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!

Trolley Tuesday 2/15/21 - Empresa Ferro Carril Curitybano

When it comes to choosing what cities to cover on any given Trolley Tuesday or Thursday post, often I like to pay tribute to my friends by focusing on the city that they live in, more than ones that are more well known, larger, or more famous. As I have a longtime friend in Brazil, I thought I could pay tribute to them by focusing on their home city of Curitiba, the eighth-largest city in the country and the capital of the state of Paranà. Long known as a haven of European immigration and cattle breeding, the "City of Eternal Fog" has also featured a once-great streetcar system that cultivated both European and American influences, which today's (late) Trolley Tuesday will focus on.

Trolley Tuesday 2/8/22 - Las Sistemas de Tren Eléctrico Urbano de Guadalajara

Offsetting the large urban metropolis that is Mexico City in the East lies the city of Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco on Mexico's western side. Today, it is the third largest metropolitan area in Mexico, and second in urban density to Mexico City, with varied commercial businesses ranging from technology to finance. Back in the days of horsecars, however, the city was just finding its feet; it was both a constantly-changing site of revolution and agricultural and textile enterprises, setting the stage for a modern transit system by the late 1800s. Where is this streetcar system today, and why is there a trolleybus going into a highway underpass? All of this and more in today's Trolley Tuesday report, all about the Guadalajaran streetcar system.

Trolley Tuesday 2/1/22 - The Streetcars of Mexico City

Bienvenidos, amigos, to another month of streetcar history from us at Twice-Weekly Trolley History! As previously announced, this month will be covering streetcar history all over Central and South America, with some rather interesting familiar faces along the way. First on our "South of the Border" tour is Mexico City, the national seat of government and one of the oldest cities in Mexico, all built on what was once Lake Texcoco and the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlàn. As well as being one of the country's largest cities, Mexico City was also once home to one of the largest and most storied streetcar networks in the country. On today's Trolley Tuesday, let's look back on the oft-forgotten but never-gone history of the Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos and its predecessors!

Trolley Tuesday 1/25/22 - The British Columbia Electric Railway

The province of British Columbia has always been known as the "Final Frontier" of Canada's westward expansion. To the railroads like Canadian Pacific and Canadian National, there was nothing more imperative or essential than gaining a connection to the Pacific Ocean. The strongest outpost in that province proved to be Vancouver, whose reputation as a Canadian jewel city and popular filming location ensures its longevity and legacy in the eyes of many. Yet, before the Hollywood cameras, British Columbia was known for another rolling icon that took after the utility-owned interurbans of Midwest America: the British Columbia Electric Railway. On today's (belated) Trolley Tuesday, we look back on the BCER as it grew in the Saltwater City and prospered by land until the inevitable end.

Trolley Tuesday 1/17/21 - The Toronto Transit Commission (Part 2)

On last Thursday's trolleypost, we took you through the privatised history of the Toronto Railways, back when it was just a gaggle of independent companies providing a variety of quality services across the Queen City. Today, we're taking you through the modern history of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) that you know and love so much. From its beginnings in the 1920s all the way through to the "Lean Years" of the 80s and 90s, the history of the TTC is as engaging, as varied, and as beautiful as the Peter Witts, PCCs, and CLRVs we all love so much. Now climb aboard, let's get rolling, and please stand clear of the doors!

Trolley Tuesday 1/11/22 - The London & Port Stanley Railway

As much as I would love to, dear reader, tell you about the mostly-unknown-yet-fascinating history of London's tram network, that will actually have to wait for another few months (plus comedian Jay Foreman already covered it in a more succinct and funny way than I ever could). Instead, the "London" we're looking at today is much smaller as it is London, Ontario, a city of about 300,000 people on the shores of Lake Erie. Its closest port town, Port Stanley, was once connected to London by way of a 25-mile electric interurban railroad that was near and dear to many local Ontarians. On today's Trolley Tuesday, let's brush back the sands of time and narrow our scope as we look at a much smaller electric railway in-between the likes of Montreal and Toronto, but no less important: the London & Port Stanley Railway!

Trolley Thursday 1/6/22 - Montreal Street Railway

Bienvenue, mes amies, dans un autre "Trolley Thursday" post! As one of Quebec's largest and most-populous cities, Montreal holds a special place in the realm of French Canada as the home of the most successful ice hockey team in the NHL, the "Canadiens", and that wonderful savoury delicacy, poutine. Prior to 1959, however, Montreal also laid claim to having one of the largest, most iconic and sophisticated transit networks in the Dominion, with well over 500 kilometers of track at its peak and boasting such cars as the famous Peter Witt and PCC cars in its roster. On today's Trolley Thursday, climb aboard this Golden Chariot and tip your hat to old Notre-Dame du Montreal, as we try to avoid being caught speaking English aboard the Montreal Street Railway! 

Trolley Tuesday 1/4/22 - The Halifax Street Railway

Oh crumbs, is it January already? I was much rather enjoying my hibernation... Ah well, if my editor is poking me with a stick, I must meet his demands...

Welcome to another month, another year, and another country on Twice Weekly Trolley History, as we break free of the Land of Freedom to look at streetcars from around the world! Our first country this year is... Canada, which we will be looking at from East to West, starting with our sunny little trailer park island of Nova Scotia. Despite Halifax and the Maritimes' reputation of a proud, sea-faring region, they also possessed a seven-decade spanning street railway that helped build the city up and get Haligonians on the move. The history of the Halifax Street Railway is primed with plenty of explosions, company intrigue, and enough silly stories to sustain you for, oh, let's say twenty paragraphs. So pop open that ninth can of ravioli, imbibe in The Liquor, and rev up your Birneys as we take a look back at the history of the Halifax Street Railway! 

Trolley Tuesday 12/7/21 - The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light... Revisited

After much delay, welcome to our final November rewrite! This one's a bit special because it's actually a rewrite of our second-ever "guest piece" by our friend, photographer, railfan, and Milwaukee native Jonathan Lee. As a love-letter to Milwaukee and its interurbans, it was a fantastic piece; but for a reader, it was a bit too lengthy! That's why we're condensing and refining the best parts of his report, in fairness to the work he did for us and the quality you, the riders, expect from Twice-Weekly Trolley History! While Milwaukee is famous in heavy-rail circles as forming part of the legendary Milwaukee Road, its streetcars and interurbans are equally as legendary, skirting the fine line between innovation and insolvency. On today's Trolley Tuesday, we raise our beer mugs high as we look at what's made Milwaukee famous to traction fans!

Trolley Tuesday 11/9/2021 - The Southern Pacific's Red Electric Lines ...Revisited

Welcome to another rewrite of an old Trolley Tuesday classic, this time one that never actually made it from Twitter to Blogger! Despite having a wealth of interurban traction holdings in Marin County, San Francisco's East Bay, and down in Los Angeles, the Southern Pacific Railway's Oregonian odysseys were more short-lived, being used as a weapon in a mighty railroad war instead of the usual reason of boosting real estate values. Nevertheless, from 1914 to 1929, the mighty "Red Electrics" ruled the Willamette River's west banks as the Evergreen State's state of the art, largest, and fastest interurban line. On today's Trolley Tuesday, let's look back on what made the Red Electrics so memorable.

Trolley Tuesday 10/19/21 - Chicago's Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster

There are some disasters born of trial and error, there are some of many factors that culminate in one fatal act, and then there are some that are just freak accidents where a streetcar found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Long considered to be one of the deadliest midwestern streetcar disasters, and certainly the most violent, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) "Green Hornet" streetcar collision of May 25, 1950 is best remembered for the absolute carnage that followed its fatal route and the trauma inflicted on Chicagoans, many of whom still pass through the intersection of 63rd and State Street today. On today's Trolley Tuesday, we look back on the "Green Hornet" disaster and the lessons it taught us.

Trolley Tuesday 10/12/21 - New York City's BRT Malbone Street Wreck

When it comes to any disaster, it is almost always caused by a small mistake way before it even happens instead of a singular freak event that affects an entire industry. Planes, ships, and even trains are not immune from what can crassly be called a "cock-up cascade", and history is sadly littered with the remnants of these events. Hidden among these infamous incidents is what is considered to be the deadliest train crash on the New York City subway system, as well as one of the deadliest train crashes in America. What started as an attempt to circumvent striking workers led to an error of mismanagement, inexperience, and ultimately an unnecessary loss of human life. The Brooklyn Rapid Transit's Malbone Street Wreck is certainly an evening to remember, and one we're looking back at on today's Trolley Tuesday.

Trolley Tuesday 10/5/21 - National City Lines (and the Great American Streetcar Scandal)

BOO!

Welcome back to a spooky month of October trolleyposts, dear riders! As befitting the scariest month of all (and considering I am a cowardly jackass when it comes to jumpscares), we will be looking at some famous streetcar and rapid transit disasters all through this month! Today's disaster is the most infamous for traction enthusiasts and public transit advocates, as without them, we would still have our famous street railways operating today and without the need to rebuild them from the ground up. Taking advantage of the nation's need for automobiles during and after World War II, the infamous National City Lines (NCL) stands as the biggest rapid transit disaster we have yet to recover from. And you'll find out about it, and more, on today's Trolley Tuesday.

Trolley Tuesday 9/28/21 - The Lines of the LA Metro

There are some who say that less is more, but not so in rapid transit circles. After all, to move the almost 4 million people who call Los Angeles home, one would need a more substantial mass-transit railway than the six lines we have today. And yet, in the same vein as their predecessors in the Pacific Electric (PE) and Los Angeles Railways (LARy), the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (or LACMTA, just the "Metro" for short) continues to provide the best possible service in a county both supportive, disappointed, and downright hostile to its light rail and subway systems. On today's Trolley Tuesday, we take a brief look at each line and what makes it special after discussing their origins last week, so please grab your TAP card, mind the doors, and enjoy a ride on the Metro!

Trolley Tuesday 9/21/21 - My Birthday!

My birthday in 2019, held at the Formosa Cafe in West Hollywood, CA.
The car is PE 800-class No. 913, now part of the restaurant and restored to her original colors.
(Myself)

Hey riders and readers, just a quick message while we get ready to finish the month of September! Things have been busy lately on my end (school, hobbies, etc), but I want to tell you all that we're gonna finish off the month very strong with a three-parter on the Los Angeles Metro light-rail and rapid-transit systems! In the meantime, happy birthday to me and you all have a great day!

Trolley Tuesday 9/7/21 - Trolley Parks

Everybody likes a good amusement park, which is basically the coldest take ever uttered on this blog, but often the journey to an amusement park is the hell before the heaven. Gridlock traffic on the freeway, gridlock getting into the parking structures, having to pay $25 just to park, it all feels so stressful without factoring in a day's itinerary! What if there was a way to get to an amusement park without having to worry about getting there? Well, before the dominance of the automobile, streetcar and interurban companies had that business easily handled. On today's Trolley Tuesday, we'll look at one of the lesser-known yet very-much-fun aspects of electric railroading: the passenger-pleasing and profit-generating Trolley Park!

Trolley Tuesday 8/31/21 - Cars of the San Diego MTS

Welcome to the last Trolley post of this very inconsistent month! On behalf of my editor and I, thank you to all our generous rider and supporters who continue to read our articles and learn more about everything that we write here. We promise September will be a return to form with no gaps or inconsistent posting times.

For our last Trolley Tuesday of the month, we thought it would be a good idea to look at the light-rail cars of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and see how forward-thinking this pioneering system really was. Because they were among the first real light-rail comebacks in America (as systems like Muni never really stopped running at all), San Diego's light rail fleet was able to pioneer a lot of light rail tropes that we take for granted today while also handling eventual problems that many of us see as normal. So, without further ado, let's jump right into the cars!