Streetcar service arrived in Philadelphia in the 1850s, shortly after the consolidation of the city. After the Civil War, the horse-drawn omnibus gave way to a comprehensive network of streetcar lines with some routes measuring nineteen miles in length. By 1915, the electrification of the streetcar increased the number of routes in Philadelphia to a total of eighty-six. During the trolley's heyday, the city provided a vast test track for such companies as J.G. Brill, Kimball and Gorton Car Manufacturers, and the Budd Wheel Company. The Wharton Railroad Switch Company revolutionized the manufacture of switches and tracks. Of the lines that once operated in Philadelphia, five are still running today. Philadelphia Trolleys contains a variety of rare images, including a postcard of the Point Breeze Amusement Park, photographs of motormen's uniform badges and buttons, architectural drawings, early stock certificates, and a photograph of the Toonerville Trolley used in the silent movies produced by Lubin Studios in the 1920s.

Streetcar lines grew and prospered in Dallas from 1872 until the 1920s. Automobile competition siphoned many of their riders away, but ridership soared again during World War II . After the war, the trolleys entered an era of gradual attrition, and they were abandoned by 1956. Amazingly, in 1989, the nonprofit McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA ) returned restored vintage trolley cars to the city in the Uptown neighborhood near downtown. MATA evolved from a tourist attraction into a true transit company and became the M-Line. Since then, the area has experienced rapid growth and is now home to midrise office buildings and upscale apartments.

A century of American streetcars, horsecars, cable cars, interurbans, and trolleys.

Using evocative photographs from private collections, Philadelphia Trolleys: From Survival to Revival carries readers on a nostalgic trip through nearly 50 years of transportation history, starting with the takeover of local transit service from the private sector by Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). Sporting a rainbow of paint schemes in the 1970s, Philadelphia's fleet of streamlined 1940s trolley cars brought a welcome splash of color to gritty city streets. But more than a coat of paint was needed for America's largest surviving streetcar network, and SEPTA faced tough choices about how much to keep as aging vehicles and infrastructure desperately required renewal or replacement. Long-lived Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) streamliners were retired, and SEPTA invested in Kawasaki light-rail vehicles, which are still serving Philadelphia commuters 35 years later. Many SEPTA PCC cars found new homes, from Maine to San Francisco--and, more recently, on SEPTA's own revived Girard Avenue line. The story comes full circle as SEPTA officials once again gear up to select a new generation of Philadelphia trolleys.

An extensive number of trolley car lines linked the city of Philadelphia to the rich farmland and picturesque towns of southeastern Pennsylvania. These trolley lines traversed miles of narrow streets lined with row houses whose residents were proud working-class Americans. These historic photographs trace the trolley cars' routes, including Route 23, the region's longest urban trolley route, from the expanses of Northwest Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill through the crowded commercial Center City to South Philadelphia with a variety of neighborhood stops at everything in between. Southeastern Pennsylvania Trolleys follows the history of the trolley cars that have served this diverse and historic region.

Trolleycars Frank Sullivan & Fred Winkowski. Subtitled: Streetcars, Trams and Trolleys of North America: A Photographic History. Return to the days of old in this full-color pictorial guide to restored streetcars, double-deckers, trams, and inter-urban railcars. A special section concentrates on the colors, signs, logos, and other graphic devices used worldwide to show destinations, fares, and to advertise products on trolleys all through their early history. Appendix includes a listing of significant museums and collections worldwide. Allof the trolleys and trams featured in this book can be seen at these locations, and in most cases e xcursion rides are offered on short, scenic stretches of track. A nostalgic and fun-filled journey back to the days of the trolleycar. Sftbd., 11x 8 1/2, 128 pgs., 3 b&w ill., 27 color.