Rural trolley

Last updated

A rural trolley was a type of trolley line that operated through a rural area. Unlike an interurban, it used standard streetcar equipment, and was simply an extension of a city system. It was most common in New England, where settlements were closer together than in the rest of the United States. [1]

Rural area geographic area that is located outside towns and cities

In general, a rural area or countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. The Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines the word rural as encompassing "...all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area. Whatever is not urban is considered rural."

Interurban

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.

New England Place

New England is a geographical region composed of six states of the northeastern United States: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north, respectively. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the south. Boston is New England's largest city as well as the capital of Massachusetts. The largest metropolitan area is Greater Boston with nearly a third of the entire region's population, which also includes Worcester, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Providence, Rhode Island.

Related Research Articles

SEPTA Routes 101 and 102 light rail lines in Delaware County, Pennsylvania

SEPTA Routes 101 and 102, also known as the Media–Sharon Hill Line, are light rail lines operated by the Suburban Transit Division of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. The routes' eastern terminus is 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania; Route 101 to Media, Route 102 to Sharon Hill. Altogether, the two lines operate on approximately 11.9 miles (19.2 km) of route. The lines were formerly interurbans.

J. G. Brill Company

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.

Illinois Terminal Railroad

The Illinois Terminal Railroad Company, known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from 1896 to 1982. When Depression era Illinois Traction was in financial distress and had to reorganize, the Illinois Terminal name was adopted to reflect the line's primary money making role as a freight interchange link to major steam railroads at its terminal ends, Peoria, Danville, and St. Louis. Interurban passenger service slowly was reduced, and it ended in 1956. Freight operation continued but was hobbled by tight street running in some towns requiring very sharp radius turns. In 1956, ITC was absorbed by a consortium of connecting railroads.

Sacramento Northern Railway

The Sacramento Northern Railway was an 183-mile (295 km) electric interurban railway that connected Chico in northern California with Oakland via the California capital, Sacramento. In its operation it ran directly on the streets of Oakland, Sacramento, Yuba City, Chico, and Woodland and ran passenger service until 1941 and freight service into the 1960s.

The Glendale and Montrose Railway Company (G&M) was an interurban electrified railway in Southern California, in the United States.

Electric City Trolley Museum transport museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania

The Electric City Trolley Museum is a trolley museum located in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, next to the Steamtown National Historic Site. The museum displays and operates restored trolleys and interurbans on former lines of the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad, which are now owned by the government of Lackawanna County and operated by the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad.

The Warren–Bisbee Railway was an 8-mile electric interurban railway in the U.S. state of Arizona, linking Warren with Bisbee. The line began service with the inaugural run on March 12, 1908, operating a 30-minute service with 42-foot McGuire-Cummings interurban cars. The line used between Bisbee and Warren a private right-of-way with grades up to 7%; in addition to the main line, a 4-mile "High Line" extended from Warren to serve several of the area's copper mines. 1909 and 1910 the line was extended at existing streets of Bisbee to "Warren & Tombstone Canyon" and bringing the track mileage to 8.05. A decline in copper mining and the proliferation of the automobile reduced traffic, leading to several years of operating losses and abandonment in 1928. The last run was on May 31, 1928.

Jewett Car Company

The Jewett Car Company was an early 20th-century American industrial company that manufactured streetcars and interurban cars.

Detroit United Railway

The Detroit United Railway was a transport company which operated numerous streetcar and interurban lines in southeast Michigan. Although many of the lines were originally built by different companies, they were consolidated under the control of the Everett-Moore syndicate, a Cleveland-based group of investors. The company incorporated on December 31, 1900, and continued to expand into the early 1920s through new construction and the acquisition of smaller concerns. After the DUR acquired the Detroit-Jackson line in 1907, it operated more than 400 miles (640 km) of interurban lines and 187 miles (301 km) of street city street railway lines.

Interurban Bridge bridge in United States of America

The Interurban Bridge, also known as the Ohio Electric Railroad Bridge. is a historic interurban railway reinforced concrete multiple arch bridge built in 1908 to span the Maumee River joining Lucas and Wood counties near Waterville, Ohio. The span was once the world's largest earth-filled reinforced concrete bridge.One of the bridge's supports rests on the Roche de Boeuf, a historic Indian council rock, which was partially destroyed by the bridge's construction. The bridge, which is no longer in use, is a popular subject for photographers and painters, who view it from Farnsworth Metropark.

West Penn Railways

West Penn Railways, one part of the West Penn System, was an interurban electric railway headquartered in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. It was part of the region's power generation utility.

Lehigh Valley Transit Company

The Lehigh Valley Transit Company (LVT) was a regional transport company, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that began operations in 1901 as an urban trolley and interurban rail transport company. It operated successfully into the 1930s, struggled financially during the Depression, and was saved from abandonment by a dramatic ridership increase due to the Second World War. In 1951, the LVT, once again financially struggling, ended its 36-mile (58 km) interurban rail service from Allentown to Philadelphia. In 1952, it ended its Allentown area local trolley service. It operated local bus service in the Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, Pennsylvania areas until going out of business in 1972.

Conestoga Traction, later Conestoga Transportation Company, was a classic American regional interurban trolley that operated seven routes 1899 to 1946 radiating spoke-like from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to numerous neighboring farm villages and towns. It ran side-of-road trolleys through Amish farm country to Coatesville, Strasburg/Quarryville, Pequea, Columbia/Marietta, Elizabethtown, Manheim/Lititz, and Ephrata/Adamstown/Terre Hill.

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.

The Augusta–Aiken Railway and Electric Corporation was an electric interurban railroad that operated between Augusta, Georgia and Aiken, South Carolina. Once completed in 1902 the railroad remained in operation until it was abandoned in 1929.

The Chambersburg and Gettysburg Electric Railway was an interurban trolley system of the early 20th century in south central Pennsylvania. Built in 1903, the line ran from Chambersburg eastward to Caledonia State Park. The line was to be extended to Gettysburg, but the cost of dealing with the steep grades on that section prevented completion. Due to disputes over line crossings with the Pennsylvania Railroad, the line did not open until 1905. It operated until December 21, 1926.

The Chambersburg and Shippensburg Railway was an interurban trolley system of the early 20th century in south central Pennsylvania. Built in 1914, the line ran from Chambersburg to Shippensburg. The line was abandoned at the same time as much of the nearby Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street Railway, on July 31, 1926.

The Cumberland Railway was an interurban trolley system of the early 20th century in central Pennsylvania. Built in 1908, the line ran 12 miles (19 km) from Carlisle to Newville. Poorly capitalized, the line failed in 1918 and was scrapped.

References