Formation The earliest predecessor of the Worcester Consolidated was the
Worcester Horse Railway. It was
chartered by an act approved by the
state legislature on April 6, 1861, with capital of $100,000 (equivalent to $ million in ). Its first
horsecar line ran from Webster Square through downtown to Bell Hill via Main Street and
Lincoln Street, with a spur on Front and Grafton streets to the
Western Railroad station. The line opened on September 1, 1863; a spur on Pleasant Street opened on November 3. The company was a financial failure; after a failed reorganization, it was seized for
insolvency on April 25, 1866. The Pleasant Street line was soon removed. The company's first power station, the Fremont Street station, was completed in 1893. The final horsecars ran in November 1893. Several expansions were completed during this period, including a line on Providence Street, a line to Grant Square, and extension of the Pleasant Street line to Newton Square. Streetcars had a variety of colors and patterns that indicated which lines they operated on. The Traction Company's stock was heavily
watered. The city investigated the Traction Company in 1897. It found that only a small part of the Traction Company was owned by Worcester residents and that it had misled the public about the sources of funding for the system's electrification. The WCSR leased three other rail companies in Worcester in 1895–1896: • The
North End Street Railway was chartered on June 22, 1891. By September 1891, it opened a horsecar line running north from Adams Square on Burncoat Street. Over the following year, the line was extended north to
Greendale and south to Union Station via Lincoln Street and Summer Street for a total of . Cars used the Foster Street track of the Worcester and Shrewsbury Street Railway to run to City Hall. The system was also electrified during that year. In December 1893, the North End and the Worcester Consolidated began sharing use of the two companies' tracks on Lincoln Street and Summer Street. The North End Street Railway was leased by the WCSR on August 1, 1895. However, the company only built of track in downtown Worcester. The WCSR opened a line to
Grafton via
North Grafton – its first line outside Worcester city limits – on December 16, 1898. It featured a lengthy trestle over the
Millbury Branch of the
Boston and Albany Railroad at Millbury Junction. An extension of the Pleasant Street line to
Tatnuck was opened on May 30, 1899, along with a spur on June Street from Pleasant Street to Chandler Street. The Salisbury Street line was extended to Forest Street on June 11. A branch on Maywood Street from Park Avenue to Columbus Park (Lovell Street) opened on November 30, 1899. The Southbridge Street line was extended from Stearns Square to Hope Avenue in 1900.
Worcester Railways and Investment Corporation The first decade of the 20th century was a "period of rapid consolidation" for the street railways in Massachusetts as the city systems purchased suburban lines.
Worcester and Suburban The
Worcester, Leicester and Spencer Street Railway was organized on March 7, 1891. It opened from Salem Square to
Leicester on August 18, 1891, with the full route to
Spencer opened on September 8. It was the first line in the Worcester area to use electric power, as the initial segment to Leicester opened two weeks before the Consolidated's first electric line. A branch from Webster Square to Leesville (Hadwen Park) was added in 1892 or 1893. The company also planned, but never built, a line from Worcester to
Southbridge via
Rochdale and
Charlton City. The
Worcester and Millbury Street Railway was chartered on May 13, 1892, and opened between Worcester and Bramanville via Millbury in October 1892. On May 12, 1893, the legislature authorized the Worcester, Leicester and Spencer to acquire other companies and change its name to the
Worcester and Suburban Street Railway. The company merged with the Worcester and Millbury on January 18, 1895, and the renaming took effect on January 31. It opened east to
Marlborough on July 18, and a branch from Northborough to
Westborough opened on August 11. Connection into Worcester was delayed by reconstruction of the Lake Quinsigamond causeway. Temporary track across part of the causeway was used in July. Through service between Worcester and Marlborough began on August 12, 1897. Passengers initially had to walk across the grade crossing of the
Agricultural Branch in Northboro to transfer between streetcars.
Leominster and Clinton |alt=A wooden trestle crossing over a railway line On October 17, 1900, four of the companies were merged as the
Leominster and Clinton Street Railway: A short extension south to the Acre neighborhood opened within the next year. On May 7, 1896, the state legislature gave permission for the company to change its name and extend to
Leominster. The name change to Leominster and Clinton Street Railway was approved by stockholders on May 27. The extension to Leominster opened on June 20, 1896, making the line long. The
Worcester and Clinton Street Railway was organized on March 3, 1898. In Clinton, the company used the tracks of the Leominster and Clinton Street Railway, terminating at Clinton House (High Street at Church Street). Worcester and Clinton Street Railway passengers had to change to WCSR cars at Adams Square until April 1899, when a track connection was completed there, allowing through service to Worcester City Hall over WCSR tracks. The
Fitchburg and Suburban Street Railway was organized on March 29, 1898. A short crosstown line was built in Leominster in 1899. The Pleasant Street portion of the line opened on November 29, 1899, and the Water Street portion about a month later. The
Clinton and Hudson Street Railway was organized on May 24, 1899. The
Concord, Maynard and Hudson Street Railway opened east from Hudson around October 1, 1901. It soon leased of track between Wood Square and the Hudson railroad station; Clinton service thereafter terminated at Wood Square, with passengers given free transfers over the leased section.
Consolidation In November 1900, the syndicate agreed to purchase the WCSR from the Worcester Traction Company and merge it with the suburban lines. Contrary to previous rumors of
Standard Oil, the Montana
Copper Kings, or the Worcester Traction Company being behind the syndicate, it was revealed to be businessmen from Worcester and Boston. The Worcester Traction Company, no longer possessing any street railways, was dissolved by its stakeholders in late 1901. The
Boston and Worcester Street Railway opened on July 1, 1903, using WCSR trackage within Worcester and part of Shrewsbury. It was the only streetcar line entering Worcester that was not eventually leased or purchased by the WCSR. A connector was added on Millbury Street near Quinsigamond Village in 1901 that allowed Millbury cars to use the more direct route on Millbury Street and Green Street rather than the route over Vernon Hill via Upsala Street. Tracks across Vernon Square were added in 1902, allowing Upsala Street cars to reach downtown via Green Street. The tracks on Water Street, built by the Worcester and Millbury in 1892, were removed. A short connector on Aitchison Street between the Lake View line and Shrewsbury Street was also built in 1901. Several new city lines also opened in 1902. The Lake Shore line, which followed South Quinsigamond Avenue along the east shore of Lake Quinsigamond in Shrewsbury, opened in May 1902. The city council approved WCSR plans for a line on Bloomingdale Road (now Franklin Street) in December 1901 over a competing proposal from the People's Lake Line Street Railway. It opened in November 1902 along with a line on
Belmont Street between Lincoln Square and Bell Pond. An extension of the Quinsigamond line on Greenwood Avenue opened on November 23. A line on Hamilton Street was also completed in 1902. The only substantial extension in 1903 was in Leominster, where a addition to the crosstown line (forming a loop) opened in September.
New Haven control In 1904, under the presidency of
Charles Sanger Mellen, the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (New Haven) began buying up street railways in southern New England to reduce competition and feed traffic to its railroad lines. A 1906 Massachusetts law prohibited railroads from acquiring other corporations – even indirectly – without legislative approval. The New England Investment and Securities Company announced in October 1906 that it had acquired majority control of the Worcester Railways and Investment Corporation. It also acquired most of the remaining independent suburban lines around Worcester, as well as the networks surrounding
Springfield and
Pittsfield, in the mid-to-late 1900s. Despite the New Haven's maneuvering and attempts to conceal ownership of stock, the
Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in May 1908 that the New Haven had to fully divest from the streetcar systems by July 1909. The New Haven then attempted to use its substantial political power to simply legalize its ownership. A 1912 bill to consolidate its Massachusetts holdings into the Worcester, Springfield and Berkshire Street Railway (similar to its previous creations of the
Connecticut Company and
Rhode Island Company) as a holding company under the direct ownership of the New Haven was vetoed by governor
Eugene Foss. In 1913, the railroad succeeded in pushing the Massachusetts legislature to override Foss's veto of a similar bill. Four of the companies owned by the New England Investment and Securities Company were merged into the WCSR on May 3, 1911: the Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway, the Worcester and Blackstone Valley Street Railway, the Marlborough and Westborough Street Railway, and the Worcester and Holden Street Railway. The
Worcester and Southbridge Street Railway was organized on January 4, 1901, to build a line between its namesake cities. The Worcester and Southbridge obtained control of the Southbridge and Sturbridge in 1901 and began operating it in January 1902. The
Worcester, Rochdale and Charlton Depot Street Railway was organized on July 12, 1901. However, the only portion actually constructed was on Stafford, James, and South Ludlow Streets within Worcester. This served as part of the Worcester and Southbridge, which operated the line. The Worcester and Southbridge – including the Worcester, Rochdale and Charlton Depot – began service on July 21, 1902. The Worcester and Southbridge was well built, with over half its length on private right-of-way. It ran southwest through
Auburn,
Oxford, and
Charlton to Southbridge. A carhouse and powerhouse were located at Charlton City. The company interchanged freight with the
Webster Branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad at
Oxford Heights. The Overlook Hotel in Charlton, also connected to the line, opened in July 1903. Despite these advantages, the Worcester and Southbridge went bankrupt in August 1903. A separate receiver for Pinehurst Park and the Overlook was appointed on September 2. The receivers soon found evidence of financial misdeeds by Wilford A. Bailey, treasurer of the Worcester and Southbridge. Bailey had used funds from the street railway to build the park and hotel and had forged the signatures of other company officials. Bailey's unusually heavy spending on the line's construction and rolling stock was also blamed for the bankruptcy. The New Haven purchased the Worcester and Southbridge; the Worcester, Rochdale and Charlton Depot; and the Southbridge and Sturbridge in May 1904. Pinehurst Park and the Overlook Hotel were sold to a group of investors. The
Hartford and Worcester Street Railway was organized on March 5, 1903. Within several months, the New Haven-controlled
Springfield and Eastern Street Railway sought permission to extend east from
Monson to Fiskdale to connect with the Worcester and Southbridge. The two companies sparred over the rights to construct their respective lines in Brimfield. In January 1906, the New Haven purchased the Hartford and Worcester plus its planned Connecticut connections from the Boston and Worcester interests. With a purchase price of $134,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) for little more than the rights to build the line, this represented a substantial profit for the sellers. The Hartford and Worcester was operated by the Worcester and Southbridge. It was transferred to the Worcester and Southbridge for $140,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) and merged with it on May 6, 1910. Partially complete and not yet opened, it entered receivership in late 1896. The
Worcester and Blackstone Valley Street Railway was chartered on June 9, 1897, to take over its property and franchise. It opened a line between Millbury and the
Farnumsville portion of Grafton on August 14, 1897. The Worcester and Suburban began operating the line in February 1898. An extension to the Rockdale village of Northbridge over
Providence Road opened on April 11, 1898. Service operated between Worcester and Rockdale. The company became independent again in October 1900, with service no longer running through to Worcester. An extension to
Whitinsville via Plummers Corner (Church Street at Providence Road) opened on December 12, 1900. The company built its own route from Millbury to Worcester via Canal Street, Howe Avenue, and Millbury Avenue, meeting the WCSR Grafton line at Rice Square. It shared tracks with the Worcester and Suburban on a short stretch of Main Street in Millbury. Worcester–Whitinsville service over the new line began on October 26, 1901, using the WCSR to reach downtown Worcester from Rice Square. The New Haven acquired the Worcester and Blackstone Valley in September 1904. The
Woonsocket Street Railway opened a horsecar line from
Woonsocket, Rhode Island, to
Blackstone, Massachusetts, around 1887. It was electrified from Woonsocket to the state line on September 23, 1893, and to Blackstone afterwards. A short extension to the west side of Blackstone was opened around 1898. The company built a longer extension to
Millville around 1900 for a total length of inside Massachusetts. The Consolidated acquired the Woonsocket Street Railway and three adjoining lines in November 1906; it later became part of the
Rhode Island Company. The Millville–state line trackage was operated as part of the Worcester system by September 1907. The Worcester and Blackstone Valley purchased it from the Rhode Island Company in October 1910. The
Uxbridge and Blackstone Street Railway was organized on July 25, 1901. In July 1903, the line was extended slightly north from the Northbridge town line at Linwood to the New Haven's Whitins station. An extension to Plummers Corner opened in June 1905. The NEISCo acquired the Uxbridge and Blackstone in June 1907. Through service between Woonsocket and Worcester began later that year when a track connection at Plummers Corner was completed. The Uxbridge and Blackstone was merged into the Worcester and Blackstone Valley on December 31, 1909. In February 1906, the company was acquired by the Worcester Railway and Investment Company.
Worcester and Holden The
Worcester and Holden Street Railway was chartered on July 10, 1902, and construction began the next month. It opened a line between Eagle Lake in
Holden and Chadwick Square in Worcester on June 21, 1903. It followed
Main Street through much of Holden, with a section of private right-of-way around a hill. The line continued into Worcester on Shrewsbury Street, Holden Street, and Grove Street; at North Worcester, it passed under the
Gardner Branch on a short section of private right-of-way. Its cars used WCSR tracks between Chadwick Square and downtown Worcester. A extension northwest to Jefferson opened in December 1903, and a second extension of the same length to Jefferson station on the
Central Massachusetts Railroad opened a year later. A further extension to
Mount Wachusett – where it would have met the
Gardner, Westminster and Fitchburg Street Railway – was planned.
Webster and Dudley The
Webster and Dudley Street Railway was organized on March 23, 1898. The Lake Street line opened on June 15, 1898. It served the nearby Beacon Park on the shore of
Lake Chaubunagungamaug. The East Village and Perryville lines opened the next month. Service on the East Webster line was operated only intermittently until September 1898. It was only operated as far as the crossing of the Southbridge Branch until October 1898, when a
diamond crossing was installed. The branch on Slater Street opened late in December 1898. The
Worcester and Webster Street Railway was chartered on October 1, 1898. It ran north from the end of the East Webster line, passing through Oxford and Auburn and reaching the Worcester line on Hampton Street. Local controversy ensued over which route to use in Worcester: via Malvern Road and Southbridge Street to a connection with the WCSR at Stearns Square; or via a private right-of-way, Clay Street, and College Street to Stearns Square. The latter route was ultimately chosen; service began on October 21, 1899. The company had not received permission to cross the
Norwich Branch at Dunn's Crossing in Auburn, so passengers had to walk across the tracks there to change cars, and the track connection with the WCSR at Stearns Square was not complete. The Stearns Square connection opened on April 1, 1900, allowing cars to run to Worcester City Hall. The Dunn's Crossing bridge was completed later in 1900. On July 4, 1900, a Webster and Dudley streetcar collided with a Worcester and Webster streetcar on East Main Street, killing two passengers and injuring dozens of others. Later that month, the Webster and Dudley withdrew its service from the East Webster line, with the Worcester and Webster continuing to serve the line. On October 1, 1900, the Webster and Dudley's permission to cross the New Haven's tracks on East Main Street expired. The Worcester and Webster operated as far south as the crossing, with Webster and Dudley cars operating between there and downtown Webster. Within a week, Worcester and Webster service was cut back to the town cemetery, with a Webster and Dudley car running between there and the crossing. The Webster and Dudley built a short bypass over private land and Park Avenue, which already had a bridge over the Southbridge Branch. The bypass opened in December 1900. The New Haven-controlled
People's Tramway obtained majority stock control of the Worcester and Webster in January 1901, shortly after acquiring control of the Webster and Dudley. On July 1, 1901, Worcester and Webster cars resumed operating into downtown Webster. The Webster and Dudley opened an extension of the Lake Street line into Beacon Park in August 1901. It followed Thompson Road north a short distance and crossed over the Southbridge Branch to enter the park. Construction of a connecting line from near Perryville to
North Grosvenordale, Connecticut began in August 1901. It opened on January 29, 1902. The Webster and Dudley obtained Massachusetts legislative permission in August 1901 to lease other street railways. In November 1901, the New Haven-controlled majority shares voted to lease the Worcester and Webster to the Webster and Dudley, but the minority stockholders attempted to prevent the lease. The minority stockholders sold their shares to New Haven interests in March 1902, allowing the lease to begin on July 1, 1902. The People's Tramway was merged into the W&CE at the same time. Passengers originally had to transfer between streetcars at North Grosvenordale. On October 1, 1903, the W&CE began through service between
Central Village, Connecticut, and Webster. The W&CE was renamed as the Consolidated Railway in May 1904. The New Haven's various streetcar holdings in Connecticut were merged with the company, but the Massachusetts lines were not. The Consolidated Railway lease of the Webster and Dudley was transferred to the Worcester and Southbridge on April 1, 1907. On February 28, 1910, the New Haven sublet its Connecticut streetcar properties to the
Connecticut Company to nominally separate ownership. The New Haven retained direct ownership of the line between West Thompson and the state line, as well as segments of the two other out-of-state systems within Connecticut. On March 1, 1910, Webster and Dudley crews began operating the service as far south as West Thompson, Connecticut, where Connecticut Company crews took over. This was due to a Massachusetts law prohibiting out-of-state companies from operating in the state. The leases of the Webster and Dudley and of the Worcester and Webster were assumed by the WCSR in 1911 when the Worcester and Southbridge was merged with it. In July 1913, the
Shore Line Electric Railway leased the Connecticut Company's
Eastern Connecticut lines. The New Haven retained control of the West Thompson–state line portion; by mid-1914, passengers had to transfer at West Thompson. Shore Line crews struck for higher wages in July 1919. When the Shore Line resumed Central Village–West Thompson service in late August using
strikebreakers, the unionized WCSR crews refused to run cars south of
Grosvenordale, to avoid making connections with the non-union crews. On September 15, 1919, Shore Line cars began operating as far as the state line, meeting WCSR cars there. All service between Central Village and the state line ended on February 4, 1920, due to a heavy snowstorm. The line reopened in the spring, but only as far north as North Grosvenordale. Not until January 1922 did the WCSR resume running south to North Grosvenordale.
Final extensions The most significant expansion of the WCSR itself under New Haven ownership was a new '
air line' route between Worcester and Leominster. From the north end of the Greendale line it followed what is now
Route 12 north through
West Boylston and
Sterling. With about of private right-of-way, it was one hour faster between the two cities than the older route via Clinton. The line opened between Leominster and Sterling on May 27, 1906; within a week, cars were running as far as Lake Washacum in southern Sterling. The rest of the line was delayed by construction of a bridge over the
Worcester Branch at Sterling Junction. Worcester–Leominster through service did not begin until December 18, 1906. Late in 1906, the Bell Hill line was extended north about on Channing Street. A line on Burncoat Street north from Randolph Road opened in December 1911. The Tatnuck line was extended by to West Tatnuck in August 1913. The company's final extension was on the Quinsigamond Village line, with of track to the Millbury town line added around September 1917.
Decline The fortunes of the WCSR were typical for street railway companies in Massachusetts. The suburban lines were never financially successful; they were subsidized by the city lines. After paying an 8%
dividend from 1895 to 1900, the WCSR never again paid a dividend above 6% after merging with the suburban lines in 1901.
Rural line abandonments The WCSR cut almost all of its suburban and rural lines between 1924 and 1930. The first significant cuts were in July 1924: between Auburn and Oxford Heights, and between Westborough and Marlborough. The former did not result in a major loss of service, however, as Worcester–Webster service was rerouted over the 1905-built connector at Oxford Heights. The Grafton–Westborough, Grafton–North Grafton, and Clinton–Hudson lines and the Leicester–Spencer portion of the Spencer line were all closed on September 6, 1924. Other private companies began operating replacement bus service on the discontinued routes. The Northboro–Westboro line was closed by snow on January 18, 1925, and never reopened. The line to Auburn was abandoned on August 22, 1925, due to competition from a bus company. The Shrewsbury–Marlborough section of the Marlborough line was replaced with buses on September 20, 1925. The Clinton–Leominster line was closed on October 4, 1925. The WCSR also expanded into territory not previously served by streetcars both by expanding its own bus routes and buying other bus companies. In May 1926, the state legislature permitted the New Haven to resume direct ownership of the Worcester and Springfield systems and rehabilitate them. The act required three-quarters of municipalities served by the systems to approve the plans. The approvals were secured in late 1926 and the New Haven took ownership in early 1927. Under the New Haven's program, the company ordered 50 new streetcars in 1927. This allowed older and obsolete streetcars to be retired; in 1928, the WCSR disposed of 375 cars by burning them or selling them for scrap. The existing streetcars that were retained for service were retrofitted with
route number signs. By 1930, the New Haven had spent $2.48 million (equivalent to $ million in ) rehabilitating the WCSR system. The New Haven's work focused on the city lines; the longest rural and intercity lines were all abandoned in 1927. Service to Clinton ended on February 7, 1927. The Worcester–Leominster, Leominster crosstown, and Leominster–Fitchburg lines were terminated on April 23, 1927, though the
Fitchburg and Leominster Street Railway took over the latter line for at least a month. Freight and express service was ended across the network at that time; a trucking company took over the business the following week. Remaining service to the Blackstone Valley ended on May 22, 1927, and to Webster on June 1, 1927. Worcester–Southbridge service and Worcester–Springfield through service were replaced with buses on August 14, 1927; streetcars continued local service in Southbridge for around a month longer. In 1931, the
Standard Oil Company purchased the Palmer–Southbridge–Worcester right-of-way for construction of a gasoline pipeline.
City line abandonments The beginning of the Great Depression worsened the company's financial issues. In September 1930, the operators union accepted a reduced work week to avoid layoffs. The entire funded debt of the WCSR – $5.33 million (equivalent to $ million in ) in bonds – became due on August 1, 1930. The New Haven declined to pay the bonds, nearly sending the company into foreclosure in November 1930. The Boston and Worcester Street Railway ceased using WCSR trackage on January 15, 1931, when it converted to buses west of
Framingham. In August 1931, the bondholders foreclosed on the WCSR. The North Grafton line closed on September 12, 1931, along with the Elm Park and Franklin Street city lines. The Jefferson, Shrewsbury, and Millbury lines were all also given up by that time. On May 11, 1932, the WCSR was sold for $1.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ) to the bondholder's committee, which was the only bidder. The next month, it was reorganized as the
Worcester Street Railway. A holding company, the
Worcester Transportation Associates, was also formed. By August 1932, the company operated about 100 streetcars and 60 buses. The new owners intended to replace all of the streetcar lines with buses. Many were converted over the next five years, beginning with the Lake View line in 1933. The Southbridge Street and Canterbury Street lines were closed on November 10, 1934. The West Auburn line – the remaining portion of the Springfield line – was converted in September 1935. The Summit Line was converted to buses on July 17, 1937, allowing a road bridge carrying
West Boylston Street to replace the grade crossing at Barbers. The two lines using Green Street were converted in 1938: streetcar service on ended the Upsala Street line on September 22 due to damage from the
1938 New England hurricane, while the Quinsigamond (Millbury Line) line lasted until October 29. This left the system just of track and 60 streetcars serving five routes: 1 June and Providence Streets, 2 Tatnuck and Hamilton Street, 19 Wheaton Square – Leicester Line – Cherry Valley (the remaining part of the Spencer line), 21 Hadwen Park – City Hall – Thomas Street, and 24 Columbus Park/Coe Square – Belmont Street/Green Hill Park. The streetcar fleet was sold off to a broker in New York City: 10 cars in October 1945 and 50 cars in April 1946. They were resold to Brazilian cities: 35 to
Salvador, Bahia, and 25 to
Porto Alegre. They remained in use in Salvador until September 1961 and Porto Alegre until March 1970. Seven hundred bus drivers, mechanics, and clerks struck for 15 days in July 1948. As with other bus companies,
increasing postwar automobile ownership cut sharply into ridership. In May 1951, with four continuous years of losses, the company filed with the DPU to go under partial public control. The petition was under a 1918 law – not used up to that point – similar to the law that brought the
Boston Elevated Railway under public control. In March 1952, the company cut off-peak service on 22 of its 33 routes, claiming that "people are not going out nights, Sundays or holidays because of television." Another strike over wages and pensions was narrowly avoided in July 1952. The raise eventually given to the drivers added $110,000 in annual operating costs (equivalent to $ million in ). On July 15, shareholders proposed to liquidate the company unless a buyer or government subsidy could be found. The owners advertised the company for sale at the end of July 1952. Another strike was averted that October with an additional raise. By that time, ridership had dropped to 22 million annually (75,000 daily). Service was discontinued on several routes in anticipation of liquidation at the end of the year, as a buyer had not been found. In December 1952, a Boston financial group purchased the company for around $1.5 million (equivalent to $ million in ). This placed it under common management with the
Middlesex and Boston Street Railway. The company was renamed
Worcester Bus Company on January 1, 1953. The new management replaced the 173 gasoline buses with cheaper-to-operate diesel buses over the following decade. The Worcester Bus Company purchased an interstate charter license in 1958, allowing it to operate profitable charter services outside Massachusetts. Drivers and mechanics struck for 24 days in September 1966. In April 1971, the city received a $597,057 federal grant (equivalent to $ million in ) to purchase 34 new buses for the company to use. Only a last-minute increase in school charter rates prevented the company from ceasing operations that July. Shutting down was again threatened in August 1973. The company received a one-year, $300,000 state subsidy (equivalent to $ million in ) as part of legislation in November 1973 that also established
regional transit authorities. Daily ridership had dropped to 20,000 by July 1975, when a two-month strike again nearly collapsed the company. The company lost the
Worcester Public Schools bus contract, which it had held for decades, in 1977. The 1974-formed
Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) began subsidizing bus service in the mid-1970s and purchased the company's assets in 1978. On June 30, 1978, the WRTA contract switched to a different company to run the system; with no more operating contracts, the Worcester Bus Company was closed. Former powerhouses in Northborough, Oxford, and Berlin are also extant. Former substations survive in Sturbridge and Webster, as well as carhouses in Webster and Berlin. Two WCSR waiting rooms are extant in Charlton; one is on the grounds of a housing complex that includes the former Overlook Hotel that was owned by the WCSR. Another former waiting station is now a house in Westborough. A portion of the former Springfield line in Sturbridge has been converted to a
rail trail. None of the three major Worcester carhouses survive. The Gates Lane carhouse was demolished by 1936; the city purchased the site in 1943 to build a park (Bennett Field). The Market Street carhouse was sold in 1946 for factory use and demolished around 1980 during an urban renewal project. The Grove Street carhouse and bus garage were used by the WRTA until 2016 and demolished the following year. The former Westborough carhouse, long used by a machining company, was demolished in 2018. No former WCSR streetcars are known to survive in North America. File:Former WCSR Fremont Street powerhouse (3), September 2024.JPG|Fremont Street powerhouse|alt=A red-painted brick industrial building File:Charlton waiting station (1), June 2021.jpg|Waiting room at The Overlook|alt=A small wooden building File:Northwest corner of former Oxford powerhouse, September 2024.jpg|Oxford powerhouse|alt=A brick powerhouse building File:Peppers Artful Events in former Northborough powerhouse (1), September 2024.JPG|Northborough powerhouse|alt=A brick powerhouse building with modern awnings and windows File:Romanesque Revival - Worcester, MA - Worcester Consolidated Street Railway, Administration Office (1).jpg|Demolition of the Market Street carhouse|alt=A brick Romanesque building being demolished File:Trolley Line Trail in Fiskdale, June 2021.jpg|Trolley Line Trail in Sturbridge|alt=A rail trail on an embankment in a wooded area ==Notes==