TEXAS ELECTRIC RAILWAY. The Texas Electric Railway was chartered on July 15, 1916, to consolidate the Texas Traction Company and the Southern Traction Company, effective as of January 1, 1917. The merged company operated three routes out of Dallas, one to Sherman and Denison, one to Ennis and Corsicana, and one to Hillsboro and Waco. With a length of 226 miles, the Texas Electric was the longest interurban between the Mississippi River and California. The company was a local Dallas undertaking promoted by J. F. Strickland. Although built to high standards, the company used streetcar tracks to reach its terminal in downtown Dallas. The Texas Electric was primarily a passenger carrier, although it also handled mail and express. Local streetcar service was also provided in several towns served by the interurban. In 1928 the company began to develop a carload freight business, but was hampered by its inability to handle freight cars through Dallas. By 1942 the Texas Electric was the last independent interurban line operating in Texas. In 1941 the light-traffic Corsicana branch was abandoned. The rest of the system operated through World War II, but patronage declined thereafter due to the increased use of private automobiles and trucks, and the Texas Electric was abandoned on December 31, 1948.
