Trolley Thursday 8/13/20 - The Big and the Small of the Indiana Electrics

Streetcar systems, interurban railways, and indeed any electric railroad is going to have some kind of elaborate idea that anyone can see is absolutely impossible. As it was the early days of mass rapid transit, damn near anything was possible and people thought the wire could stretch from sea to shining sea. However, reality has a way of putting things into perspective, and more often than not these elaborate plans ended up consigned to the drawing board, or worse, never being built beyond a small town. On the flipside, plenty of tiny electric industrial installations ensured both a business' reliable connection to another railroad, and of course plenty of adorable rolling stock. On today's Trolley Thursday, we look at what made these two types of railroads so special, and so infamous in Indiana, as we look at the Chicago-New York Air Line and the Singer Manufacturing Electric Railway!

Trolley Tuesday 8/11/20 - The Fort Wayne Transit Company

As the second largest city in Indiana, right after Indianapolis, Fort Wayne became a major transit hub in the 20th century thanks to the likes of the Pennsylvania, Wabash, and Monon Railroads. Within the city, a robust transit network was set up under many company names, eventually culminating in the Indiana Railroad we covered last week. However, we're back in Fort Wayne again to look at the local streetcar operations and see what happened to the Summit City's Streetcars, here on Trolley Tuesday!

Trolley Thursday 8/6/20 - The Indiana Railroad and its Constituents

Now we can officially start the month of August right! When you think of Indiana interurbans, you mostly think of the South Shore and... that's pretty much it. However, the "Last and Longest" wasn't the only Midwestern interurban running through the Buckeye State. At one point, there were six other neighbors vying for business all over the state, and even into Louisville, Kentucky! But how could a statewide system, spanning over eight hundred miles, suddenly up and disappear just after the start of World War II? We'll uncover the forgotten lines of the Indiana Railroad and its constituents today, on Trolley Thursday!

Trolley Tuesday 8/4/20 - The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (or New South Shore Line)

Welcome to another new month of Twice-Weekly Trolley History here on Blogger! I know your eyes are probably hurting from last month's deluge of information, but I can assure you we're back to our normal length once again. You may remember from last month, as well, that we covered the old South Shore Line as part of our review of Chicago interurbans and street railways. Today, we're going to continue that story and look at what happened to one of Samuel Insull's "First and Fastest" railways that is now the "Last and Longest". It's America's only true remaining interurban, and it's only on Trolley Tuesday!

Trolley Thursday 7/9/20 - The South Shore Line

Samuel Insull's North Shore Line might have clinched the title of "First and Fastest" in perpetuity, the famed Charles A. Coffin Gold Medal for contributions to the advancement of electric traction, but its opposite line is certainly a contender for operating in perpetuity. One of Insull's "fixer-upper lines", the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railway (CSS, South Shore Line for short) was born out of considerable reorganization between Chicago, IL, and South Bend, IN to become a premiere interurban and freight railroad. Indeed, the South Shore proved so essential and prolific in both passenger and commercial customer service that, despite downturns and heavy cuts, the South Shore Line has never been out of operation since the first line opened in 1901. A regular runner-up of the "First and Fastest" award, the South Shore can now be considered the "Last and Longest" surviving interurban in the United States.