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Images of Rail Seattle Everett Interurban Railway by Cheri Ryan & Kevin Stadler
Images of Rail Seattle Everett Interurban Railway by Cheri Ryan and Kevin Stadler Soft Cover 2010 128 pages
For 29 short years, the Seattle-Everett Interurban Railway transported passengers and freight over 29 miles of rail. In retrospect, it seems this was a short time, however, it was one of the longer running interurban trolley systems in Washington State.
With depots at both ends, the Seattle-Everett Interurban trolleys operated on Seattle city streets, and once they left the city limits, they traveled on private rights-of-way through the rural area, ending north in Everett, once again on city streets. The Seattle-Everett Interurban was classified as a railway since it operated on a regular schedule, used electricity to power their cars, and primarily provided passenger service.
Interurban cars had wheels that were larger than those of streetcars, motors that had 50 to 160 horsepower, and they ran at about 45 miles per hour, much faster than a streetcar. The rides were smoother, though when at top speeds the cars would rock from side to side giving passengers the "feel of a roller coaster." Trolley car furnishings tended to be more comfortable than a streetcar and often included a restroom and smoker section.
Before interurban trolley cars, there were city trolley cars that evolved from horsecars of the 19th century. Frank Sprague is credited with creating the first electrified streetcar in Richmond, Virginia. To power his cars he connected them to a power supply with overhead wires and a pole on the roof of the car. At the top of the pole there was a small wheel called a trolley that ran along the wire called a troller, sending power to the car through the wires, thus the name trolley. This was different than other streetcars that received their power through rails.
Prior to the completion of the interurban, travelers between Seattle and Everett took the steamer on Puget Sound or the Great Northern train that hugged the coast line; there were no major roads for this trip. These forms of transportation were not always convenient to the growing population of this region that had moved to the once-logged acreage that was now subdivided. Along the interurban line growth began, especially where interurban stations were built. Automobile ownership was several years in the future for most of these suburban residents. The interurban of yesterday is what today we call mass or rapid transit.
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