Trolley Tuesday 3/22/22 - The Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway

Interurbans are, as proven time and again on this blog, a very Ameri-centric concept. Even the word itself, "interurban" brings up more images of American railroads like the North Shore, Pacific Electric, and Key System than anything worldwide. And yet, the concept of an electric railway with full separation from a road and private right-of-ways caught on around the world anyway. In Canada, they called these kinds of roads, "radial railways" as they "radiated out into the suburbs of Toronto". At the same time as these radial railways, Canada's commonwealth owner England had their own little interurban line that was as fast and as sophisticated as their American counterparts but not called an "interurban" at all. On today's (late) Trolley Tuesday, we're Humberside as we look at the Grimsby & Immingham Electric Railway, Britain's only interurban!

Trolley Tuesday 3/10/2022 - The Southern Railway's "Brighton Belle"

Over the last three years or so of this blog, we've never avoided mentioning the Pullman Company's effect on electric traction. After all, their proximity to some of the largest transit networks in the United States led a lot of companies to depend on them for top-quality suburban and interurban cars. However, while Pullman's own streetcars were legendary in their own right, we've never touched upon the more well-known side of George Pullman's grand sleeping car empire, that being their luxury train services. Well, fret no more dear riders, as despite a relative lack of Pullman luxury electric trains in the United States, it seems the idea took off across the pond in Britain. On today's Trolley Thursday, we're looking at how the Pullman Company flourished in England and its role in making one of the most famous electric luxury passenger trains... in the world.

Trolley Tuesday 3/8/22 - The Volk's Electric Railway (and Brighton & Rottingdean Seaside Railway)

Welcome, dear riders, to another month of Trolley Posts guaranteed to entertain and inform! This month, we're covering British (and Irish) electric railways big and small, starting with what might be the smallest and oldest operating electric railway in the United Kingdom! Traveling along the crashing southeastern shore of Brighton Beach, Magnus Volk's Electric Railway might seem quite insignificant compared to the giants of interurban transit we've covered on this blog before. While whole railways may have built town centers or establish important freight corridors, Volk's Electric Railway remains just a mere tourist attraction. It is, after all, the oldest operating electric railway in the world (even predating Frank J. Sprague's patented traction motors!). On today's Trolley Tuesday, we hope you do like to be beside the sea-side as we ride along the Volk's Electric Railway!