The Story of the Cedar Valley Road Electric Railroad and Interurban Trolley System

The Story of the Cedar Valley Road Electric Railroad and Interurban Trolley SystemIn 1895, entrepreneur Louis S. Cass and his brothers opened a two mile long narrow gauge horsecar line in Waterloo, Iowa. The line grew into the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railway, or the Cedar Valley Road, with right of way extending from Cedar Falls north to Waverly. A busy freight and passenger service, the Cedar Valley was unusual in its day for its reliance upon electricity for motive power. Five 60 ton Westinghouse locomotives hauled

In 1895, entrepreneur Louis S. Cass and his brothers opened a two-mile long narrow gauge
horsecar line in Waterloo, Iowa. The line grew into the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern
Railway, or the ÒCedar Valley RoadÓ, with right- of-way extending from Cedar Falls north to Waverly. A busy freight and passenger service,
the Cedar Valley was unusual in its day for its
reliance upon electricity for motive power. Five 60-ton Westinghouse locomotives hauled wheat, cotton, corn and mining and industrial products at high speed, while box motors and interurban trolley cars speeded passengers to and fro. The success of the operation inspired Westinghouse to create The Story of the Cedar Valley Road Ñ and demonstrate how electric power could trump steam powered freight and passenger service. This reprint was made using an original copy of this rare book. It has been slightly reformatted for readability, but care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the text.