Beginning in 1858, New York City businessmen began trying to bring streetcar service to Washington, D.C., where transit consisted of horse-drawn wagons (omnibuses) on several lines.

On May 17, 1862, the United States Congress enacted legislation that incorporated the first Washington streetcar compan - the ashington and Georgetown Railroad (W&GRC).

It drove the Northern Liberty Chariot company to bankruptcy in 1877, but a new one that operated between Georgetown and Capitol Hill forced the W&GRC to lower prices.

[15][16] On Oct 14, 1879, the W&GRC bought out this second competitor, acquiring its stables on High Street (now Wisconsin Avenue) just south of the W&GCR shops on Grace.

In 1892, one-horse cars were banned within the city,[19] and by 1894, Congress began requiring companies to switch from horse power.

The entire system was in operation by August 18, 1892,[1][7] with two cables pulling the cars up and down Pennsylvania Avenue NW/SE between the Navy Yard and Georgetown.

It moved the cars from the barn at 13th Street and Florida Avenue NW to the new one and sold the older facility, which was converted into a printing plant.

[1] On August 23, 1894, the company was authorized to extend its line on M Street NW to the Aqueduct Bridge, and build a "Union Station"—now the Georgetown Car Barn.

Congress tried to deal with this fractured transit system by requiring them to accept transfers and set standard pricing and by allowing them to use one another's track.

On March 1, 1895, Congress authorized the sale of the Washington and Georgetown Railroad to the Rock Creek Railway, a company with less operating revenue but more ability to raise money by issuing stock.