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INL Early Interurban Newsletters 1943 - 1944 Soft Cover 152 Pages
The Early Interurban Newsletters 1943 to 1944
Soft Cover
152 Pages
A COMMON SAYING in the early years of the cen- tury was: "In a few years the entire country will be covered with a network of high-speed electric railways." But by 1908 or 1909 the interurban building spree was down to a trickle and the saying was forgotten. Sad to say, in writing local histories of cities and towns in which the interurban played a leading part of their development, you find little or no mention of the interurban.
One of its most important functions in the early days was to bring the farmer and his products to town and market. But then the Model T Ford arrived about 1914, and nearly every farmer bought one. Thus the interurban was hit hard and early in its most vital area.
It is true that the interurban was mainly a Midwest institution, but it spread into Pennsylvania, upper New York state, and in later years to Texas and the Pacific Coast. New England, which had a vast network of suburban and cross-country trolley lines, had only one interurban worthy of the name, plus a few others possessing some interurban characteristics.
So it was that the interurban came and went, often without leaving a sign of its passing. It was this literary silence on the subject that Ira L. Swett tried to break, first with his Interurban Newsletter in the 1940s and later with his "Specials" which were really books in themselves. He did succeed in pioneering the field and the large number of books that have been published since on interurbans proves that his work has borne fruit.
There was-and still is-something of a romance connected with the industry when one can see (or imagine) a large, handsome interurban car streaking across the fields at better than a mile-a-minute pace. To the rider, the surge of power and speed when the motorman notched up his controller gave a thrill that increased his pleasure in riding the big electric car.
Even as late as 1930, an interurban car raced an airplane of that vintage and won by exceeding 100 miles per hour. Less well-known is that the car vied against a racing automobile and won again. Few interurban cars could reach 100 mph and such speeds were not practical other than in a staged event. Speeds of 65 to 70 mph were sufficient to give excellent service, and many electric lines offered them.
Most interurban cars were clean and comfortable and the ride smooth. The easy accessibility to town and country and the frequent service (usually hourly at least) attracted riders wherever the lines existed. Ira sensed this romantic aspect of the mode, and so did I-which is probably why we teamed up at an early date. My own enthusiasm was tempered a bit by the economic problems of the industry. Ira probably felt that, too, but took the proper attitude: he ignored it.
As long as interurbans were around to ride and photograph, he was on the scene. Ira felt the decline of the interurban very keenly, just as I did. Perhaps the fact that I had had some years of experience in the industry (mostly in the city and suburban rail field), added to Ira's ability as a researcher, photographer and writer, and made us a good team.
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