Carl Sandburg had to go to work after he finished eighth grade. He worked delivering milk door-to- door for two men at different times. One of the men was George Burton who had a barn and house near Academy and Losey. The other was Samuel Barlow who lived on Monmouth Boulevard.

Sandburg's mother woke him at 5:30 each morning and fed him a sturdy breakfast. Then he walked about two miles to arrive at his place of employment. He walked because the streetcar lines served only part of the distance and the fare was five cents. Today that nickel equals $1.45. To save a nickel was important to all of the members of the Sandburg family.

 The first successful streetcar company in Galesburg was established in 1885 by several local capitalists,including Lake W. Sanborn (more about him in the next article). It was named the College City Street Railway. The first tracks went from the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad depot at Five Points to the Union Hotel on the north side of the Public Square, a distance of 1.5 miles. That year there were four horse cars which carried 53,500 passengers. The company earned $33,000.

 The iron rails of the streetcar lines allowed one or two mules or horses to pull more weight. Ten or more animals were required for each car to keep to a fifteen minute schedule as the system increased in size. Each animal pulled a car for four or five hours a day or approximately twelve miles. There was a great deal of work involved in caring for the mules or horses. They had to be housed, fed, groomed and shod regularly. Of course, there were large amounts of manure which had to be hauled away. The car barn was located on Main Street between the Q tracks and Pearl Street.

 By 1887 the streetcar tracks had been extended to Highland Park. The lake and grounds were a popular attraction to the public on sunny summer days. By 1897 interurban lines had been contructed to Abingdon, Monmouth and Roseville.

In the early days, the cars were open to the weather. The seats faced to the outside of the vehicle. The conductor stood on the outside, collected fares and guided the mules. In winter straw was spread on the floor to help people keep their feet warm. They may have saved some walking but there wasn't much comfort.

In 1890 the Galesburg Street Railway was formed by Wilkins Seacord (who will appear in a later story) and his two sons to build the North Broad Street line. The same year tracks were laid on Seminary Street and another line connected Main Street to the racetrack in the southeast part of town.

 In 1892 the system was electrified. Seacord formed the Galesburg Electric Motor and Power Company to provide the power for the entire system. In July 1891 he bought the stock of the College City Street Railway and the Galesburg Street Railway and consolidated them with the electric company.

 By 1900 there were 18.5 miles of track and the system carried 2000 passengers per day. There was an hourly streetcar to Knoxville as well.

 During those years there were plenty of arguments about the street railway. Homeowners didn't want the noise of the service on their quiet streets... Businessmen wanted more streetcars to carry people to ​ Main Street for shopping. And, of course, there was conflict between the owners of carriages and wagons drawn by horses who became frightened by the trolley cars.