At least 65 towns in Chile had passenger-carrying street railways. About two thirds of the vehicles that ran on these lines had two floors. Chile had the largest collection of double-deck trams outside the United Kingdom, and many were models not seen anywhere else. Both the horsetrams that opened the Valparaíso tramway in 1863 and the electric trams that closed it in 1952 were unique. Chile had the only double-deck electric trams built in Germany (none ran in Germany), the only double-deck electric trams built in Belgium (none ran in Belgium), and more double-deck trams built in the United States than ran in the United States.

Of the 217 streetcars that ran in Valparaíso, 181 were double-deckers. Builder of the unusual horsecars that inaugurated the system in March 1863 is uncertain, but is thought to have been Eaton, Gilbert & Co. in Troy, New York. The three shown here are traveling south on the east side of Av. de las Delicias, known today as Av. Argentina [see map]. This famous photograph was taken in 1867 [William Letts Oliver, col. AM]:

The next picture was taken from approximately the same location as the one above, but maybe from a rooftop. Ferro Carril Urbano de Valparaíso cars crossed a trestle over a stream in order to reach the depot on the other side of Av. de las Delicias (Argentina) [see map]. That spot is occupied today by the Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (see below) [col. AM]:

The most unusual aspect of the Valparaíso horse trams was the driver's position on the roof. There were a few other examples of this stagecoach design on trams in Europe, especially in France, but nowhere else in the Americas. Tram fares were collected by a cobradora in a straw hat and white apron. This engraving appeared in a U.S. textbook published in 1899 [Carpenter's Geographical Reader: South America]. Valparaíso's horsecars achieved world renown [col. AM]:

Awnings were installed over the driver's seats in the 1870s. Track gauge of the tramway was 66 in/1676 mm, the same used by the pioneer tramway that opened in the Chilean capital, Santiago, in 1858, and by the steam trains that began running there from Valparaíso in 1863 [col. AM]:

An undated photograph from the 19th century. Note the car's fleet number under the driver's foot rest [col. Pablo Moraga]:

The postcard view below shows horsetrams at the junction of Calle Esmeralda, on the left, and Calles Prat and Cochrane behind the photographer [see map]. The view is southeast. The colonnaded building on the left is still there – and still looks the same – today [col. AM]:

The man looking at the camera in the picture below, taken in 1900, was a visitor from Sandusky, Ohio, and the owner of the camera [Henry Grant Olds, col. AM]:

In 1907 CTEV ordered 20 more double-deck cars from VZ&C, which had eight side windows, rather than seven like the earlier model [col. AM]:

Here is a later reconstruction, with a new truck, of the 1907 model [col. AM]:

A drawing by the popular Valparaíso artist captured the new design [Renzo Pecchenino a.k.a. 'Lukas']:

Like the horsetrams before them, the electric trams ran west along Av. Altamirano to Playa Ancha and Torpederas [see map] [col. AM]:

Electric trams also ran east along Av. España to Viña del Mar [see map]. This was a single-track line with turnouts until the 1920s [col. AM]:

The incident decimated German tramway enterprise in Chile. Ownership of both the Santiago and Valparaíso systems was transferred to a Spanish firm, which was under financial control of a bank in Belgium. The new owners rebuilt the damaged cars, enclosed the tops of all the double-deckers, double-tracked the line to Viña del Mar, and imported 23 massive new 2-floor trams from La Brugeoise et Nicaise et Delcuve, which were unlike anything ever produced before in Belgium [col. AM]:

The new cars had twin doors on both sides for loading from both sides of the street. They had twin stairways inside, next to the doors. The photograph below was taken at Barón terminus at the north end of Av. Argentina [see map] [col. AM]:

Before the new trams went into service in 1923 the tramway was acquired by S. Pearson & Sons of London, which formed the new Compañía de Electricidad de Valparaíso. This postcard shows a Belgian double-decker on the left and a German tram on the right passing the Arco Británico on Av. Brasil [see map] [col. AM]:

CEV was transferred in turn to the U.S. conglomerate Electric Bond & Share in 1929. This postcard view shows one of the Belgian double-deckers at Plaza Sotomayor [see map]. The large building in the center is the City Hall [col. AM]:

Here is a Belgian on Av. España on its way to Viña del Mar [see map]. Note center platform for loading [postcard, col. AM]: