Akron: Streetcar news

[noozer]

The story is about the last time streetcars ran in Akron.  But perhaps this can generate some discussion about adding another Ohio city to the list of those trying to bring them back.

Posted on Mon, Mar. 19, 2007 

One Last Ride
Streetcar passengers bid sad farewell to Akron service in March 1947

There was no going back when Akron's streetcars reached the end of the line.

On a chilly, gray afternoon fit for a funeral, hundreds of somber passengers climbed aboard city trolleys for one last ride. The Akron Transportation Co. held a public wake 60 years ago for its old railway system.

``March 23, 1947. It was a Sunday afternoon,'' recalled J. Gary Dillon, 77, vice president and program director of the Akron Railroad Club.

``That was the saddest day of my life. I went home and cried.''

Full story at:
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/16933083.htm

[UncleRando]

Hey if Kinosha, WI can do it...then why not Akron??  It is really sad that most every city had multiple transportation options back in the day...then we worked real hard to destroy those options.  Now we are trying to make up for decades of mistakes.

[LAsam]

Good old 20/20 hindsight.  I imagine they had to have a reason for removing these things back when they did.  Did the politicians not expect the population to boom like it has?

[UncleRando]

I imagine they had to have a reason for removing these things back when they did.

They did....the automotive industry made their decission for them!

[Neville]

I imagine they had to have a reason for removing these things back when they did.

They did....the automotive industry made their decission for them!

Don't forget Goodyear... they run Akron. They wanted rubber wheels everywhere. Them, coupled with the Big Three spelled certain doom for cities everywhere.

Question though...did New York have a streetcar system ever?

[noozer]

Yes.... but that disappeared to a degree as the subways were built.

[KJP]

New York City's streetcars began fading in the 1930s under a concerted plan by GM & Friends. They bragged at "motorizing" New York City with buses. But most lines kept running well into the 1950s. NYC's last line continued running until 1957 -- later than most if not all Ohio cities!

[jmjr]

I have not lived in Pittsburgh for about 20 years.  However, I do think Pittsburgh still has what used to be streetcars but now when they hit the city limits they become the subway.  At least that is how it was 10 years ago which is the last time I visited and used public transportation.  I know that when I lived in Pittsburgh and worked full time/school at night I loved taking the streetcar -- extra study time.  Pittsburgh also has a functioning incline that moves people up and down Mount Washington to the city for work.  Not sure how many people actually use it for weekly commute, but it is still maintained well as a tourist destination on the weekends.  if I could take a subway or commuter train now I sure would!

[Columbusite]

Been awhile, but I'm still alive (I'll probably post a little photo thread of where I've been). Of course, those companies are largely responsible for destroying our streetcar systems, but don't forget that people could have fought it. It seems like there just wasn't enough people that really cared and they let it happened. Don't forget that the general public was also to blame.

[mrnyc]

I imagine they had to have a reason for removing these things back when they did.

They did....the automotive industry made their decission for them!

Don't forget Goodyear... they run Akron. They wanted rubber wheels everywhere. Them, coupled with the Big Three spelled certain doom for cities everywhere.

Question though...did New York have a streetcar system ever?

did ny have streetcars? the brooklyn dodgers were named after the brooklyn crowds dodging all the streetcars!

funny thing, they say at one time los angeles had the best public transportation streetcar system in the world. who woulda thought that one?

[KJP]

Interesting thing is that Los Angeles didn't exceed Cleveland in population until the 1940 census. The streetcar/interurban systems in each city reflected this. All of the streetcar/interurban routes are shown in the LA map I posted above. Here are the streetcar/interurban routes in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio in two maps...

The green lines with hash marks along them are the electric interurban routes in Cuyahoga County in 1918 (the other lines are steam railroads):



Oh, and by the way, two of the lines on that map, the Lake Shore Electric from Cleveland west to Lorain was on a double-tracked, high-speed dedicated right of way west of Rocky River to Lorain where electric trains routinely cruised at 80 mph. Same deal with the Northern Ohio Traction & Light, which had a double-tracked, high-speed dedicated line south from Bedford to Cuyahoga Falls. The NOT&L trains also regularly cruised at 80 mph (much of the right of way was taken for State Route 8 ).

Here's Cleveland's streetcar system -- quite a bit more extensive than LA's (though this map vastly oversimplified the network):



And, since this is supposed to be an Akron thread, here's Akron's streetcar system at its peak:

[Columbusite]

^ Any map of Columbus' streetcar system at its peak by chance? I haven't been able to find a thing.

[noozer]

Here you go..... Columbus Streetcar & Interurban Map..  the Streetcar lines are in red and the interurban lines are in maroon.

Within the city limits, the interurbans followed the streetcar tracks.

[UncleRando]

Maybe there should be a thread devoted to the former rail networks in Ohio.

[Columbusite]

^I wouldn't mind. It's hard to believe just how extensive these were. Westerville is over 15 miles from downtown, I wouldn't have imagined that.

[noozer]

The interurban network in Ohio in the early 1900's alone could take you anywhere in the state, including places the railroads either didn't or wouldn't go.

[KJP]

Maybe there should be a thread devoted to the former rail networks in Ohio.

Good idea. Maybe this thread should be renamed? C-Dawg had a photo spread on the subject (but just for Toledo) in the photo section. So I don't think your suggestion would duplicate any thread.

Noozer, if you modify your original message by changing the subject line (how about "Ohio rails - what we lost"?), all the other messages will change.

I was thinking about doing a photo/map posting to show how extensive the railroad and rail transit services were in the Cleveland - Pittsburgh corridor. And not just how many parallel routes there were, but just how damn busy they were!

Consider that Pennsylvania Railroad in the early 1940s operated 100 trains a day southeast from Cleveland toward Pittsburgh via Bedford, Hudson and Ravenna, and more than a third of those were passenger trains! (Although, today, the number of freight trains has recovered, now totalling 70 per day). But, there was also the parallel Erie Railroad line via Solon, Aurora, Garrettsville... which had 20 passenger trains per day in 1940 and twice as many as freight trains. Then, there was the B&O, the NYC/LE&E, the NOT&L, Penn-Ohio, LE&E and P&LE.

All but one of these lines went under the long, old Center Street truss bridge in Youngstown. Legend has it that, during World War II, no other bridge in the world had as many rail cars passing beneath it than Center Street's.