Consequently, on January 4, 1893, a company known as the Columbia & Donegal Electric Railway was chartered to build a trolley line from Columbia to Marietta by way of Klinesville and Chickies Park.  

    Construction was started on May 8, 1893 at Second and Cedar Streets in Columbia, the then terminus of the local Columbia trolley line.   The Marietta line was laid out by E. N. Smith, chief engineer.   Blake Mapledorum was in charge of track construction and Frank S. Drake of the Westinghouse Electric Company was in charge of the overhead work.   John Cremer was in charge of the erection of the poles along the line.   William Given of Columbia was president of the new trolley line and his brother Frank Given, held the post of superintendent.  

    The building of the trolley line to Marietta was considered quite a project by the traction industry as in those early years there had been few attempts to construct trolley lines over the type of hilly terrain that exists between Columbia and Marietta.   The steepest grade on the line was 6.2 feet in one hundred and this continued for 1900 feet.   The grading, laying of the rails and construction of the overhead wires continued during the month of May and June of 1893.   It was also necessary to construct a trestle over the Chickies Creek on the north side of Chickies Hill.  

    The first cars for the Marietta line were ordered from the J. G. Brill Car Company.   Two were of the closed type and two were of the open bench or "summer" type.   They were painted bright blue with yellow trim and were of wooden construction equipped with hand brakes.   The new cars arrived in Columbia in June of 1893 and were tested on the Columbia belt line.  

    July 1, 1893 was quite an occasion as it was on that day that the first trip was made by trolley from Columbia to Chickies Park.   Hundreds of people lined the right of way to see the first car pass.   A banquet was held that day at Chickies Park for the trolley officials and invited guests.  

    Following the opening to Chickies, construction was pushed forward on completion of the line to Marietta.   Workmen started on September 16,  1893 to clear trees and to dig out a right of way down to the north side of Chickies towards Marietta.    

    The construction of the trestle over Chickies Creek began in the early part of November 1893 and was the main obstacle to the early completion of the line.    

    Track laying began in Marietta on November 20, 1893, but it was not until December 30th that the two sections of the line were connected with the completion of the Chickies Trestle which was 950 feet long and 32 feet high.  

    The first car to run from Columbia to Marietta was Columbia & Donegal car number one with Frank Given at the controller. The first car left the Columbia car barn at 10:15 p.m. on December 31, 1893 and arrived in Marietta at 12:10 a.m. on January 1,1894.   Few lines can lay claim to being opened at midnight New Year's Eve.  

    The Marietta trolley cars commenced their run in Columbia at the Pennsylvania Railroad passenger station at Front and Walnut Street. The cars ran up Walnut and then out North Second Street, where the cars went on to a private right of way.   Then came the steep climb up the hill to Klinesville.   There was a passing siding on the farm of D. R. King at the top of the hill.   The line then continued on to what is now Jones' Hollow, which was then known as Glen Given, in honor of the manager of the line.   There, the steep ascent to Chickies started with a steady climb all the way to Chickies Park.  Then, followed the steep down grade to the Chickies Creek, which included a horse shoe curve.   Before going on to the trestle, the cars crossed the Lancaster, Marietta and Hanover branch of the Reading Railroad.   The cars then continued on level ground swinging onto the Marietta Pike at a point below Marietta known to trolley men as the "Red Barn".   The cars ran up Market Street in Marietta to the square, where they terminated.  

    The Columbia and Donegal on Feb. 5, 1894 became part of the Pennsylvania Traction Company which consolidated all the trolley lines operating in Lancaster County at that time.   

    The Sunday evening of August 9, 1896 will be long remembered by citizens of Marietta and Columbia because it was on that night that the tragic trolley accident at the foot of Klinesville hill occurred in which six persons were killed and sixty eight were injured.   The overloaded car was bringing people back from a concert at Chickies Park and got out of control coming down from Klinesville to Columbia, jumping the rails at the curve at the toll gate opposite the entrance to Laurel Hill Cemetery.  

    The Pennsylvania Traction which operated the Marietta line was acquired by the newly organized Conestoga Traction Company on Dec. 12, 1899.  

    With the advent of the Conestoga Traction additional trolley lines were built throughout the county and a major trolley network was developed.   Soon the old, light cars were replaced by heavier and speedier types and hand brakes gave way to air brakes and other safety appliances.  

    Various types of cars were operated such as open summer cars, the closed suburban or interurban cars and also combination passenger and baggage cars as well as trolley freight cars.   Trolley freight service commenced to Marietta in 1905.    

    The only serious accident on the Marietta line was the disaster on Klinesville hill, but once a car jumped the track on Chickies Hill, and also one of the freight cars was derailed.   Once a trolley was struck by a bolt of lightning in the middle of the long Chickies Trestle during a severe thunderstorm.   No one was injured, but the car had to remain in that perilous position until a car arrived from Columbia to push the disabled car off the trestle.  

    The trolley station in Marietta for many years was the Libhart Drug Store.   Here tickets were purchased for trolley trips to all parts of Lancaster County and here also freight could be shipped and received by "trolley freight".    

    With the coming of private automobiles and good roads, the autos and later busses cut heavily into the revenues of the trolley companies. Faster schedules were operated and fares were cut to the bone to offset this competition.  

    In an effort to modernize its service, the Conestoga Traction placed in service on the Columbia and Marietta line in 1924, five new, light- weight, steel, interurban cars built by the Cincinnati Car Company. These cars were equipped with plush seats and were modern in every respect. These cars remained in service until the Marietta line was discontinued and then they were transferred to use on other lines in Lancaster County.  

    The Conestoga Traction Company was reorganized as the Conestoga Transportation Company in the early thirties and because of a drop in trolley patronage began the gradual discontinuance of the many trolley lines in Lancaster County and replacing them with busses.  

    Marietta saw the last trolley car at 11:15 p.m. on April 25, 1932, when the last Columbia bound trolley loaded from the waiting room at the Libhart Drug Store, ending almost 40 years of trolley service.   It must have seemed wonderful to be able to board a trolley in Marietta and for a modest fee travel throughout Lancaster County.   Chickies Park, Maple Grove Park, and Rocky Springs Park have joined the trolley in succumbing to a vanishing way of life. 
 
by Stephen M. Bailey