Experimental Electric Car Crashes in Tacoma
A prototype electric streetcar plunged off its track on the Tacoma waterfront, leaving one passenger injured and highlighting the hazards of emerging transit technology.
L. F. Cook's electric elevated car ran off the track this afternoon and fell into the sand. S. M. Clark, who with half a dozen or more others occupied seats in the car, was thrown to the ground and bruised about the face. The others were only shaken up. Mr. Cook says the car jumped the track because of a defect in the rail at the turntable. The experimental track is located on the waterfront below the bluff, and has attracted the notice of travelers and citizens. As soon as the car left the rail it fell upon the sand, the forward end sinking into the ground about one and one-half feet.
“As soon as the car left the rail it fell upon the sand, the forward end sinking into the ground about one and one-half feet.”
Tacoma’s 1892 experiment with elevated electric transit mirrors the city’s long-standing, often volatile relationship with evolving urban rail systems. Today, this stretch of the waterfront is a revitalized destination, far removed from the experimental steel and sand traps of the 19th century.
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