The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system in the world in the 1920s. Organized around the city centers of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, it connected cities in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County and Riverside County.
The interurban is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like light electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. They were prevalent in North America between 1900 and 1925 and were used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities. Limited examples existed in Europe and Asia. Interurban as a term encompassed the companies, their infrastructure, and the cars that ran on the rails.
The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company, and later a division, of BC Electric, the BCER assumed control of existing streetcar and interurban lines in southwestern British Columbia in 1897, and operated the electric railway systems in the region until the last interurban service was discontinued in 1958. During and after the streetcar era, BC Electric also ran bus and trolleybus systems in Greater Vancouver and bus service in Greater Victoria; these systems subsequently became part of BC Transit, and the routes in Greater Vancouver eventually came under the control of TransLink. Trolley buses still run in the City of Vancouver and one line extends into Burnaby.
The J.G. Brill Company manufactured trams/streetcars, interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for almost ninety years; it was the longest lasting trolley and interurban manufacturer. At its height, Brill was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurban cars in the US and produced more streetcars, interurbans and gas-electric cars than any other manufacturer, building more than 45,000 streetcars alone.
The Chicago – New York Electric Air Line Railroad (CNY) was a proposed high-speed electric air-line railroad between Chicago and New York City. At roughly 750 miles (1,210 km) it would have been over 150 miles (240 km) shorter than the two primary steam railroads on that route, the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad. The promoters' vision proved wildly optimistic, and in the end only a short interurban route in the vicinity of Gary, Indiana, was built and operated. It was the most ambitious of several such proposals, all of which ended in failure.
The Grand River Railway was an electric railway in what is now the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in Southwestern Ontario. It was an example of a radial railway.
The Central California Traction Company is a Class III short-line railroad operating in the northern San Joaquin Valley, in San Joaquin County, California. It is owned jointly by the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway.
The DRG Class SVT 877Hamburg Flyer – sometimes also Flying Hamburger or in German Fliegender Hamburger – was Germany's first fast diesel train, and is credited with establishing the fastest regular railway connection in the world in its time. Correctly named the Baureihe SVT 877, the diesel-electric powered train was used to carry passengers on the Berlin–Hamburg line. It entered service in 1933.
The Elgin and Belvidere Electric Company was a 36-mile (58 km) interurban line that connected Belvidere, Illinois and Elgin, Illinois. It was the central link in the interurban network connecting Freeport, Rockford, Elgin and Chicago which included the Rockford and Interurban Railway to the west and the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railway to the east. In 1927, the line was extended to Rockford over a line of the Rockford and Interurban.
The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company, also referred to as the Milwaukee Interurban Lines or the TMER&L is a defunct railroad in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co. was the largest electric railway and electric utility system in Wisconsin. It combined several of the earlier horsecar, steam dummy and streetcar lines into one system. Its Milwaukee streetcar lines soon ran on most major streets and served most areas of the city. The interurban lines reached throughout southeastern Wisconsin. TMER&L also operated the streetcar lines in Appleton, Kenosha and Racine, as well as its own switching operations at the Port Washington and Lakeside power plants.
The Brantford and Hamilton Electric Railway was an interurban electrified railway in Hamilton, Ontario. Construction was begun by the Von Echa syndicate of Harrisburg, but the railway was taken over by Dominion Power prior to its completion on June 1, 1908. According to Hilton & Due, this was the last interurban railway constructed in the Hamilton area and the only one built to a high standard.
The Jewett Car Company was an early 20th-century American industrial company that manufactured streetcars and interurban cars.
Interurban Press was a small, privately owned American publishing company, specializing in books about streetcars, other forms of rail transit and railroads in North America, from 1943 until 1993. It was based in the Los Angeles area, and specifically in Glendale, California after 1976. Although its primary focus was on books, it also published three magazines starting in the 1980s, along with videos and calendars. At its peak, the company employed 10 people and generated about $2 million in business annually.
Interurban and streetcar railways flourished in Syracuse, New York until the automobile, airplane and bus took their place.
Plano Station, Texas Electric Railway, now known as the Interurban Railway Museum, is a historic train station at 901 E 15th Street in Plano, Texas.
The Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad Company (S.&I.E.R.R.Co.) was an electrified interurban railway operating in Spokane, Washington and vicinity, extending into northern and central Idaho. The system originated in several predecessor roads beginning c. 1890, incorporated in 1904, and ran under its own name to 1929. It merged into the Great Northern Railway and later, the Burlington Northern Railroad, which operated some roads into the 1980s.
The Galt, Preston and Hespeler Street Railway was an interurban streetcar service connecting the three nearby cities of Galt, Ontario and Preston, Ontario, and later, also connecting Hespeler, Ontario. The firm was organized in 1890, and began operation in 1894. In 1908 it merged with the Preston & Berlin Street Railway, with the new entity called the Berlin, Waterloo, Wellesley & Lake Huron Railway Company.
