Louisville Railway Company stock certificate c1890 (Kentucky)

Streetcar historical collectible! Elaborately printed green certificate with two stunning vignettes. Great center vignette of an old electric trolley car. To the right is a vignette of a classical female figure handling lightning bolts. Unissued and not cancelled. Circa 1890 from company records and issued examples.  Measures approximately 12 x 7.5 inches. Preferred stock shares.

The Louisville Railway Company (LRC) was a streetcar and interurban rail operator in Louisville, Kentucky. It began under the name Louisville City Railway in 1859 as a horsecar operator and slowly acquired other rival companies. It was renamed in 1880 following the merger of all Mule operations as the Louisville Railway Company.

Origin:
Founded in 1859 as the Louisville City Railway, it initially operated horse-drawn cars.

Expansion:
Formed in 1890 through the merger of local horse- and mule-drawn streetcar companies—namely the Louisville City Railway, Central Passenger Railroad, and others—it quickly converted to electric trolleys that same year, marking a pivotal shift in the city's mobility infrastructure.

Electrification:
The system began converting from mules/horses to electric trolleys in 1890, becoming fully electric by 1901.

Interurban Lines:
The company owned the Louisville and Interurban Railroad (L&I), which connected Louisville to surrounding towns like Jeffersontown, Prospect, and La Grange.

Transition to Buses:
The first buses were introduced in 1923 as the company began moving away from rail-based transit.

Louisville Transit Company:
The LRC was renamed the Louisville Transit Company in the early 1950s as the last streetcars were retired in 1951.

Product descriptions and images

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