The St. John's Street Railway Company was formed by Robert G. Reid in 1896 to build an electrical railway in St. John's to provide urban transportation using street cars. The company was given the rights to build an electrical generating station at Petty Harbour and build a transmission line to St. John's from the Petty Harbour Generating Station. The power was 50 cycle power. The first street cars were from the Larivière Car Company out of Montreal Quebec.