Northampton Street Railway
| Northampton Street Railway | |
|---|---|
A Northampton Street Railway car on Main Street, 1907 | |
| Overview | |
| Owner | Northampton Street Rwy. Co. |
| Area served | |
| Transit type | Light rail
|
| Headquarters | 125 Locust Street Northampton, MA 01060-2066 |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | September 8, 1866: 912 August 26, 1893 (electrified) 1933 (bus) |
| Ended operation | December 25, 1933 (rail) August 22, 1951 (bus) |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge: 912 |
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The Northampton Street Railway (NSR), founded as the Northampton and Williamsburg Street Railway, was an interurban streetcar and bus system operating in Northampton, Massachusetts and its villages of Florence and Leeds, as well as surrounding communities with connections in Easthampton, and Williamsburg.
Ultimately a prolonged labor strike beginning in August 1951, led to the company ceasing all services and relinquishing its routes and franchise later that year. Following its bankruptcy, several of the railway company's former bus routes were assumed by Western Massachusetts Bus Lines. Purchased two years after the company ceased operations, today the railway's former headquarters serves as the main garage of the Northampton Department of Public Works.