Sheridan Railway Co. Streetcar #115 – The Fort Line

In 1911, Sheridan welcomed its first electric streetcar service. Tracks were laid throughout town and out to nearby communities, offering a faster, modern alternative to horse-drawn wagons and horseback travel. For years, streetcars carried miners, families, schoolchildren, and freight — connecting downtown with Fort Mackenzie and coal camps along the Tongue River.

Streetcar #115 History

#115 was a “fort car” servicing Fort Mackenzie. After streetcar service ended in the 1920s with the decline of the coal mines and the rise of automobiles and buses, most of the cars were lost to time. The dilapidated remains of this car were rediscovered fifty years later and restored for Sheridan’s Bicentennial in 1976. The restored Ol’ #115 was displayed at various locations over the years, including Main Street, the Best Western Sheridan Center, and the County Museum.

In 2025, the Sheridan Community Land Trust moved Ol’ #115 to the Big Goose Natural Area as a permanent home with a protective shelter. In 2026, 100 years after it was retired, SCLT began restoring the streetcar again — ensuring that its story continues to be shared for generations to come.

Click to expand for the rest of the history

In early 1910, Albert Emanuel and William Sullivan of the Electric Street Railway of Dayton, Ohio, proposed to build and operated an electric streetcar system in Sheridan. The proposed line would run through Sheridan and serve as a direct line to the nearby coal camps. The City of Sheridan quickly approved the proposal and by July of 1910, rails were being laid. In just over one year’s time, the City Line was completed with service beginning on August 11, 1911.

Following the tremendous success of the City Line, a second route, known as the Fort Line, was established. The Fort Line was an extension from Main Street, up Lewis Hill to the county fairgrounds, across Deadman’s Draw, and on to Fort Mackenzie – the present-day VA Hospital. Once at the Fort, passengers would help turn the streetcar on a turntable for the ride back to town.

The streetcar service expanded even more with the construction of a 12-mile route from Sheridan to the nearby coal camps. This Interurban route was completed in February of 1912 and made stops at Dietz, Acme, Model, Carneyville, and Monarch.

Sheridan’s streetcar system had some 18 miles of track within the city, which included a short spur from the end of the City Line to the sugar factory on Coffeen Avenue.

Over the years, the streetcar became the pride and joy of Sheridan and the nearby mining communities and operated with no additional changes.
After the city decided to repave downtown Main Street and not replace that stretch of double track due to decreased passenger counts, service on the City Line was discontinued in September of 1923. The Fort Line continued to operate until March of 1924 when it was replaced by a bus. That left the Interurban routes to carry on as the last remaining electric railway in the state. However, it met the same fate of abandonment in June of 1926.

Around 2015, the bridge was re-engineered to remove the wood road deck and replace it with corrugated steel. By 2022, its condition made it no longer viable to repair, so the decision was made to replace it with a bridge of modern construction and materials. In 2024, the bridge was decommissioned and moved to this location.