Newark and Granville Street Railway, first US interurban tram-train

Background. Interurbans fit on a continuum between urban street railways and full-fledged railroads, often running on streets in cities and sharing or using abandoned railway lines outside them. The development of interurbans in the late 19th century resulted from the convergence of improvements in electric traction and untapped demand for transportation in rural areas, particularly in the Midwestern United States.

Definition. An interurban is a type of electric railway with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars running within and between cities or towns. In 1905, the United States Census Bureau defined an interurban as a street railway having more than half its trackage outside municipal limits, distinguishing it from purely urban systems.

Context. Newark is a city in Licking County, Ohio, and its county seat. The emergence of the Newark and Granville Street Railway in 1889 marked the first interurban in the United States, occurring before the automobile development was advanced and when investors viewed interurbans as the future of local transportation.