(The following was written by Earl Nicholson and is reprinted from “Reflections II”, a collection of local stories available at the Grove City Welcome Center and Museum. Any opinions made in the article are from the author.)
When Adam Grant finally got all of his “rolling stock” assembled he had three motor cars and six trailers. The six mile Line operated on a ½ hour schedule during peak hours and on a one hour schedule until 10 p.m. then started again at 6 a.m. the next morning. A freight run was made each day during the off hours and later an early morning “milk run” was made.
The one bright spot in all of this was the “lieutenants” Mr. Grant had working for him. George Darnell was the company secretary, who took care of many of the details, and Daniel Weygandt who was the contractor that supplied all of the lumber for the crossing and bridges and all the ties for the interurban line. (Once the line was up and operating Daniel Weygandt became the line supervisor).
The initial run on the “Grove City and Greenlawn Street Railway Line” was made at 4:30 p.m. October 31, 1898. This run started at the streetcar transfer station at Greenlawn Cemetery and ended at the north city limits of Grove City. The Grove City Council had not yet approved of the new street railways operation on their streets). This was not an uncommon occurrence. The town councils were typically made up, primarily, of local businessmen who are not overly pleased to watch their customers get on these new “conveyances” to go shopping in the “big city”. However, even though the street railway could not pick up passengers within the city limits, the car barns were located at the Park Street entrance to Johnson and Grant’s Lumber Yard, later The Grove City Lumber Yard. On November 7, 1898, one week after the initial run, the Grove City Council passed the ordinance permitting The Grove City and Greenlawn Street Railway to transport passengers within the village of Grove City. Application for permission to operate within the village of Grove City had been made on March 2, 1898.
The interurban provided a way of getting perishable goods, such as milk, quickly to the Columbus market. Also typically the interurban line would bring electricity to the towns and villages that it passed through. This is the case for Grove City.
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