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Photo of Cherrelyn trolley car, south of Denver in what is now Englewood, ca. 1910.

The horse-drawn trolley, or horse car, was a common site in the 19th century and early 20th century.  But the Cherrelyn trolley, nicknamed “The Gravity and Bronco Railroad,” distinguished itself by virtue of the fact that the horse which pulled the trolley uphill to its destination then enjoyed a ride back to its starting point as a passenger.  The trip up, about a mile and a half, took about fifteen minutes; the trip down, about three minutes.   The route started at a street car transfer point in south Denver (at approximately Hampton and Broadway), headed uphill south through the town of Orchard Place and ended in the town of Cherrelyn.   

The town of Cherrelyn (sometimes spelled Cherrylyn) was founded around 1883.   First, a man named Thomas Dunn built a small grocery and feed store at a country crossroads south of Denver which served farms and ranches in the area.  Then, James Cherry, a Denver land developer, bought an adjacent quarter-section of land and began promoting the crossroads and the store as the town of Cherrelyn, presumably in honor of his wife or daughter.    Today that spot is at the intersection of Broadway and Quincy. 

After pulling the car to Cherrelyn, the horse would be unhitched by the driver and backed up a wooden ramp to the platform shown in the photo.   The driver would then give the car a push, hop on and take the car down to the starting point.   (Regarding my posted photo:  I wonder where the driver might be?  Maybe he took the picture.)

On January 7, 1900, a well-intentioned departure from normal procedures proved catastrophic to one of the horses.  On that day, Quickstep, a long-faithful equine servant for the Cherrelyn line,  was standing on the trolley platform on a routine return trip to South Broadway, where the passengers would dis-embark and new passengers board for their trip up to Cherrelyn.    It so happened that day, though, that a stiff northerly was blowing, so stiff that when the car reached a section where the downhill incline was at its shallowest angle, the car stopped.  The driver, John Bogue, not having the heart to make Quickstep get off his platform and pull, succeeded in obtaining help from some of the passengers to push the car until a steeper downward incline was reached, at which point the trip was resumed.  

Bogue, noting an unusually large number of passengers waiting for the next trip up and an increase in the wind speed,  made the decision to fetch another one of his horses and press it into service.  It is not known whether the horse he picked was a casual laborer or  one of Quickstep’s experienced fellow travelers, i.e., Frederick, Curley, Dobbin, or Old Dick.  In any event, the trolley began its next climb hitched to Quickstep and a second horse.  Bogue’s thinking was that the second horse could help Quickstep up the hill until the nearly level ground was reached.  At that point, Bogue would unhitch the second horse, where it would wait for the trolley’s return.  When the trolley reached that point on its return, both Quickstep and the other horse would be hitched to the trolley.    The first trip was successful.   It was on the second trip, during the uphill climb to Cherrelyn, that things went dreadfully wrong.    Prior to reaching the level point, the trolley had to pass through a narrow cut with embankments on either side.  Whether Quickstep was numbed to routine, thinking of oats or just plain stubborn, he stuck to the very middle of the tracks, forcing the other horse up on to the embankment.  It stumbled, floundered and fell.  Quickstep continued on, pulling the trolley over the body of the other horse, partly de-railing the car.   The horse was pinned under the platform with his hind legs thrust between the spokes of one of the heavy wheels.  It took nearly two hours to extract the poor animal.   Its fate is unknown, but, hopefully, it met a merciful end.   Following this mishap, Bogue was quoted as saying, “Boy, it’s my first accident, and you bet your life I’ll never again use a second horse, no matter how the wind blows.  Old Quickstep will never have to quit the platform again, either, on the back trip.”

In 1910, facing competition from expanded electric trolley service, “The Gravity and Broncho Railroad,” which had begun operating as early as 1883, made its last run.  By then, it had become quite a tourist attraction, and there were probably thousands of picture postcards like this one which had been published featuring the trolley and its passenger horse.   

It’s important to note that, although I have made reference by name to Cherrelyn and Orchard Place, both towns were legally incorporated in the spring of 1903 into the new city of Englewood, which means “wooded nook.”  A greatly transformed Cherrelyn trolley is on display in the lobby of the Englewood Civic Center (see views of the trolley from past and present at https://ceramembersblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/a-horsecar-named-cherrelyn/ ).    The trolley in the photo I’ve posted has seen a fair amount of wear and tear. In a 1906 article, the Greeley Tribune describes the trolley as “shabby and worn,” decorated inside and out with the “carvings and writings of tourist fools.”   I’m sure a lot of work and care went into the restoration displayed in Englewood’s Civic Center, but I’d prefer to look at it as it was. 

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