82 Years Ago
Commuting to work was a tricky business in 1942. Many families owned cars by that time, but both gasoline and tires were being rationed. This made mass transit a necessity.
The Denver Tramway Company provided good service between Golden and Denver; however, several hundred Golden residents worked at the brand new Remington Arms Plant (now the Federal Center), which was running three shifts and was not located near the Tramway.
This was an ongoing problem for Golden’s workers, so the Chamber of Commerce took up the issue with the Tramway. The May 21, 1942 Colorado Transcript provides the Tramway’s response. They added a bus to carry workers from the Tramway stop to the Arms Plant.
For the 8AM Shift (35 minutes from Golden to the Plant)
6:57AM – Electric Car (Tramway) leaves Golden
7:15AM – Electric Car reaches Smith station
7:15AM – Bus leaves Smith station
7:32AM – Bus arrives at the Arms Plant
For the 4PM Shift (44 minutes from Golden to the Plant)
3:11PM – Electric Car (Tramway) leaves Golden
3:29PM – Electric Car reaches Smith station
3:38PM – Bus leaves Smith station
3:55PM – Bus arrives at the Arms Plant
The return trips were of similar duration. The Tramway declared that they could not feasibly provide service to cover the midnight shift. The Chamber promised to keep working on the issue.
The Tramway had been losing passengers for years, as more and more people turned to the convenience of driving their own automobiles; however, wartime rationing forced many people to return to using mass transit. When the war ended, people happily returned to driving private automobiles.
The Golden Transcript (originally called the Colorado Transcript) has been publishing since 1866. The Golden History Museum has been working on digitizing the historic issues. You’ll find old Transcripts online at coloradohistoricnewspapers.org
