Metropolitan Railways: Rapid Transit in AmericaEarly in the 19th century, growing American cities began to experience transportation problems. One solution was the horse drawn streetcar, developed in 1832, but it soon proved inadequate. The first elevated train was transporting passengers above the streets of Manhattan by 1871; the first subway opened 25 years later in Boston; and similar systems soon followed in Philadelphia and Chicago. Rapid transit was confined to these few cities until after