Book

Author:	William D. Middleton
Title:	Traction Classics
Subtitle:	The Interurbans: Extra Fast Extra Fare: Volume 2
Publisher:	Golden West Books
Country:	USA
Date:	1 Jan 1985
Format:	Hardcover
Class Number:	385.5
Genre:	Transport, History, Non-Fiction
ISBN-10:	0870950894
ISBN-13:	9780870950896
Total Editions:	2
Rating:	Rate
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
Community:	1 Owns
Price Guide:	Valuation Page
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2 of 3 in a trilogy

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WPLives 23rd Jul 2021		Traction Classics The Interurbans Volume 2: Extra Fast and Extra Fare by William Middleton 442 pages Copyright 1985 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface-264 Chapter 3 - Lightweights and High-Speeds-269 1 - Cincinnati, Lawrenceburg & Aurora Lightweight Interurbans-277 2 - The Cincinnati Curved-Side Lightweights-283 3 - Windsor, Essex & Lake Shore Lightweights-293 4 - Cincinnati & Lake Erie's "Red Devils"-299 5 - Indiana Railroad's High-Speed Cars-307 6 - The Brill "Bullets"-315 Chapter 4 - Interurban Deluxe-325 1 - The Leatherstocking Route's Parlor Car "Otsego"-333 2 - The Parlor Car "Berkshire Hills"-337 3 - Henry E. Huntington's "Alabama"-341 4 - Connecticut Company's Parlor Car "500"-347 5 - Los Angeles Pacific's "El Viento"-351 6 - The Beebe Syndicate's "999"-355 7 - Milwaukee's Funeral Car "1000"-359 8 - The Holland Interurban Sleeping Car-363 9 - Illinois Traction's Sleeping Car-369 10 - Oregon Electric's Niles Parlor-Observation Cams-375 11 - Michigan Railway's All-Steel Super Heavyweights-381 12 - Cedar Valley Road's Parlor-Observation Cars-387 13 - American Car & Foundry's Classic Steel Parlor Cars-393 14 - North Shore Line's Dining Cars-401 15 - South Shore's Big Pullman Parlor and Dining Cars-407 16 - North Shore's "Electroliners"-415 17 - Illinois Terminal "Streamliners"-425 Appendix-435 Bibliography-436 Index-441 DUST JACKET INTRODUCTION: In the beginning the electric interurban railways were conceived as a new form of short-haul passenger transportation that brought a new mobility to rural and small town America in a time before the automobile had come into everyday use. Although they did that job well, financial success eluded most interurbans. For many, traffic simply never attained their builder's expectations. For those interurbans that did initially develop a substantial passenger volume, the emergence of the automobile soon after World War I, as America's preferred form of transportation, quickly brought declining traffic and hard times. This economic adversity inspired the managers of interurban railways to develop innovative new services and equipment in their struggle to survive and prosper. Soon after the turn of the century electric lines began to compete for a share of the long distance and deluxe passenger travel market then dominated by the steam railroads. Handsome extra-fare buffet and parlor car limited trains were installed on many electric lines, often on long-distance runs that required through operation over connecting interurbans. Even sleeping cars and full dining cars appeared on a few interurbans. Soon after World War I the struggle to cut costs and to compete with the automobile brought extraordinary technological advances in the development of lightweight and high-speed interurban equipment. And long after most interurbans had vanished, such survivors as the North Shore Line and the Illinois Terminal developed interurban streamliners that fully equalled the amenities of their steam railroad competitors. Traction historian William D. Middleton brings alive this colorful period in the history of the electric interurbans with this second volume of Traction Classics: The Interurbans. The extraordinary imagination that characterized the development of deluxe passenger services on the electric lines, and the innovative technological advances that placed interurban railways - for a brief time - in the forefront of American rail passenger equipment development, are portrayed through a series of 23 profiles of individual interurban cars. This extensive volume tells this story of extra fast and extra- fare interurbans in more than 30,000 words and over 250 illustrations, together with drawings, specifications and data tables, and a detailed reference bibliography and index. In a forthcoming third Traction Classics volume, author Middleton will complete his comprehensive history of interurban rolling stock with the story of interurban freight equipment and an extensive technical appendix detailing the technology of interurban cars and locomotives and their appurtenances and equipment.



WPLives 23rd Jul 2021		Volume 3 in this series covers the freight service that many interurbans developed to help increase revenue. Some handled only a modest package business but several expanded into carload interchange with connecting railroads and other interurbans. They often combined good service with innovative equipment and operating practices to make interurban freight service a surprisingly successful business. This volume discusses these freight services in detail as well as the equipment itself: box motors, freight trailers, Baldwin-Westinghouse locomotives, GE locomotives, Illinois Traction and Illinois Terminal locomotives, Oklahoma Railway's steeple cabs, Oregon Electric's four-truck locomotives, and different items built in-house. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos and detailed schematic diagrams. Also includes an extensive (28 pages) technical Appendix, "Inside the Interurban Car," detailing the parts and equipment of the cars and locomotives. This book contains pp. 446-628 of "The Interurbans." With bibliography and index. (this comment is from another edition of this book)

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William D. Middleton - Traction Classics - Golden West Books - Hardcover - USA (1985)