The Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company, known as O&CB, was incorporated in 1886 in order to connect

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

with

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

over the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

. With a sanctioned monopoly over

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 ...

service in the two cities,Seilegman Syndicate Deal"
''The New York Times.'' August 14, 1902. Retrieved 4/11/08. the O&CB was among the earliest major electric street railway systems in the nation, and was one of the last streetcar operators in the U.S., making its last run in 1955.

Background

The predecessor of the O&CB was the Omaha Horse Railway Company, which was incorporated by an act of the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislative branch, legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators ...

in 1867. Electric streetcar service in Omaha is said to be the outgrowth of the 1887 Omaha Motor Railway, which was formed when the Omaha Horse Railway and the Omaha Cable Tramway Company were consolidated under the leadership of Samuel D. Mercer.Larsen, L.H., Cottrell, B.J. and Dalstrom, H.A. (2007) ''Upstream Metropolis: An Urban Biography of Omaha and Council Bluffs.'' University of Nebraska Press. p 151. George F. Wright, builder of the 1868 Council Bluffs Street Railway company, organized the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company in 1886, along with Frank Murphy and Guy C. Barton of Omaha and John T. Stewart, Thomas J. Evans and George F. Wright of Council Bluffs. Majority

stockholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the l ...

s included

Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field's, Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of qua ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and U.S. Senator Joseph Millard of Nebraska, and officials from the American Smelting Company. The last

horse car A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is a tram or streetcar pulled by a horse. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public transport, public rail transport, ...

route in the city ceased operation in June 1895.

Douglas Street Bridge

The O&CB's proposal for a combined wagon and railway bridge over the

was accepted by

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and the

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in 1887. This led to the construction of the Douglas Street Bridge, which was later known as the Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge. The bridge was opened to traffic on October 30, 1888.

Operations

After the construction of the bridge, O&CB laid out streetcar lines throughout Omaha and its suburbs, including South Omaha, Benson,

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, and

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. In 1888 Wright was elected Secretary of the company, and the O&CB built the first electric street railway line ever constructed in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. In 1898 the Omaha Street Railway, later acquired by the O&CB, ordered new cars, repaired and refurbished older cars, and allocated $100,000 for improvements to the streetcar system in anticipation of providing to and from Omaha's Trans-Mississippi Exposition. This increased the capacity of the company's power plant at 20th and Nicholas Streets. By 1902 all of the electric-powered railways in Omaha were consolidated in the O&CB. The company was sold to a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based syndicate for $4,000,000 that year, with the syndicate taking control of all stock.

Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway 1913

The Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company bought the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company in 1902, taking a hundred-year lease on the city's rails. It also consumed other local transportation franchises, including the Omaha Street Railway Company and the Council Bluffs Street Railway Company. When local banker Gurdon Wattles bought the company along with several competing lines and merged them into one unit called the Omaha Traction Company the O&CB ceased operating as an independent line. However, Wattles continued using the brand. In 1943 the company began training women as streetcar operators after many of its male drivers were called into military service during World War II. The women learned quickly and were paid the same wages as their male counterparts. In the late 1940s the O&CB was the target of a general boycott called by the DePorres Club, a central group in Omaha's civil rights movement. The youth-led organization targeted the railroad for its segregation practices and poor service to the Near North Side neighborhood four years before the

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social boycott, protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United ...

. The still-standing Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company Car Barn at the intersection of South 10th Street and Pierce Street was the last active barn in the city. The O&CB line ceased operating on March 4, 1955.Orr, R. (1996) ''O&CB: Streetcars of Omaha and Council Bluffs.'' p 154. The still-standing Car Barn at South 10th Street and Pierce Street was used by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

. There are plans to renovate this building in the near future There is a still-standing Sub-Station in

. A streetcar is preserved, on freight car trucks, on the Northeast corner of South 11th Street and Leavenworth Street in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. A streetcar, off its trucks, is preserved inside the Durham Western Heritage Museum at 801 South 10th Street in Omaha. Also a streetcar body remains as part of a cabin off Allied Road on the south side of Bellevue, NE.

References

External links

A large collection of historic photos of the Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway Company

Image of O&CB badge

Photo of the O&CB bridge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omaha Council Bluffs Railway Bridge Company History of Omaha, Nebraska Defunct companies based in Omaha, Nebraska Railway companies established in 1886 Tram, urban railway and trolley companies Railway companies disestablished in 1955 Defunct Iowa railroads Streetcars in Omaha, Nebraska American companies disestablished in 1955 American companies established in 1886

Background

Douglas Street Bridge

Operations

See also

References

External links