During the last 15 years, I haven't done very much on this blog about the Lake Shore Electric (LSE), the interurban system that ran between Cleveland, Toledo and Detroit. Why? Because it's much better to leave it to the experts: Drew Penfield and his Lake Shore Rail Maps website, which features many contributions and photos from archivist and historian Dennis Lamont. I've been fortunate to become acquainted with both of these fine gentlemen through my blog, and both have helped me immensely over the years with my research.
But occasionally, I do post the odd piece about the Lake Shore Electric, as well as the Lorain Street Railway, its local subsidiary which provided streetcar service in Lorain.
Above you see a full-page of vintage streetcar photos from the April 29, 1964 Journal. The reason for the article is the publication of the first volume of The Lake Shore Electric by Harry Christiansen, one of the earliest books on the subject.
As the article notes, there was much enthusiasm on the part of individuals and organizations to acquire a copy of the book. Libraries, former LSE employees and even some who remembered riding the LSE were clamoring for their edition.
"The trolley car "era" actually ended just 26 years ago next month, to be succeeded by city and inter-city buses," stated the 1964 article. "Final drama was the passing of the big orange Cleveland - Toledo interurbans on May 14, 1938."
It's odd to think that the date of the streetcars being replaced by buses was only about 20 years before I was born.
My dad (who was born in 1921) remembered the streetcars and interurbans. But Mom (born in 1927) didn't – but it's not surprising because she didn't get out of town very much, and walked everywhere as a young girl. By the time she was in high school, buses had taken over.
Anyway, thanks to the efforts of Drew and Dennis, there's a permanent tribute to the interurbans online, helping to ensure that era isn't forgotten.
5 comments:
My mum (b1922) grew up around the Picksbug, PA, area and told lots of stories about riding the trolleys, there. Most of them involved motion sickness.
I dont recall Lorain streetcars. I was born in 37. I do recall the Cleveland streetcars very well. we used to ride them from the Public Sq to Euclid Beach Park.They had wicker seats and were slow. I think they were replaced by electric buses about 1949. The buses had tires and had electric grids above the streets. The street car iron rails remained through the 60's.Maybe some still exist.
I can remember the streetcar rails being visible on Broadway about 35th Street, where the street had brick paving.
The streetcars disappeared about a decade before I appeared, but I do remember riding the "trackless trolleys," as they were called, in Cleveland. Quite a few of them persisted into the early 1960s.
I have a copy of that Harry Christiansen book.
There are a few streets on the eastside of Lorain where the streets raise a little bit,like the road was going over some tracks or something.But there are no tracks or anything,just the build up leading to where the tracks used to be.This was part of the old street car tracks leading to a power house that you wrote about before on this blog.You would've thought that the city would've leveled the streets all out when the tracks were removed but they didn't.
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