Trolley Tuesday 7/14/20 - The Chicago Aurora & Elgin

The best things in life always come in threes, especially when it comes to competition. Motor racing has the "Triple Crown" of Monte Carlo, Indianapolis, and Le Mans. Horse racing has the Belmont, Preakness and Kentucky Derby stakes, and even down to electric railways in hot contention for the Charles A. Coffin Gold Medal for Innovation and Speed in Electric Railways, utilities magnate Samuel Insull had the "First and Fastest" triple crown of the North Shore line, the South Shore, and the Chicago Aurora and Elgin. Of the three, the "Roaring Elgin" was not as fast as the North Shore, nor as dependent on freight like the South Shore, but its importance in building the Fox River Valley's many cities cannot be understated. Though the shortest-lived of the three Insull-ar roads, the Great Third Rail still holds a place in interurban history.

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.

Trolley Tuesday 7/7/20 - The North Shore Line

In The Interurban Era, written by Trains Magazine contributor William D. Middleton, he discussed a period of America when long-distance, large-capacity interurban railways were the hottest commodity for rapid transit, specifically from the 1900s to 1963. During this time, real estate companies found land values skyrocket from having important rail corridors to downtown, while energy companies revelled in the utility subsidies they got for providing an outlet (not a pun) through electric traction. One of these railways that Middleton praises as a "super-interurban" for its quality of service is the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, better known as the North Shore Line, and upon its passing in 1963, Middleton noted it was the "end of the Interurban Era" in the United States. So how did a railway like this be this big of a lynchpin for Mr. Middleton? Let's find out on today's Trolley Tuesday!

Trolley Thursday 7/2/20 - Chicago Surface Lines

Chicago has had a legendary reputation in American railroading as being the hub of some of the most famous railroads in the country, and its famous meatpacking plants made the creation of the refrigerated railroad car almost inevitable. While many famous names rolled in and out of its stations like the Santa Fe, New York Central, Pennsylvania and the Milwaukee Road, Chicago also led the way with its revolutionary street and elevated railways that covered what locals called Chicagoland, the boundaries of which are pretty culturally nebulous. On this month's series of trolleyposts, we look at the rapid transit of the "Urbs in horto" and see what worked for the Second City, starting at street level with the Chicago Surface Lines! Just please, eat your Polish sausage outside the car.

Trolley Tuesday 6/30/20 - New Orleans Regional Transit Authority

While light rail is commonplace amongst city transit agencies, it's not everyday an entire heritage streetcar system serves as a municipal light rail system. Most of the time, you see smaller heritage streetcar services operated as side hustles like Dallas' McKinney Avenue Trolley or Portland's Vintage Trolley, either through a private nonprofit or through the agency itself. New Orleans' Regional Transit Authority (RTA), on the other hand, uses its historic St. Charles Streetcar Line and the four rebuilt "streetcars" (their own parlance for lines) as its primary rail transit network. After all, when you're the home of the world's oldest rapid transit line, you might as well make it the backbone of your entire operation!

Trolley Thursday 6/25/20 - The Perley A. Thomas Carworks

On Tuesday, we covered the general history of New Orleans' famous streetcar system, but you may be surprised to realize that not once did I ever refer to the streetcars used on the line that I would in other episodes. That was deliberate, because New Orleans holds the unique distinction of having just one iconic type of streetcar rather than two, three, or even more, from one manufacturer. Much like an oyster's pearl, the 173 800- and 900-series cars built for the New Orleans Public Service Inc (NOPSI) have become desirable antiques that carry on the legacy of the Crescent City no matter where they operate, and it is thanks to the Perley A. Thomas Car Works that such an icon was born.

Trolley Tuesday 6/23/20 - New Orleans Streetcars, 1893-1983

You've no doubt heard of Tennessee Williams' famous theater production, A Streetcar Named Desire, which takes place in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Since its first run in 1947, the play's name has lent itself to being referenced by many heritage streetcar operations in New Orleans and all over the United States. The "Desire" in the title is a reference to the Desire Street line, one of the over 24 individual streetcar lines that filled in the Big Easy between 1893 and 1974, when the Rapid Transit Authority took over operations. So, grab your coat, grab your hat, leave your worries on the doorstep, and direct your feet over to the sunny side of the streetcar on this brief overview of the New Orleans streetcar system!

Trolley Thursday 6/18/20 - DART Light Rail

Historically, the Texas Electric Railway Company was one of the largest transit systems in the Southern United States with a route length spanning more than 200 miles. All of of those route-miles were gone by 1948 following the TER's closure to increased bus and auto traffic, but the right of ways through Plano and Dallas never really went away. Today, the Dallas Area Rapid Transit continues to maintain its status as the largest street railway company in the southern United States with its own light rail system spanning about 93 miles and connecting Dallas with Plano, Fort Worth, DFW Airport, and even the Dallas Zoo. For our last jaunt into Texas, hop aboard the DART for today's Trolley Thursday!

Trolley Tuesday 6/16/20 - The New El Paso Streetcar

Heritage streetcar service is nothing new today, as almost every city has some way of celebrating its transit heritage. Some, like the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority, maintain a fleet of heritage cars to run on lines that have been in service since the 19th century, while others prefer creating new streetcar lines and loops that function more as moving museums on brand new alignments like the San Francisco MUNI. Indeed, to appeal to both tourists and nostalgia-bait-takers alike, you have to have a heritage streetcar. Today, we look at one of the more recent systems to pop up in the 21st century, the long awaited return of the El Paso Not-Quite-International-Anymore Streetcar!

Trolley Thursday 6/11/20 - The Interurban Railway Museum

Welcome back to part two of the Texas Electric Railroad Saga! When we last left what was once the largest electric railroad in Texas, the TER had just gone under due to severely decreased passenger use and a massive labor strike that the company could not recover from. Today, through the eyes of the only survivor of the TER, we look at not only the many car classes she encountered, but also how she ended up as one of the last cars of the TER. Grab a cup of Texas tea and a slice of Texas toast, because this is big finale of the TER saga!