Developers of the new neighborhood, Ghent, and a popular park with a recreational pavilion and casino two miles west of the town, were responsible for developing the town’s streetcar line. With help from Virginia investors, they organized the New Bern-Ghent Street Railway Company. The company began operations in 1913 from various points in New Bern, including the new Union Station, to Ghent. The streetcar system started with storage battery-type cars, but soon switched to an electric system that lasted until the late 1920s.

On February 6, 1913, the New Bern Daily Journal newspaper reported that the New Bern-Ghent Street Railway Company "have received information from the Cincinnati Car Company, which is engaged in the construction of two cars for use on the local system, that rapid progress is being made in the construction of the single truck car and that it will be ready for delivery in a few weeks."

Typical Cincinnati Car Company Streetcar (not New Bern)

The 15th Annual Report of the North Carolina Corporation Commission, dated December 31, 1913, reported that the New Bern-Ghent Street Railway Company operated three (3) storage battery passenger cars on 2.77 miles of track within the city limits of New Bern and 0.81 miles of track outside of the city limits. Nine (9) employees served 129,059 passengers during 1913. The original company officers were: F. Sitterding of Richmond as President, and C.J. McCarthy of New Bern was Secretary-Treasurer, Manager, and Superintendent.