Then & Now

[Big Six]

Folks,

I thought a few of you might be interested in a couple of photos I took yesterday. I took them for a friend who's a fellow "Trolley Jolly". They are very close to the spot of a couple of photos taken in the mid thirties around the corner from my home.

Additionally here's a shot of Boston's Atlantic Ave Elevated section of the Main Line in the mid thirties:


I'm going to have to head in town and find the approximate spot for a "now shot". When I was a kid the Eastern Steamship Lines bldg was still there and you could still rad the sign.


Finally here's an icon of 1930s Urban American-The great PCC streetcar still running in Boston on the Mattapan High Speed Trolley Line. This was taken by me in the early 1990s. I believe they are now painted in more traditional 1930's MTA livery. Another trip I'll have to take. Ha Ha!

I hope you enjoyed the shots.

Regards,
J.

[imfrom1900]

Interesting! You know, I really wish that more people would use trolleys like they did in the early part of the 20th century, before automobiles made it "easier" to get around.

I might become a "trolley jolly" when I get older, just like your friend. (But first, I need to learn how to get around with one, LOL!) I personally like the idea of going on a trolley, because I think it's so much easier, less expensive, and more earth-friendly than driving a car.

What do you think?

[Big Six]

John,

Electric traction in all it's forms; street cars, trackless-trolleys, interurbans, rapid transit and mainline is more energy efficient than the diesel or gasoline fuels transit for large groups of people. The negatives are set-up costs and lack of flexibility. since the nineteen-fifties the U.S. has funneled the vast majority of transportation monies in to highways rather than railroads and public transit. As a result our rail infrastructure is sadly neglected. There are signs of hope though. Trolleys and trackless-trolleys have been renamed LRVs and EBTs respectively and although not nearly as attractive as their predecessors and far more complex they are making a serious comeback. In Boston the crucial segment from Boston to New York along the Northeast Corridor mainline has finally been electrified after a delay of about a century! Europe has consistently maintained their rail transit and as a result they have some of the best up to date rail transportation in the world. Much of based on our old PCC technology licensed from the former TRC which we seemed to had sadly abandoned.

You could once travel by trolley from Boston to Chicago there were so many trolley lines intersecting. We will never see than again I fear, but trolleys aren't dead yet either!

"Thunder is impressive, but it is lightning which does the work"

Regards,
J.

[MordEth]

imfrom1900: Personally, I’ve been very fond of the trolleys in Boston, although they are pretty much exclusively on the Green Line, these days. (If you have train/trolley related questions, direct them at Big Six, he’s far more knowledgeable than I am.)

I think part of it is that I prefer not having to drive everywhere (Boston is a great city for this, if you live in the city), but it’s also nice to live somewhere that really has a sense of history.