DTA Posts

Duluth considers “trackless trolley” in 1921

Oct 06, 2021 No Comments

One century ago the Duluth Street Railway Company — predecessor to the Duluth Transit Authority — was keeping a close eye on plans for adding trolley buses in Minneapolis. How long did it take for Duluth to get it’s first “trackless trolley”? Pretty much exactly ten more years.

According to Zenith City Online, Duluth’s first trolley buses ran on Oct. 4, 1931. The Duluth Herald reported about Duluth considering trolley buses in its Oct. 6, 1921 issue, one hundred years ago today.

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Unexpectedly Delayed in Duluth

Dec 03, 2020 2 Comments

The date of the written message on this relic appears to be either Dec. 2 or 3, 1905. It is postmarked from Duluth on Dec. 5 and arrived in St. Paul the next day.

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Duluth streetcar conductresses helped with 1918 fire evacuation

Oct 19, 2018 No Comments

One-hundred years ago today, Duluth was still reeling from the devastating fires of the previous week. The Duluth Herald ran a small article celebrating the efforts during the fire of a relatively new worker in Duluth: a female conductor on the Street Railway.

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History ,

Duluth-Superior Transit Company’s “Rider’s Digest”

Aug 30, 2017 No Comments

Seventy years ago today.


History ,

Port Town Trolley drops 50-cent fee; free service starts Aug. 4

Aug 01, 2017 No Comments

Effective Friday the Duluth Transit Authority will discontinue the collection of all passenger fares on the Port Town Trolley service. The free rides are being offered to encourage use of the trolley service to and from Canal Park, particularly for those parking at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center and downtown parking ramps.

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News and Current Affairs ,

Duluth Street Railway Trolley Barns

May 10, 2017 No Comments

Duluth Street Railway trolley barns on the upper side of Superior Street between 26th and 27th avenues west. Photo dated May 10, 1927.


History, Photos ,

Bike Parking in Downtown Duluth

Jan 24, 2017 1 Comment

On Saturday’s march through the Skywalk my husband noticed the bike parking signs near the new DTA Transit Center. I went down there yesterday to get the 411.

“Bike parking is sold on a monthly basis. The cost per month or any part thereof is $10. There is also a required deposit of $5 for the FOB needed for entry into the secure bicycle parking area. This deposit is returned when the FOB is returned to the DTA. Payments are due by the 25th of the month for the next month’s rental.”

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Mystery Photo #48: Superior Street and Lake Avenue circa 1998

Dec 08, 2016 5 Comments

electric-fetus-1996

Where are you now, Danny Tanner?

This image is from a postcard printed by the College of St. Scholastica featuring photography by student Danny Tanner. Searching the internet to determine if Danny Tanner is still involved in photography is a bit complex; it turns out Danny Tanner is the name of a character on the television sitcom Full House, which had recently wrapped up its eight-season run around the same time the real Danny Tanner was doing his thing on Superior Street.

Although the date the photo was shot and date the postcards were printed are unknown, this one is postmarked Nov. 2, 1998. In the background are the Electric Fetus store, Strand Theater and a Duluth Transit Authority bus headed to New Duluth.


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DTA Passenger Entrance Music

Nov 17, 2016 No Comments

dta12While riding a Duluth Transit Authority bus last night and listening to my head phones, I came up with a very simple way of amusing myself. Whenever the bus stopped to pick up a new passenger, I clicked my mp3 player forward to the next random track and imagined it was the chosen entrance music or “theme song” for that person. Try it out sometime. It’s my gift to you.


Recommendations ,

DTA Woodland Windjammer, Crosley Clipper, et. al.

Aug 17, 2016 3 Comments

The quest is to settle a bet. Whether there’s enough evidence so far to settle it will have to be up to the wagerers.

Former Duluthian Daniel Heinan, now living in Los Angeles, sent the following email:

My friends don’t believe that there was a DTA bus line called the Woodland Wind Jammer. There was even the Crosley Clipper. They existed in the 1980s and early 1990s. Can you help me prove them wrong?

What an inside source at the Duluth Transit Authority reports:

A long-time employee and former driver tells the tale of not just the Woodland Wind Jammer and the Crosley Clipper, but also the Proctor Pacer and the Superior Streaker. These were all express routes, designed to get people downtown as soon as possible. He thought there might have even been a contest to name them.

Alas, a search through the DTA library resulted in no physical proof, but I trust my source.

So there we have it. Anyone with hard evidence should obviously come forward, but so far the jury would have to lean heavily in favor of the Windjammer and Clipper being actual former DTA bus route names.


History ,

Mystery Photo #40: New Duluth Bus and Drivers

Aug 16, 2016 2 Comments

DTA Bus 1962 New Duluth

This photo popped up on Pinterest a while back. It’s dated 1962. Photographer unknown.

Duluth’s first diesel buses began operating in 1957 under the auspices of the Duluth-Superior Transit Company. The Duluth Transit Authority was created in 1969, so one could say the bus in the photo above is a DTA before there was a DTA.

Can anyone name any of the drivers?


History , ,

Thank you, DTA

Mar 03, 2015 4 Comments

To the driver of the #6/7 running past 20th Avenue East Jefferson Street at 8:45 this morning, who saw me looking dejected as he rolled past the intersection (I was running late trudging through the snow) … and pulled over and waited for me … thank you!

You can read minds.


Random ,

The End of Streetcars in Duluth

Jul 08, 2014 13 Comments

Duluth Tolley 1895

Streetcars ran in Duluth for the last time on July 9, 1939. Streetcar service had been gradually phased out by trolley buses for nearly 20 years before meeting its total demise. For more info check out Zenith City Online’s history of Duluth’s Streetcar Railways.

Trolley at Point of Rocks


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Survey: Bike Parking in Duluth’s Multimodal Transit Center

Mar 25, 2014 No Comments

Building on the popularity of its on-bus bike carriers, the DTA wants to gauge local demand for both secure (key fob-access) bike-parking areas and regular bike racks as part of its design for the new multi-modal transit center in downtown Duluth.
Please take a moment to fill out this short survey if you would be interested in using this type of bike storage.


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Driver Pays the Price

Dec 14, 2013 1 Comment

Is it true that on a very cold winter day a bus driver was assaulted by a rider? The DTA #2 bus was running late due to I-35 South being closed and traffic running slow due to icy road conditions. A rider waiting for about an hour boarded the bus and allegedly grabbed a phone-like devise and began to beat the driver. The driver was buckled in his seat and thus defenseless so other riders came to his rescue. Did this really happen in Duluth? It’s great to see the customers stepping up and helping their driver. Did anyone witness this?


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