Philadelphia Trolleys

Author: Allen Meyers
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738512266
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 132

Book Description
Streetcar service arrived in Philadelphia in the 1850s, shortly after the consolidation of the city. After the Civil War, the horse-drawn omnibus gave way to a comprehensive network of streetcar lines with some routes measuring nineteen miles in length. By 1915, the electrification of the streetcar increased the number of routes in Philadelphia to a total of eighty-six. During the trolley's heyday, the city provided a vast test track for such companies as J.G. Brill, Kimball and Gorton Car Manufacturers, and the Budd Wheel Company. The Wharton Railroad Switch Company revolutionized the manufacture of switches and tracks. Of the lines that once operated in Philadelphia, five are still running today. Philadelphia Trolleys contains a variety of rare images, including a postcard of the Point Breeze Amusement Park, photographs of motormen's uniform badges and buttons, architectural drawings, early stock certificates, and a photograph of the Toonerville Trolley used in the silent movies produced by Lubin Studios in the 1920s.

Philadelphia's Streetcar Heritage

Author: Kenneth C. Springirth
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781634991483
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Philadelphia's Streetcar Heritage is a photographic essay of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, streetcar system. The first electric streetcar line in Philadelphia opened in 1892 and quickly replaced horsecar service by 1897. Streetcar lines were merged into the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT) in 1902 to achieve a unified system. There were 1,500 new streetcars purchased by 1913, which was the largest fleet of standardized streetcars ever purchased by one transit company. Ridership dropped during the Depression, and PRT reorganized as the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) in 1940. After National City Lines (NCL) obtained control of PTC in 1955, many streetcar lines became bus operated. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) acquired PTC in 1968. The overhaul of 112 Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) cars began in 1979. Kawasaki Heavy Industries built 112 streetcars (light rail vehicles) for the subway surface lines. With buses taking over Route 15 (Girard Avenue) in 1992, only five subway surface lines remained. SEPTA restored Route 15 streetcar service in 2005 using Brookville Equipment Corporation rebuilt PCCII cars. Philadelphia's Streetcar Heritage documents the city's streetcars, including Fairmount Park Trolleys and trackless trolleys.

Cincinnati Streetcar Heritage

Author: Kenneth C. Springirth
Publisher: America Through Time
ISBN: 9781634990332
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
"Cincinnati Streetcar Heritage is a photographic essay of the Cincinnati, Ohio streetcar system. Cincinnati's first electric streetcar line was the conversion of the Mt. Adams & Eden Park Inclined Railway Company cable car line to electric operation in 1888, which became part of the Cincinnati Street Railway Company in 1896. Because of concern over corrosion of underground conduits and water pipes, Cincinnati's streetcar lines were required to have a double overhead wire within city limits. Cincinnati, along with Merrill, Wisconsin, and Havana, Cuba, were the only streetcar systems in North America with a double overhead wire system. Two open observation streetcars were placed in sightseeing service during 1939. The only Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) cars ever built with two trolley poles were operated in Cincinnati. Although Cincinnati's streetcars made their last run in 1951, the Toronto Transit Commission purchased 52 of Cincinnati's PCC cars with the last one taken out of service in 1982. Cincinnati Streetcar Heritage documents the city's streetcar era, including the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar line which opened in 2016, linking downtown Cincinnati with the Over the Rhine neighborhood"--Back cover.

Detroit's Streetcar Heritage

Author: Kenneth C. Springirth
Publisher: America Through Time
ISBN: 9781634990721
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
"America Through Time is an imprint of Fonthill Media LLC. Published by Arcadia Publishing by arrangement with Fonthill Media LLC."--Title page verso.

The Great Northern Railway Through Time

Author: Dale Peterka
Publisher: America Through Time
ISBN: 9781634990080
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 96

Book Description
The Great Northern Railway Through Time takes us on a tour of the American Northwest―the last American frontier―from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington. The Great Northern opened up the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, the dramatic Cascade Mountains of Washington and the Continental Divide at Marias Pass. President James J. Hill intended the Great Northern to be a freight hauling road, but tourists riding on the GN's premier passenger train, The Empire Builder were delighted by the prairie, the farmland, the Big Sky Country, the mountains, and Glacier National Park. The G.N.'s reputation grew. Today, Amtrak's Empire Builder traverses the same territory. The Great Northern Railway Through Time presents photos taken over the course of seventy five years by photographers of the era. The author has provided ample photo captions pointing out features that have changed over the years and features that have stayed the same. The early photos are fresh―never before published. The more recent shots were made by twenty of America's finest rail enthusiast photographers.

Csx Transportation Railroad Heritage

Author: Kenneth C. Springirth
Publisher: America Through Time
ISBN: 9781634993456
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Book Description
CSX Transportation Railroad Heritage is a photographic essay of this major railroad that was formed in 1980 by a merger of the Seaboard Coast Line with the Chessie System, providing a history that goes back to its beginning with the opening in 1830 of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which was the first common carrier railroad in the United States. An early predecessor railroad was the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway which introduced the figure of a sleeping kitten "Chessie" in 1933 that became a well-recognized advertisement for passenger service and later for freight service. Each of the railroads that were merged contributed to CSX reaching important population, energy, and manufacturing markets. The CSX Pride in Service program resulted in three special painted locomotives (shown in this book) honoring the nation's veterans, active military personnel, and first responders.

New Jersey's Trolley Heritage

Author: Kenneth C. Springirth
Publisher: America Through Time
ISBN: 9781634992244
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
New Jersey's Trolley Heritage is a photographic essay of trolley cars that once served Atlantic City, Ocean City, and Wildwood, plus the modernized Newark City subway, along with the new Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line and River Line. From 1889 to 1955, electric trolley cars served commuters and vacationers in Atlantic City. Between 1938 and 1955, Atlantic City operated twenty-five streamlined Brilliners known as the Miss America Fleet, the largest fleet of these cars in service in the United States. The Shore Fast Line connected Atlantic City via Pleasantville and Somers Point to Ocean City. A portion of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was used by the Shore Fast Line. Open summer cars operated in Wildwood until it closed in 1945. After trolley service ended in Atlantic City, Newark's City Subway was New Jersey's only remaining trolley line until New Jersey Transit opened the Hudson-Bergen Line in 2000, and by 2011, linked North Bergen with Hoboken, Jersey City, and Bayonne. New Jersey's Trolley Heritage documents an important part of the state's trolley history including the River Line, which opened in 2004, connecting Camden with Trenton.

Chicago Trolleys

Author: David Sadowski
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1467126810
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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.

Baltimore Streetcar Memories

Author: Kenneth C. Springirth
Publisher: America Through Time
ISBN: 9781634990349
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
"Baltimore was the first United States city to begin regularly scheduled electric railway service in 1885. However, because of technical problems the line had to go back to horse car operation. After Frank J. Sprague developed an electric streetcar powered by an overhead wire for Richmond, Virginia; Baltimore adopted the new system and in 1893 opened the first electric line in the United States to operate on an elevated structure. By 1899, Baltimore streetcar lines, with their unique 5 foot 4.5 inch track gauge, were unified by the United Railways and Electric Company which purchased 885 semi-convertible cars with windows that could be raised up for summer operation and lowered for winter operation. Baltimore Transit Company was the third United States system to introduce modern Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) cars and at its peak operated the eighth largest fleet of these cars. A combination of factors including a ridership decline and making many downtown streets one way contributed to conversion to an all bus system. Baltimore Streetcar Memories is a photographic essay of history of the Baltimore, Maryland streetcar system up to its closure in 1963 and the return of a modern streetcar/light rail system 29 years later in 1992."--Amazon.com

Eastern Oregon Shortline Railroads

Author: Jeff Moore
Publisher: America Through Time
ISBN: 9781634990103
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Most of Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains is a raw and inhospitable land, largely the product of recent volcanic activity. Railroad builders constructed a couple mainlines skirting the edges of the region and some branch lines into agricultural communities, but found very little else to attract their interest. Over time, however, a small collection of interesting shortline railroads built or bought rail lines, either in conjunction with the developing timber industry in the Blue, Ochoco, and Wallowa mountains or to connect a few existing communities with the mainline that bypassed the town. This book tells the stories of these small railroads and the roles they played in the development and economies of the region; covered railroads includes the Big Creek & Telocaset; City of Prineville; Condon, Kinzua & Southern; Idaho, Northern & Pacific; Klamath Northern; Oregon & Northwestern; Oregon, California & Eastern; Oregon Eastern Division of the Wyoming/Colorado; Sumpter Valley; Union Railroad of Oregon; Wallowa Union; and others.