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From Railway to Freeway By Eli Bail Pacific Electric and the Motor Coach Interur
From Railway to Freeway By Eli Bail Pacific Electric and the Motor Coach Interurbans Special #90
Hard cover with Dust Jacket (dust jacket has some tears)
Copyright 1984 FIRST PRINTING
196 Pages
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 8
Introduction 9
ONE Pacific Electric 1917-1930 11
Jitneys and feeder lines; the great experiment
TWO Motor Transit Company 1914-193033
The El Dorado System; from the mountains to the sea
THREE Los Angeles Motor Coach 1923-1949 69
Motor bus to motor coach; double-deck doings
FOUR Pacific Electric/ Motor Transit 1930-1940 93
Consolidation; if you can't beat 'em, buy 'em
FIVE Pacific Electric 1940-1953 113
Feeder to interurban; red to black and back
SIX Asbury Rapid Transit 1913-1954 143
Vying for the valley; orange top for service
SEVEN Metropolitan Coach Lines 1953-1958 165
Metro to the rescue; red to green
Epilogue 1
Index 191
THE CONTROVERSIAL conversion of the Pacific Electric's 1,000-mile interurban railway system to rubber-tired transport is a story that has long needed to be told.
Author Eli Bail put more than 20 years into the task of sifting fact from fancy, and has emerged with this year-by-year account starting with the first "auto stage lines" of the World War I era.
It's a story not only of the pioneers of the bus business, but of the economic and social pressures that caused the demise of one of the world's largest and most efficient rail commuter systems. The book is about buses, yes . . . but the rail history is necessarily an integral part of this definitive account.
Freeways did not in themselves do in the fine PE rail system, nor was there a conspiracy by a major automobile builder. Bail tells what DID happen, and those and many other major transportation issues which affected Southern California are addressed in this fine history.
And there's a wonderful bonus: hundreds of outstanding historical photos dating back to the earliest days, which complement Bail's thoughtful narrative. It's all within the covers of this book, which we now proudly offer as our Special 90.
All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
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