Electric Railway Could Not Compete With Model T

Postal inspectors effectively pulled the plug on a Corsicana-to-Palestine electric railway by banning the fraudulent firm from the U.S. mail on Dec. 5, 1907.

Following a modest debut in Ohio in 1889, the revolutionary new mode of transportation took the country by storm. Enthusiasts brashly predicted the so-called “interurban” would make the iron horse as obsolete as the covered wagon.

More realistic boosters never seriously suggested the electric conveyance would replace the steam locomotive, which would continue to carry cargo and passengers over long distances. They did believe, however, that the interurban had a promising future in the short-haul commute.

While the steam competition kept the number of daily runs and stops to a bare-bones minimum, lower operating costs enabled the electric alternative to provide hourly departures as well as connections to communities outside the existing system. Besides convenience, interurbans offered travelers cleaner and more comfortable accommodations with the catchy slogan of “no cinders, no dirt, no dust, and no smoke.”

From the very beginning, ambitious Lone Star promoters envisioned electric links between the state