Streetcar

Streetcar, passenger vehicle that rides on rails laid in the pavements of city streets. Horse-drawn streetcars (horsecars) were first used in New York City in 1852. Electrified streetcars (trolley cars), developed in 1888, drew power from overhead lines by means of a trolley, a device consisting of a pole attached to a wheel that ran along the lines. Although internal combustion buses replaced U.S. streetcars during the mid-1900s, the use of streetcars may be on the increase because they are more energy-efficient and less polluting.