The Piedmont and Northern Railroad started a traditional streetcar system in Gastonia in 1913 to complement the company's interurban Gastonia-Charlotte service. The streetcars ran for four miles--from Groves Mill in eastern Gastonia to the P&N station downtown at Franklin and Broad streets and to the Loray and Parkdale mills on the city's west side. In addition, streetcars connected Belmont to P&N's interurban line at North Belmont. The Fayetteville Street Railroad operated in Fayetteville around the 1908-1909 period. Its first single streetcar was powered by steam and connected the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad depot to the old fairgrounds on Gillespie Street. When the huffing and puffing of the steam bothered horses on the streets, the company experimented with gasoline engines, but that didn't work either. Other companies later tried to establish an electric streetcar system, but operations lasted for only a brief period.

CREDITS: Excerpts: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historical Landmarks Commission-City of Gastonia, North Carolina