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Who Made All Our Streetcars Go By Michael Farrell Dust Jacket 1974
Who Made All Our Streetcars Go By Michael Farrell DUst Jacket 1973, Second Printing 1974 319 Pages
In the spring of 1940 I joined the Baltimore Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. At one of the earliest meetings I attended it was suggested that the Chapter undertake the project of compiling a history of the Baltimore street railways. Now, in 1973 I have been asked to write an introduction to this history. Surely no one can accuse the Chapter of rushing through this project hastily or unadvisedly.
In the beginning, World War II put a stop to any progress on the history. Subsequently a History Committee was set up under Chairman George Nixon. Later on, Donald Flayhart and Henry Wells Jr. each served as chairman and helped to keep the project alive. A considerable amount of data was collected and drafts of some sections were compiled. However the real turning point came when prime responsibility for the history was assigned to Michael R. Farrell. He has spent about six years of methodical and painstaking research as well as drawing on the combined knowledge of dozens of other Chapter members. An additional two years have been spent in writing and rewriting the manuscript selecting photographs, and laying out the format of the book.
It might appear that street railways form a rather minor if interesting, facet in Baltimore history. However this is far from accurate. In the earliest years of development, the turnpike roads and other highways formed the spokes along which the city grew. Within four years of the arrival of the horse car in Baltimore, suburban lines extended to Towson and Catonsville. By the close of the century almost every principal road had its paralleling street railway. Real estate sales prospered, and suburban developments sprang up along almost all of these routes: the land between these spokes generally retained its rural character. It was not until after World War II with the overwhelming popular reliance on the automobile that the pattern set by the old turnpikes and street railway routes really faded into oblivion.
In one sense, this history is long overdue. The last comprehensive published account of local street railway history appears to be that of William House, prepared in 1909 on the 50th anniversary of street railway operation in the city. This was included as a chapter in the Baltimore history edited by Clayton Colman Hall. Incidentally the Hall work published in 1912, seems to be the most recent overall history of the city.
On the other hand, there are two reasons why the long delay in publishing the book now seems rather fortunate. First, the morning of November 3, 1963 marked the end of streetcar operation in Baltimore and thus signaled the end of an era. It is now possible to view the entire span of surface street railway operation and present the story in a single volume. Secondly, Mr. Farrell seems particularly suited to write this narrative for the diverse groups toward which it is aimed.
Mike Farrell has been interested in Baltimore street railways over a long period. As a talented photographer, he was also well qualified to select and arrange the photographs, many of which he supplied himself. He is an authority on many of the technical aspects of streetcars and is acquainted with almost every railfan in the area. At the same time his viewpoint is somewhat different from that of the typical railfan. He can understand the outlook of the old-time Baltimorean who may wish to read an account of the cars and routes he once rode but would only yawn at a record of the different numbers carried by each car at various times. Thus he seems particularly suited to follow a middle path which will appeal to diverse groups of readers.
On the one hand, this book is designed for the railfans and other students of transit history who are interested in the entire industry. At the same time it is intended to provide a serious documented account, which will make a significant contribution to Baltimore history. Finally it is hoped that the book will be sufficiently informal and readable to appeal to all those interested in Baltimore nostalgia.
The book is organized in three principal sections. The first one, roughly half of the text, consists of a chronological history of Baltimore street railways from the first horse car up Broadway in 1859 through the last day of rail operations in 1963: it even includes mention of plans for a forthcomnig rapid transit system. This is followed by Selected Short Subjects, a group of self-contained chapters on special topics, such as the blizzard of 1899, the Guilford Avenue elevated, the Brill semi-convertible cars, etc. Each of these chapters may be read by itself without loss of continuity. The third section consists of Notes and Comments, documenting and supplementing all of the preceding chapters.
The book concludes with a glossary. bibliography, and index.
Such a history as this has involved hundreds of names and dates and numerous technical details. Several knowledgeable collaborators have read the manuscript and supplied corrections and clarifications. Nevertheless it seems inevitable that some errors will remain. We will appreciate readers informing us of such cases. (Please address letters to: Baltimore NRHS Publications, 2107 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218.) Should there be a second printing, every effort will be made to correct any significant errors.
As chairman of the Publications Committee of the Chapter. I have had primary responsibility for final editing of the manuscript and for arranging for its publication. This task has only been possible to complete through the cooperation of many individuals. I am very grateful to the officers and members of the Baltimore Chapter for their continuing support, especially to those who participated in the Publication Loan to provide the funds necessary for printing this book. A particular vote of thanks is due to the other members of the Publication Committee: Ralph E. Edwards, David M. Novak, and Charles R. Lloyd. as well as the author. Mr. Lloyd's technical background and business contacts in the printing field were vital to the successful completion of the project. Valuable assistance in proofreading was given by Alfred C. Haynes and John Hutchins: the former was also helpful in sharing his expertise in matters of style. George M. Lotz the artist who designed the dust jacket, deserves special thanks for devoting time and effort far beyond the call of duty. Many of the historical facts were checked in the Eisenhower Library of the Johns Hopkins University: particular thanks are due to the staff of the Audio-Visual Collection.
I am most grateful to the Baltimore Streetcar Museum and to its president, James E. Dalmas, for close cooperation in many phases of the project. Both the Museum itself and several individual members played an important role in assuring the success of the Publication Loan.
Finally, I want to express my deep gratitude to all members of my family for their interest and support in this project, despite the time which my participation involved. I am particularly grateful to my wife, Helen, for assistance in proofreading and editing and for acting as a sounding board for hundreds of questions and problems which arose.
It is certainly a pleasure to see this long-time project finally approaching an end. This fulfills one of the principal aims for which the Baltimore Chapter was organized. It is our hope that this book will lead to more historical publications by other Chapter members.
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