The INDIANAPOLIS traction terminal opened in 1904 and within a decade more than 500 electric passenger and freight trolley cars arrived and departed daily. A passenger tally of 7 million passengers a year passed through the Indianapolis terminal giving it the status of largest and busiest in the world!
By 1914 the electric interurban trolley/streetcar/tram system "had won a place as an important part of the United States transportation system. There were 18,000 miles of interurban track in the country, almost half of it concentrated in the Middle West states, Pennsylvania, New York, California, Massachussetts, and Texas, in that order also had very considerable additional mileage. An immense sum of money, perhaps a billion dollars, was invested in interurban properties. In many cities the great sheds were so bustling with activity that they quite matched the Union Stations of their main line steam railroad rivals." The interurban was often preffered for medium and shorter trips, for here it usually offered faster or more frequent service", in comparison to the main line steam railroads.
By 1918 the interurban system "had 44,800 miles of track, employed 295,000 people, and toted passengers at the rate of 11.3 billion annually."
It is apparent that the interurbans and main line railroads were competing for a portion of the same customers, with the interurbans being more local by catering to the daily commuter/errand/leisure traveler.
What would the passenger and freight railway system look like today if the interurban and railroad companies merged and were able to weather the competition from the obvious other modes? What do you think would result after combining a 45,000 mile interurban network and a 300 thousand mile mail line railway network? It might closely resemble 'today's proposals from every corner for high-speed-dreams/plans/strategies/ -costing trillions and many years to just get started'...
Quoted: TROLLEY CAR TREASURY. A Century of American Streetcars---Cable Cars, Interurbans & Trolleys---with over 300 nostalgic photographs.
Coyright 1956 by Frank Rowsome. Jr., & Stephen D. Maguire. Library of Congress Catalog #: 56-11054
Stay tuned for the October OPEC summitt, great family entertainment!
Posted
09-26-2009 11:08 PM
by
RAILWAYIST