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Wheeling Traction Company: Serving Northern WV

Published: January 26, 2025

By: Adam Burns

The Wheeling Traction Company was West Virginia's second largest interurban, operating a 101-mile system between Moundsville and Weirton in the Northern Panhandle.

The system had intentions of also completing a route down the Ohio River's west bank in Ohio, and even opened service to Steubenville but the project was never completed.

During the early 20th century this region of West Virginia was a hub of commerce that included two major steel mills (Weirton and Wheeling), considerable manufacturing, and was a major division point of the Baltimore & Ohio. 

In addition, the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad even reached Wheeling via a branch off its Panhandle main line at Weirton.  Also, despite the region's economic hub, Wheeling Traction's lines were abandoned in segments between 1937-1941 and few traces remain today. 

Cooperative Transit Company car #4 was photographed here in Wheeling, West Virginia on July 7, 1940.

The Wheeling Traction Company would emerge from the city local streetcar operations that could be traced back to the Civil War and utilized a local broad gauge of 5’ 2½”.  In 1863, the Citizens Railway Company of Wheeling began service, featuring horse-drawn cars navigating on wooden tracks.  This line connected South Wheeling with North Wheeling and extended further to Bridgeport, Ohio.

This mode of transport lasted until 1887 when the Wheeling Railway Company was formed, merging with the Citizens Railway Company. Following this union, Wheeling's Citizen Railway tracks were electrified, allowing electric cars to take over the routes once dominated by horse-cars.

The first electric vehicles in Wheeling were of the Vanderpool type, equipped with a motor upfront. This motor worked through a sprocket chain tied to a wheel on the car's axle. These early electric cars could only travel in one direction, necessitating the use of turntables or a "Y" junction to change course. Notably, Wheeling was just the third city in America to implement an electric street railway system.

The tracks for these electric cars were built with flat rails similar to those used for horse cars, laid atop a 6x6-inch wooden beam with cross ties spaced five feet apart. Power transfer to the car was achieved using two overhead trolley wires, eliminating the need for a return through the rail.

The sytem achieved interurban characteristics after completing an electrified line southward into Benwood in 1889.  Service was further extended to Bridgeport, Ohio in 1893 following completion fo the new Back River Bridge.

That same year, the Bellaire, Bridgeport & Martins Ferry Street Railway Company was born, completing a line from Bellaire through Bridgeport to Martins Ferry, Ohio.

By 1895, another group began laying tracks further south from Benwood to Moundsville. In 1898, several investors from Wheeling pushed rails northward, opening an electrified route from Steubenville to Brilliant, Ohio.

This was part of an effort to open a more heavily built line along the Ohio side of the river as the West Virginia lines were largely side-of-the-road operations, which the company deemed insufficient.  Despite many years of trying, they never completed a similar line on the west bank. 

In 1899, the Wheeling Railway Company was renamed as the Wheeling Traction Company, which took over the Wheeling Railway's interests, including the Bridgeport, Bellaire & Martins Ferry Street Railway Company that operated the Ohio lines and Benwood-Moundsville segment. 

In 1901, a group of Wheeling businessmen formed the Northern Ohio Valley Railway Company—later renamed as the Pan Handle Traction Company—to complete a new electrified route from Wheeling to Wellsburg, West Virginia.

Just two years later, this line was extended to Lazearville, West Virginia. In 1902, the Steubenville to Brilliant line was acquired by Wheeling Traction.

This particular operation featured heavy steel center-door cars, with local trips taking 90 minutes over the 23-mile route. Limited services completed it in 60 minutes, running three times daily.

Interestingly, Wheeling Traction frequently claimed the 7-mile gap between Warrenton and Brilliant, Ohio would be completed, yet it remained two separate suburban lines throughout its existence, despite maps illustrating it as complete.

In 1904, the Tri-State Railway Company, which would later become the Steubenville, Wellsburg & Weirton Railway Company, built a line from Wellsburg to Steubenville. About two years later this system completed an extension from East Steubenville to Weirton, West Virginia.

Around 1904, Wheeling Traction had opened furthe from Bridgeport to Barton, Ohio. By 1906, the lines were extended from Martins Ferry to Rayland, Ohio, and in 1907, the Bellaire line reached Shadyside, Ohio.

In 1912 Wheeling Traction Company's stock was acquired by Pittsburgh’s West Penn Railways.  A few years later in 1917, West Penn took over the routes connecting Steubenville with Wellsburg and Weirton. 

Infrastructure

Wheeling Traction's electrification was acquired from a power plant that was converted from an old skating rink in South Wheeling.  However, the plant was later moved to a new facility at 42nd Street in Wheeling.

In later years the system purchased power directly from the Windsor Power Plant, located in Beech Bottom, West Virginia, approximately twelve miles north of Wheeling.

Equipment and Operations

Wheeling Traction Company predominantely operated double truck steel passenger cars on its street-running operations.  Its interurban operations, however, typically employed, large steel type cars with center entrances.

Daily service typically involved seventy cars on scheduled routes, with additional freight and express cars running between Wheeling and other locations like Moundsville and Steubenville-Weirton. 

The company employed a workforce of approximately 600 people across various departments such as transportation, track, and shop. Their facilities, including shops and barns, are situated on Wheeling Island, McMechen, West Virginia, Beech Bottom, West Virginia, and Follansbee, West Virginia. In 1921, the company transported 27 million passengers along its lines.

Final Years

West Penn's lease of the property ended in 1931 due to Wheeling Traction’s financial downfall, in large part due to the ongoing economic downturn. When Pan Handle Traction declared bankruptcy in 1936, the interurban was shut down on October 25, 1937.

The Moundsville line operated until 1941 when it was abandoned. After facing bankruptcy in 1931, the company re-emerged as the Co-operative Transit Company, now owned by its employees. The Barton and Shadyside lines continued to run shortly after World War II before ceasing operations.