The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 58, July 1954 - April, 1955 Page: 248

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

of memories drew a crowd to 6th Street and Congress Avenue, ... to
mark the passing of the big yellow streetcars and the coming of the
new buses that have now taken their places.
Traffic was halted for nearly an hour as the street was thronged
with people before an improvised platform-while civic leaders marked
the end of the Main Line cars with formal ceremony.
Mayor Tom Miller, master of ceremonies, formally opened the pro-
gram stating that Austin's early expansion had largely followed the
streetcar routes. ... The Longhorn band, under the direction of Col.
George E. Hurt, keynoted the occasion by the playing of Auld Lang
Syne. Wallace and John Tobin, sons of the man who operated the
mule-drawn cars in Austin; and Glen Shipe, son of the late M. M.
Shipe, operator of the first trolley, were introduced. ... The mayor
invited many older citizens, who once rode the old mule cars, to the
speakers' stand. Among those who reminisced briefly were Ed Schutze,
W. G. Bell, and D. T. Lamme.
After the ceremony crowds thronged about the trolleys for the round
trip from one end of the line to the other. ... For at least an hour,
both the old and the new traveled over the Main Line journey.20
The streetcar era in Austin had officially ended.
Early in June, 1940, most of the rails were removed by the city,
but some remained in a few blocks until September, 1942 21 At
that time the last fifty thousand pounds went into the scrap heap
as part of the Carload Day observance in the wartime campaign
for vital metals. Many times during the local transit jams of World
War II both company officials and harried bus riders longed for
the old streetcars.
An aged physician had another reason for regretting their aban-
donment. "I hated to see the streetcars stop running," he declared,
"It was so convenient for me to tell a patient to drink a glass of
water every time a streetcar passed."22
20Austin Statesman, February 7, 194o; Austin American, February 8, 1940.
2lAustin American, September 29, 1942; Austin Statesman, September 28, 29g, 1942.
22Dr. Robert W. Shipp to A. T. J., personal interview, March 26, 1943.

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