Hartford The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

, the system had more miles of electrified track than New York City with its fledgling subway, including connections to the

Worcester Street Railway The Worcester Consolidated Street Railway (WCSR) was a streetcar and later bus system in Worcester and surrounding areas of Central Massachusetts, United States. Its earliest predecessor opened in 1863 and its final successor closed in 1978. T ...

Holyoke Street Railway The Holyoke Street Railway (HSR) was an interurban streetcar and bus system operating in Holyoke, Massachusetts as well as surrounding communities with connections in Amherst, Massachusetts, Amherst, Chicopee, Massachusetts, Chicopee, Easthampton, ...

Hartford Street Railway The Connecticut Company was the primary electric street railway company in the U.S. state of Connecticut, operating both city and rural trolleys and freight service. It was controlled by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (New Haven), ...

, and the

Berkshire Street Railway The Berkshire Street Railway Company (BSR) of Massachusetts was one of many interurban streetcar systems in North America around the turn of the century, incorporated by that name in 1901 with local service in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfiel ...

. Today the former headquarters of the Springfield Street Railway Company serves as the maintenance facilities of

Peter Pan Bus Lines Peter Pan Bus Lines operates an intercity bus service in the Northeastern United States. It is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. It operates service to and from Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampsh ...

, known colloquially as the Trolley Barn. Following prolonged negotiations, in 1981 the company, its property, and employee payroll at that time, were acquired and merged with the

Pioneer Valley Transit Authority The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) oversees and coordinates public transportation in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, offering fixed-route bus service, paratransit service, and senior van service. PVTA was created by Chapter ...

, into what is now known as its Springfield Area Transit Company (SATCo) division.

References

Further reading