The Electric Interurban Railways in America

The Electric Interurban Railways in America PDF Author: George Woodman Hilton
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804740142
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 500

Get Book

Book Description
One of the most colorful yet neglected eras in American transportation history is re-created in this definitive history of the electric interurbans. Built with the idea of attracting short-distance passenger traffic and light freight, the interurbans were largely constructed in the early 1900s. The rise of the automobile and motor transport caused the industry to decline after World War I, and the depression virtually annihilated the industry by the middle 1930s. Part I describes interurban construction, technology, passenger and freight traffic, financial history, and final decline and abandonment. Part II presents individual histories (with route maps) of the more than 300 companies of the interurban industry. Reviews "A first-rate work of such detail and discernment that it might well serve as a model for all corporate biographies. . . . A wonderfully capable job of distillation." —Trains "Few economic, social, and business historians can afford to miss this definitive study." —Mississippi Valley Historical Review "All seekers after nostalgia will be interested in this encyclopedic volume on the days when the clang, clang of the trolley was the most exciting travel sound the suburbs knew." —Harper's Magazine "A fascinating and instructive chapter in the history of American transportation." —Journal of Economic History "The hint that behind the grand facade of scholarship lies an expanse of boyish enthusiasm is strengthened by a lovingly amassed and beautifully reproduced collection of 37 photographs." —The Nation

The Electric Interurban Railways in America

The Electric Interurban Railways in America PDF Author: George Woodman Hilton
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804740142
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 500

Get Book

Book Description
One of the most colorful yet neglected eras in American transportation history is re-created in this definitive history of the electric interurbans. Built with the idea of attracting short-distance passenger traffic and light freight, the interurbans were largely constructed in the early 1900s. The rise of the automobile and motor transport caused the industry to decline after World War I, and the depression virtually annihilated the industry by the middle 1930s. Part I describes interurban construction, technology, passenger and freight traffic, financial history, and final decline and abandonment. Part II presents individual histories (with route maps) of the more than 300 companies of the interurban industry. Reviews "A first-rate work of such detail and discernment that it might well serve as a model for all corporate biographies. . . . A wonderfully capable job of distillation." —Trains "Few economic, social, and business historians can afford to miss this definitive study." —Mississippi Valley Historical Review "All seekers after nostalgia will be interested in this encyclopedic volume on the days when the clang, clang of the trolley was the most exciting travel sound the suburbs knew." —Harper's Magazine "A fascinating and instructive chapter in the history of American transportation." —Journal of Economic History "The hint that behind the grand facade of scholarship lies an expanse of boyish enthusiasm is strengthened by a lovingly amassed and beautifully reproduced collection of 37 photographs." —The Nation

The Electric Interurban Railways in America

The Electric Interurban Railways in America PDF Author: George W. Hilton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781503619074
Category : TRANSPORTATION
Languages : en
Pages : 472

Get Book

Book Description
One of the most colorful yet neglected eras in American transportation history is re-created in this definitive history of the electric interurbans. Built with the idea of attracting short-distance passenger traffic and light freight, the interurbans were largely constructed in the early 1900s. The rise of the automobile and motor transport caused the industry to decline after World War I, and the depression virtually annihilated the industry by the middle 1930s. Part I describes interurban construction, technology, passenger and freight traffic, financial history, and final decline and abandonment. Part II presents individual histories (with route maps) of the more than 300 companies of the interurban industry. Reviews "A first-rate work of such detail and discernment that it might well serve as a model for all corporate biographies. . . . A wonderfully capable job of distillation." --Trains "Few economic, social, and business historians can afford to miss this definitive study." --Mississippi Valley Historical Review "All seekers after nostalgia will be interested in this encyclopedic volume on the days when the clang, clang of the trolley was the most exciting travel sound the suburbs knew." --Harper's Magazine "A fascinating and instructive chapter in the history of American transportation." --Journal of Economic History "The hint that behind the grand facade of scholarship lies an expanse of boyish enthusiasm is strengthened by a lovingly amassed and beautifully reproduced collection of 37 photographs." --The Nation.

Electric Interurbans and the American People

Electric Interurbans and the American People PDF Author: H. Roger Grant
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253023203
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Get Book

Book Description
“A well-written social history of the shortest-lived major US transportation mode” from the railway historian and author of A Mighty Fine Road (Choice). One of the most intriguing yet neglected pieces of American transportation history, electric interurban railroads were designed to assist shoppers, salesmen, farmers, commuters, and pleasure-seekers alike with short distance travel. At a time when most roads were unpaved and horse and buggy travel were costly and difficult, these streetcar-like electric cars were essential to economic growth. But why did interurban fever strike so suddenly and extensively in the Midwest and other areas? Why did thousands of people withdraw their savings to get onto what they believed to be a “gravy train?” How did officials of competing steam railroads respond to these challenges to their operations? H. Roger Grant explores the rise and fall of this fleeting form of transportation that started in the early 1900s and was defunct just 30 years later. Perfect for railfans, Electric Interurbans and the American People is a comprehensive contribution for those who love the flanged wheel. “With this book, the subject no longer has footnote status. In fact, Grant’s work deserves a place alongside some of the other landmark surveys of the subject . . . Here, Grant moves beyond the receiverships, the rickety track, and all that fascinating rolling stock. He shows us why the whole darned thing mattered.” —Railroad History “H. Roger Grant has produced a fine social history of America’s electric interurbans, exploring the relationship between people and those railway enterprises. The book fills a void, is eminently readable, and richly illustrated.” —Don L. Hofsommer, author of Off the Main Lines

The interurban era

The interurban era PDF Author: William D. Middleton
Publisher: William D. Middleton
ISBN:
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 440

Get Book

Book Description
The interurban era

The Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway

The Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway PDF Author: George W. Hilton
Publisher: Montevallo Historical Press, Inc.
ISBN: 0965862461
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 171

Get Book

Book Description
The newest version of George W. Hilton’s classic electric interurban history book is here! At the dawn of the twentieth century, before good roads were common and everybody owned an automobile, Northwestern Ohio was the home of the Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway. The TPC&L began operating in 1905 and didn’t entirely close until 1958–that was decades after other railways like it gave up! This fascinating book, first published in 1964, contains the story of the line as told by noted transportation authority George W. Hilton, including its construction in the days of “interurban fever,” the boats that carried passengers from Marblehead to Cedar Point and Sandusky, its varied rolling stock, accidents, and more! This ebook version contains all content from the printed volume.

Electric Locomotives

Electric Locomotives PDF Author: Brian Solomon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781610606264
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 102

Get Book

Book Description


The Rutland Road

The Rutland Road PDF Author: Jim Shaughnessy
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 9780815604563
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 452

Get Book

Book Description
One would be challenged to find a railroad to compare scenically and historically with the Rutland Railroad. With Yankee persistence, it struggled for its existence in the snows of Vermont and northern New York for more than one hundred years. Running through territory amply covered by larger and stronger lines, it survived bankruptcy, receivership, flood, unequal competition, seizure, depression, and strikes. Its vestigial remains operate in a small area to this day. Jim Shaughnessy—award-winning railroad photographer and authority—discusses the Rutland's entire history thoroughly, from preconstrnction in 1831 to the present. In this updated edition, the author covers the history of the three lines that continued to operate after the demise of the Rutland Railroad-the Vermont Railway, the Green Mountain Railroad, and the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority. Lavishly illustrated with more than 500 incomparable photographs (including those by railroad photographer Philip R. Hastings), The Rutland Road has other features for the railroad enthusiast and historian alike: maps, charts, reproductions of advertisements, a detailed index with engine rosters, a chronology of the Rutland Railroad, and other significant statistical information.

Piedmont and Northern

Piedmont and Northern PDF Author: Thomas Fetters
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book

Book Description


Electric Indiana

Electric Indiana PDF Author: Carlos Arnaldo Schwantes
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253067138
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 446

Get Book

Book Description
In the early twentieth century, an epic battle was waged across America between the interurban railway and the automobile, two technologies that arose at roughly the same time in the late 1890s. Nowhere was this conflict more evident than in the Midwest, and specifically Indiana, where cities of industry such as Indianapolis, Gary, and Terre Haute were growing faster every day. By 1904, Indianapolis had opened the Traction Terminal, which was widely acclaimed to be the largest and most impressive interurban station in the world. Yet, today there is only 90-mile remnant of this one great system still operating within Indiana. Featuring over 90 illustrations and featuring contemporary accounts and newspaper articles from the period, Electric Indiana is a biographical study of the rise and fall of a onetime important transportation technology that achieved its most impressive development within the Hoosier state.

Chicago Trolleys

Chicago Trolleys PDF Author: David Sadowski
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1467126810
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Get Book

Book Description
Chicago's extensive transit system first started in 1859, when horsecars ran on rails in city streets. Cable cars and electric streetcars came next. Where new trolley car lines were built, people, businesses, and neighborhoods followed. Chicago quickly became a world-class city. At its peak, Chicago had over 3,000 streetcars and 1,000 miles of track--the largest such system in the world. By the 1930s, there were also streamlined trolleys and trolley buses on rubber tires. Some parts of Chicago's famous "L" system also used trolley wire instead of a third rail. Trolley cars once took people from the Loop to such faraway places as Aurora, Elgin, Milwaukee, and South Bend. A few still run today.