CLANG! CLANG!: The Story of Trolleys

by Sarah R. Riedman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 10, 1964

A fascinating history of the trolley from the days of the horsecar to the present. This is out of the way information that is interesting all by itself. However, the author also presents some insight into the economics of a city by following the growth of metropolitan centers and showing how much depended on cheap, fast and safe transportation. The first routes were horse drawn in New York in 1831. By the 1850's, many cities were using tracked horse cars and there was concurrent research going on in methods of motorizing transportation. This is all here, as well as the absorbing details of the ""Great Epizootic"" in 1872 -- the horse influenza that paralyzed intercity transportation in major east coast cities. With the installation of San Francisco's cable cars and Frank Julian Sprague's motorized trolleys in Richmond, the horses began to disappear and lines grew until by the 1920's a traveller could go by trolley from New York to Wisconsin. There is a list of trolley museums and their locations as well as mention of those cities where a trolley ride is still available.

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Rand McNally

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1963

Categories: NONFICTION