The Golden Age of the Streetcar

[AdeeC]

When I was a kid, you still had the older trams from the 50s, 30s, etc, rattling around town. And I mean RATTLING. You could hear them coming three blocks away! But these days, apart from the City-Circle tourist trams, I'm not sure that the old antiques are still used anywhere in Melbourne.

Yes, the last of the old trams used to travel the paying North Richmond to St Kilda line and were phased out two years ago. The city circle trams are very popular with locals also who work in the city. The whole circuit can take up to an hour depending on traffic and always crowded. The ones they are currently restoring are receiving significant upgrades so won't rattle so much and be more comfortable.

I also remember the older 1920's and 30's trams without external doors that were finally phased out in the early 1990's. They were great in summer but freezing cold in winter. At either end they had the enclosed 'lounge' areas where ladies sat on comfortable padded seats and shielded from the weather. The lounges had beautiful timber work and delicate sponge effect painting. The middle section was open to the weather with hard benches and full of men and boys smoking cigarettes diligently. The floors had raised wooden slats about 2cm apart to gather the cigarette butts in between. At the end of the day the gaps were full of them.

 

[Farace]

Just came home from an evening operating car 850. It was built in 1922 and operated in New Orleans until 1964, at which time it was brought up here to the Shore Line Trolley Museum, where I am a volunteer. Tonight was one of our Haunted Isle events. The vintage trolleys again operating in New Orleans are from the 900 series, pretty indistinguishable from the 800 series cars, except they were built two years later and have air-powered doors, instead of the "armstrong" doors I fight with on this car.

I'll be operating again next Saturday, and I'm hoping they'll bring out car 629, a Third Avenue car from NYC from the thirties. It was built at a time that trolleys were on the decline, and the City wasn't going to help finance badly needed newer cars. Mayor LaGuardia thought of trolleys as "rolling slums" and would be happy to see them go. What the Third Avenue shop ended up doing was to build new bodies in-house, and scavenge running gear from older cars, some built as early as the 1890s. Sounds like a mess, but 629 is a very smooth car to operate.

Of interest to aficionados of NY transit are some other cars in our collection, such as the very first production PCC that ran in Brooklyn, car 1001. Another is the "Mineola," the private subway car of August Belmont, founder of the IRT, who had a private stop under the Belmont Hotel. He had an arrangement with the Long Island Railroad that allowed him to bring the Mineola out on the LIRR so he could entertain his friends at the Belmont racetrack. The car itself suffered greatly after Belmont's death, and reportedly was found moldering in a field in New Jersey. It is currently undergoing some repair and restoration and will eventually become a static display. Even in its dilapidated state, one can see its grandeur, with solid wood paneling (with metal match strikers on the wall), carved wood trim, stained glass, and August Belmont's rolltop desk. It has a galley and a bathroom.

I saw mention earlier in the thread that power companies started the trolley lines. Actually, at least around here, the reverse was true. Needing power, the trolley companies built plants and the sold the surplus power to the surrounding communities, often being the first electric power available to the suburban areas. Not only that, but the Connecticut Company line connected to a couple of well-known and -attended amusement parks in the area, Savin Rock and Momauguin, also operated by the trolley company. The motors and controllers powering the rides not surprisingly were the same as those in the trolleys.

Trolleys were largely responsible for both urban and suburban outward expansion and development. Frank Sprague, the engineer responsible for creating a system that allowed trolleys to be powered by electric motors then turned his attention to elevators. They had been hydraulically powered up to that time, limiting the height of buildings. Sprague created electric motor operated elevators, and allowed cities to expand upward. (The main visitor building at our museum is named in honor of Sprague.)

Oh, and the trolley was named after the trolley wheel at the end of most trolley poles that run along the 600-volt wire (some use shoes rather than wheels).

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ Great info - thank you for the informative post.

The building I lived in for about seven years in NYC was on Third Avenue. We found a pic from the '30s of the El going right by our building (can't find it online this morning). Since our bedroom windows faced 3rd - it had to be quite a racket back in the day.

Below are some pics of the building - it's a behemoth with some 200-plus apartments (built in 1929). It has some very cool Art Deco details as you can see in the close up shots. In the lobby shot - despite be muddled up over the years - you can still see the original floor, desk and window woodwork. The last pic shows right where the El used to run (that's Third Avenue).

 

[GHT]

The brand-new Bombardier streetcars, now multi-car mini trains really. I think the smallest collection is three cars.

They are delayed, over budget and fraught with issues. The city almost cancelled the project, but the courts were involved:

This is very much the way of modern trams in our country too. The first photo shows the tram in central Birmingham, the next two are from Edinburgh's fleet. The short, multiple car system, allows for turning around tight bends, as clearly demonstrated.

As noted before, most of our reinstated tramways use, in part, former railways where the trackbed is still intact. It's hard to imagine any sort of urban tramway in London's overcrowded streets, but there is a cross between trams and railways called The Docklands Light Railway. It's driverless and is run entirely by computer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docklands_Light_Railway

 

[Farace]

@Fading Fast, I love that building. We have an old Ponds factory nearby with a wonderful Art Deco façade (and only the façade, of course, as it was a manufacturing plant) that is supposed to be repurposed in the near future into some sort of indoor sports/recreational facility. I hope they keep the original façade, even the Ponds name, as part of their renovation.

At the Trolley Museum we have approximately 100 vehicles on the grounds. You can see a few of them at this link, including the Third Avenue car 629 partway down:

http://shorelinetrolley.org/collection/

Near the bottom of that page is yet another Third Avenue car, originally built as a cable car in the 1890s when that line was a cable operation (several US cities other than San Francisco had cable cars).

A word on the notion that GM put the trolleys out of business: while no doubt it might have been the last nails in the coffin, it was more complicated than that, as mentioned by people in previous posts. Trolley systems were expensive to build and maintain, and of course once built were entirely inflexible. It's easy to change a bus route. But as an example, we had a trolley line here along the Connecticut shore (extending all the way to Westerly, Rhode Island and up to Webster, Mass.), the Shore Line Electric Railway. It went bankrupt about 1919, clearly not due to bus competition. It was reorganized under a different name, with different, more economically run cars (lightweight, able to be operated by one man instead of two) and went back into service in 1924. It was again bankrupt before the end of the 1920s. The Connecticut Company line in and immediately surrounding New Haven was going to be shut down before WWII, but due to the war bus production was delayed, and the line continued through 1947/48. Another thing that delayed buses was a rule that was in place saying that any trolley line that was to be replaced by a bus line had to follow the same route, something that was impossible for a trolley line that meandered through the marshes where there were no roads. Anyway, the bottom line was that trolley lines were not often economically viable, and while it's attractive to blame GM, it really was only picking off low-hanging fruit that was close to rotting on the tree.

One interesting note: most cities did away with open trolleys by the 1920s, as it was prohibitively expensive to maintain two fleets of cars, one for warm weather and one for cold. New Haven kept their fleet of open cars all the way up to the end of trolley operations in 1948 due to the open car's ability to transport an enormous number of passengers, useful for carrying spectators to games at Yale Bowl. There are photos of these cars crowded with passengers crowding the seats and the running boards, and sometimes even on the roof (not smart, with a 600-volt DC wire overhead) even in cold weather.

The last small US city with a trolley line was Johnstown, Pennsylvania, which maintained its system until 1960. We have two cars at the museum from Johnstown, 356 and 357. 356 is being repaired and hopefully will be in service soon. 357 is one of our regular service cars. Fun anecdote: I had a woman who grew up in Johnstown in one of my tour groups this past summer. When we got to 357, which was not being used that day, she asked to go inside. The length of the cars inside above the windows are lined with period advertising, and she was reminiscing about some of the stores she had shipped at, etc. when she got to one advertising a photographer's studio that had recently had a "beautiful baby" contest. She looked at the ad and gasped and said, "that's my brother!" He had been the winner of the contest. She immediately took a photo and sent it to him. One of my cohorts at the museum had a similar experience with car 357, in which someone in his tour group had a grandfather who was the motorman for that car. It was moving for that person to be able to stand where his grandfather had stood and hold the control handles that his grandfather had used to operate the car.

 

[David Conwill]

Although Detroit kept some of its streetcars in service through 1956, most other Michigan cities where I have lived and visited (Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Bay City, Saginaw, and Flint) got rid of theirs well before World War II. Nevertheless, tantalizing reminders are easy to spy here and there--especially in Grand Rapids where its not uncommon to turn down a brick side street and see a wide patch of asphalt down the middle where the tracks used to be. I've always found streetcars fascinating and attractive means of transit--I was able to put up with riding the bus in Lansing, so I'm sure I'd have had no problem riding a streetcar.

One story that always comes to mind is how fare increases were often poorly received among the ridership. Saginaw/Bay City had a streetcar riot at some point in the '20s and Muskegon had one in 1919. I've stood where this image was taken and its hard to imagine streetcars going by (or even a vibrant downtown, since Muskegon was mauled, er, malled back in the 1970s).

 

[Fading Fast]

Although Detroit kept some of its streetcars in service through 1956, most other Michigan cities where I have lived and visited (Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Bay City, Saginaw, and Flint) got rid of theirs well before World War II. Nevertheless, tantalizing reminders are easy to spy here and there--especially in Grand Rapids where its not uncommon to turn down a brick side street and see a wide patch of asphalt down the middle where the tracks used to be. I've always found streetcars fascinating and attractive means of transit--I was able to put up with riding the bus in Lansing, so I'm sure I'd have had no problem riding a streetcar.

One story that always comes to mind is how fare increases were often poorly received among the ridership. Saginaw/Bay City had a streetcar riot at some point in the '20s and Muskegon had one in 1919. I've stood where this image was taken and its hard to imagine streetcars going by (or even a vibrant downtown, since Muskegon was mauled, er, malled back in the 1970s).

View attachment 189476

Even in NYC, I still see evidence of street cars as the wear and tear on the pavement quite often reveals not only old rails, but often times, they are resting in the old cobblestone. Like you, I love seeing that stuff and find streetcars fascinating.

I'm a big fan of trains and subways - do most of my traveling that way (haven't owned a car since '89). I've read in the past, consistent with what you wrote, that fare increases were met with huge public outrage. In NYC, in the '30s, the gov't passed a law (maybe a reg, I don't remember the specifics of what I read) that subway companies (private at that time) couldn't raise their fares above 5 cents.

Because of inflating costs, most of the subway companies eventually went bankrupt and the city took over running the subways. And, of course, the gov't quickly increased the fares as they were too low to cover the costs of running the subways.

I've been excited to see the emergence of light rails. I've ridden the one in Jersey City (pics below). It's limited in scope, but a nice and effective way to go if it fits your destination needs.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Among the other reasons why I'm a big fan of Mayor LaGuardia is the fact that he made "the nickel subway ride" an iron-clad component of his platform, and true to his word, the fare didn't go up until 1948 -- two years after his death. Mr. O'Dwyer lost quite a few votes over that.

 

[Fading Fast]

⇧ Clearly, I was wrong about the fare being raised right away (I warned about my memory), but the real question is what did he have to cut or not fund to keep the fare at 5 cents? The costs of running the subway had to be covered - and the '40s saw cost increases - so if the fare stayed at 5 cents, the money had to come from other gov't funds.

The same battles go on to this day. Every time a subway fare increase is discussed (this year, for example), some people scream it is too expensive and some gov't officials explain the costs of running the subway keep going up a lot. Then, those like me say let's take a close look at those costs, but in the end, the fare goes up, the costs never really get scrutinized and on we go to the next fare increase.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The world of New York subway politics in the 1940s was a tangled one -- the City bought out the IRT and the BMT in 1940, and spent the better part of the decade trying to figure out exactly what was going on. The buyouts had come largely because riders were not happy with the poorly-run service on the private lines, and it took quite a while to address all those conflicts. The nickel fare was an issue made more complicated by the fact that there were still binding contracts signed by the IRT and the predecessor of the BMT in 1913 that locked the fare at five cents until 1962 -- and the city had to find a way to get out of those agreements before there could be any kind of hike.

For what it's worth, I doubt if LaGuardia had lived he'd have been able to get out of all this without an increase. But he wouldn't have liked it.

 

[Farace]

Should I post photos of some of the cars in the museum's collection? I don't always get a chance to take pictures while I'm operating, but I'll make an effort if anyone wants to see them. Here are a couple more.

Car 4573 is a Brooklyn car and is a convertible. In cold weather, glass panels would cover the sides. In warm weather the panels would be removed and the metal bars are all that is between passengers and the outside.

Car 629 is the Third Avenue car I mentioned in an earlier post, the one that had a new body constructed in 1939 and then was fitted with scavenged running gear. This was taken last year during my favorite event of the year, the Santa Trolley. (Santa is sitting at the back end of another car, a single-ended Witt car.)

 

[Farace]

Having posted Brooklyn car 4573 above, it occurred to me that it might be worth recounting how the Brooklyn Dodgers got their name, for anyone that didn't know (as I didn't until I started volunteering at the Trolley Museum). It seems that residents of the borough became adept at crossing streets ahead of the murderous streetcars that criss-crossed their town, and became known as trolley dodgers. The ball club (after having been the Brooklyn Robins) acquired the name Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers before having it shortened to Dodgers.

 

[Farace]

The interior of Brooklyn car 4573.

The controller for 4573. The lever on the right is the reverser key. The car is immobile without it in place. The big handle on the left is the motor controller. Besides the Off position, there are two sets of five "points." There are large cast iron resistor plates under the car that restrict the voltage going to the motors. Progressing the lever through the first set of five points sequentially bypasses portions of the resistor plates, removing resistance from the circuit (and thereby increasing the voltage to the motors) with the motors wired in series. Then the second set of five points progresses again through removing resistance, but this time with the motors wired in parallel. (For the museum's purposes, we are only allowed to use the first five points, and in fact the parallel points are mechanically blocked out. This is true for nearly all the regular service cars.) Like many of the older cars, 4573 is a "straight air" car with no dead man safety on the controller handle. Later cars--"safety cars"--require the motorman to keep the controller lever pressed down. Letting it up with the car in one of the points would put the car into emergency mode and automatically apply the air brakes. Just out of view to the right of the motor controller is the air brake lever.

 

[31 Model A]

St Louis worked for years and raising money and with city investments brought the trolly back to the Central West-End. Took years relaying track and bought two cars from Washington state and restored them. The trollies have been working now for about two years. They now need $200,000 from the city to keep running. The city has no plans on bailing the system out.

 

[Fading Fast]

St Louis worked for years and raising money and with city investments brought the trolly back to the Central West-End. Took years relaying track and bought two cars from Washington state and restored them. The trollies have been working now for about two years. They now need $200,000 from the city to keep running. The city has no plans on bailing the system out.

That's the challenge - the don't pay for themselves in fares, so it's always a battle to get and get again and again and...additional budget dollars.

 

[3fingers]

St Louis worked for years and raising money and with city investments brought the trolly back to the Central West-End. Took years relaying track and bought two cars from Washington state and restored them. The trollies have been working now for about two years. They now need $200,000 from the city to keep running. The city has no plans on bailing the system out.

Being a municipal employee, I can tell you without reservation that if the right people cared about this the 200 large would be forthcoming forthwith. Unfortunately, if the right people don't care, the 200 large will be whizzed up against the wall on something that benefits almost no one.

 

[31 Model A]

So happens this was the big talk on the local radio this morning. Seems the total cost was 51 million with the fed government giving 34 million of that. it's not 200,00 they need but another $700,000 or it will shut down. Lot's of angry call ins about having all that money invested into 'folly' trolly system to begin with.

 

[GHT]

So happens this was the big talk on the local radio this morning. Seems the total cost was 51 million with the fed government giving 34 million of that. it's not 200,00 they need but another $700,000 or it will shut down. Lot's of angry call ins about having all that money invested into 'folly' trolly system to begin with.

There is a point about the folly trolley's that you mention. What major conurbations need is rapid transport, running rails down a busy road won't achieve that, but running any sort of public transport on it's own dedicated route, will. London and other major cities that have underground railways clearly demonstrate that.

We had, in our country, a golden opportunity to have such dedicated routes, and we squandered it. A third of our railway network was made redundant and ripped up, these were the branch lines that ran from the major city stations into the suburbs. The track beds could have been left, they would have been ideal these days for providing the much needed rapid route. You can argue that local authorities, to whom the land was handed over to, were not clairvoyant, how could they predict future needs? Maybe not, but there was a good argument to leave the track beds for fifty years, after which, their use could be reassessed.

A case in point of that argument is the London Docklands Light Railway that I mentioned in a previous post. Most of that system was built on the defunct branch lines and freight lines that led into the former London Docks. It has become a very popular and successful rapid transit form of public transport.

There is undoubtedly, an air of romance about the trolley car, some fabulous photos Farace, but unless municipalities can build a trolley system like that of San Francisco, no matter how attractive you make the vehicle, if it doesn't get you to work on time, what's the point of having it?

 

[Farace]

A third of our railway network was made redundant and ripped up, these were the branch lines that ran from the major city stations into the suburbs. The track beds could have been left, they would have been ideal these days for providing the much needed rapid route.

Here along the Connecticut shore, for the tracks that went out of New Haven some of them were routed along main streets or other roads in the smaller towns, but some instead went through marshes along routes that were never to become motor vehicle roads, and in some places those paths still exist. In my own hometown, what's left of a path through the marsh that was the trolley line is now becoming a part of the Shoreline Greenway, a pedestrian and bicycle path. The aim is to eventually find a path for it all along the Connecticut shore. For the time being, towns are finding bits and pieces of it that can be built with the hopes that they'll eventually link up.

 

[vitanola]

Should I post photos of some of the cars in the museum's collection? I don't always get a chance to take pictures while I'm operating, but I'll make an effort if anyone wants to see them. Here are a couple more.

View attachment 189549

Car 4573 is a Brooklyn car and is a convertible. In cold weather, glass panels would cover the sides. In warm weather the panels would be removed and the metal bars are all that is between passengers and the outside.

View attachment 189550

Car 629 is the Third Avenue car I mentioned in an earlier post, the one that had a new body constructed in 1939 and then was fitted with scavenged running gear. This was taken last year during my favorite event of the year, the Santa Trolley. (Santa is sitting at the back end of another car, a single-ended Witt car.)

Was Santa in the Cleveland Peter Witt?