Municipal Street Railway System Annual Reports
Scope and Contents note
The Municipal Street Railway System annual reports date from 1919 to 1937, although reports for some years are missing. Two reports exist for 1919; the second is a report on the finances of the Municipal Street Railway System by the Comptroller. The reports include financial information (in its first year of operation, the System operated at a loss of 18,000 dollars) and information on routes, including schedule changes and revenue, as well as other operating statistics.
Dates
- Creation: 1919-1937
Creator
- Seattle Municipal Street Railway (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access note
Records are open to the public.
Historical Note
The Municipal Street Railway System was formed in 1919 when the City purchased the rail lines of the Puget Sound Traction, Light and Power Company. The System was administered by the Department of Public Utilities until 1932 when the Department was abolished. The System was then under the authority of the Board of Public Works. By 1938, the System was archaic and bankrupt. It received a loan from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in 1939 and began a modernization program. The System was reorganized in 1939, changed its name to the Seattle Transit System, and came under the policy direction of the Seattle Transportation Commission from 1939-1951 and then the Seattle Transit Commission until 1971. The newly formed Department of Transportation operated the System until 1973 when it became part of Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (Metro). These records are part of the Metro records located at the Washington State Archives, Puget Sound Branch. Annual reports (1919-1936) of the Municipal Street Railway System are located at the Seattle Municipal Archives (see Record Series 1802-H4).
Extent
0.2 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Location of Records
SMA
General Note
A Comptroller or Clerk File (CF) can consist of correspondence, reports, petitions, contracts, agreements, etc. from elected officials, City departments, other government agencies, or the general public, which have been placed on file with the Office of the City Clerk (OCC). They are primarily permanent records, but also include routine material which was periodically purged. Certain archival records identified in the CF have been removed, arranged into records series, and incorporated into the collection of the Seattle Municipal Archives, a program of the OCC.
Subject
- Seattle Municipal Street Railway (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Municipal Street Railway System Annual Reports 1919-1937
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- EAD Location
- http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv76617
Repository Details
Part of the Seattle Municipal Archives Repository