There is a delightful movie called Who Framed Roger Rabbit in which the villain is attempting just this: buying trolley lines to build "highways, as far as the eye can see".
I'll also note that the (excellent) film was based on the novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Censored_Roger_Rabbit%3F
, but the streetcar/ highway plot elements are invented for the movie completely absent in the book.
I second the recommendation for anyone who hasn't seen this movie. It was marketed as a kids movie, but has a lot of stuff in it that adults can appreciate.
It was also one of the first movies to combine significant CGI with real-world interaction.
I last saw that film about twenty years ago, I think I should catch it again. Back to the Future had some great lines in it as well, but as yet I haven't caught Used Cars.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096438/