The Interurban Era

431 pp. 11.3 x 8.5. CONTENTS: The Coming of the Interurban; The Interurban Era; The Interurban Car; Roadside and Rural: The New England Trolley; Through Eastern Hills and Valleys: the Middle Atlantic States; Trolley Sparks in Dixieland: The South Atlantic States; The Interurban's Midwest Empire: The North Central States; The McKinley Lines: Illinois Traction System; Insull's Interurbans: The Great Chicago Systems; Way Down South: The South Central States; To Far and Lonely Places: The Mountain States; In the Far West: The Pacific States; Red Cars on the Southland: Pacific Electric Railway; Maple Leaf Traction: Canada's Interurbans; Traction in the Tropics; Wrecks and Other Mishaps; Trolley Freight; Exit the Interurban; Interurban and Rural Railways in the United States, Canada, and Mexico; Principal Interurban Car Builders; Principal Types of Rolling Stock, Important Components and Accessories; Electrification and Current Collection; Electric Railway Museums in the United States and Canada; Bibliography. "An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad that enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were unpaved and could become nearly impassable during wet weather. Travel was by horse back or carriage, and cartage was by horse-drawn wagon. The interurban provided a new predictable, durable, and comfortable way to travel and, in some cases, a way to get farm products including fresh milk into town. At present, what once was called an interurban is now categorized as either commuter rail or light rail, depending on operation, and may include urban streetcar lines."