Trolley Thursday 9/2/21 - Frank J. Sprague, Father of the Streetcar

Welcome to another brand new month of trolley-posting here at Twice-Weekly Trolley History! For the month of September, we have no real theme this time, but we hope the variety can keep you riders and readers interested!

The electric motor. The trolley pole. Air brakes. We all seem to take these things for granted when we stand back and examine what a streetcar is. After all, hindsight breeds common sense: it makes sense to us to have a stick reaching up and gathering electricity, which feeds a traction motor attached directly to an axle to move the car. But how did these elements come together in the first place? Why did this process work and not a rolling troller on a wire? And who, above all, profited from these patents? Well, dear riders, we have the answer to those queries on today's Trolley Tuesday and his name is Frank J. Sprague, inventor.

Trolley Thursday 10/1/20 - The Boston Subway System

Another month brings another rich stock of streetcar, interurban, and rapid transit history to sink your teeth into. I want to thank all of the people and museum organizations who frequent, share, and find our series both entertaining and educational, whether it's insulting streetcar executives' facial hair or lamenting the loss of another legendary system. From Nakkune and I, you are all loved.

Today's month of October concerns the City of Boston (or to quote one of its own beloved mayors, "da cittabossun") and its rich electric railway history. The City of Champions is home to many firsts: the first shots fired in the American Revolution, the first American Dynasty through the Kennedys, and where we're concerned: the first subway in America. Despite being well over 120 years old, the combined system continues to serve as the main backbone of the Green and Red lines for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (better known as the MTBA). Today, let's ship up to Boston and uncover the deep, congestive history of the Subway Tunnels!