Buses, trams and commercial vehicles Books

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Book SynopsisA potent re-examination of America's history of public disinvestment in mass transit. Many a scholar and policy analyst has lamented American dependence on cars and the corresponding lack of federal investment in public transportation throughout the latter decades of the twentieth century. But as Nicholas Dagen Bloom shows in The Great American Transit Disaster, our transit networks are so bad for a very simple reason: we wanted it this way. Focusing on Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and San Francisco, Bloom provides overwhelming evidence that transit disinvestment was a choice rather than destiny. He pinpoints three major factors that led to the decline of public transit in the United States: municipal austerity policies that denied most transit agencies the funding to sustain high-quality service; the encouragement of auto-centric planning; and white flight from dense city centers to far-flung suburbs. As Bloom makes clear, these local public policy decisions werTrade Review“American transit agencies are standing on the brink of a devastating fiscal cliff. . . . Dire though the present situation is, this is hardly the first time that transit officials have been locked in a Sisyphean struggle to maintain service levels with shrinking funding and ridership. As Bloom, a professor of urban policy and planning at Hunter College, describes in his new book, The Great American Transit Disaster, US public transportation has lurched from one crisis to the next throughout the past century.” * Bloomberg CityLab *“In this excellent socioeconomic history, Bloom offers a comprehensive and thought-provoking account of the rise and fall of US mass transit, skillfully assessing successes and stumbles so that we may learn from them and correct course.” * Booklist *“Serves as a powerful introduction for urban scholars, practitioners, and students interested in American public transit policy. Offering extensive historical hindsight, the book nicely prefaces any consideration of current trends related to public transit.” * Journal of Urban Affairs *“A timely exploration of America’s experience with transit.” * Journal of the American Planning Association *“Bloom begins The Great American Transit Disaster by debunking the popular historical conspiracy that big auto and tire manufacturers destroyed a robust urban streetcar system in the United States. But if it wasn’t an elaborate and nefarious plot on the part of the automobile industry to destroy a dense network of public urban transportation, what did? . . . This question sits at the center of Bloom’s extensively researched and expertly argued exploration of the demise of urban public transit in the United States. And, as in the best historical research and writing, his answer is layered and multifaceted.” * Pacific Historical Review *“Bloom makes a compelling case that Americans did this to themselves by demanding better streets for cars at the expense of transit, and favoring low-density, suburban living that makes cars indispensable and transit hard to justify. . . . The book’s greatest strength is its hard look at how racism helped ruin US transit.” * Newcity *“A worthy addition to Chicago’s Historical Studies of Urban America series.” * Technology and Culture *“The Great American Transit Disaster presents a thoughtful and thorough history of public transit development in a number of major American cities. As in his previous books, Bloom makes a significant contribution to the history of twentieth-century urban America.” * Jon C. Teaford, author of The American Suburb: The Basics *“Bloom is a distinguished and prolific scholar of American urban politics. In this cogent and deeply researched book, he seeks to explain why leaders in cities such as Atlanta, Detroit, and Chicago chose to invest in highways and airways rather than mass transit. Bloom, wisely and perceptively, avoids discredited anti-bus and anti-streetcar ideas, focusing instead on pay-as-you-go transit, auto-centric planning, and white flight. Nick Bloom, as always, is readable, assignable, and compelling.” -- Mark H. Rose, coauthor of A Good Place to Do Business: The Politics of Downtown Renewal since 1945Table of ContentsIntroduction Pre–World War II Part 1 Urban Transit Rise and Decline Chapter 1 Baltimore: City Leaders versus Private Transit Chapter 2 Chicago: A Limited Public Commitment to Transit Chapter 3 Boston: Reverse Engineering Public Transit The Postwar Transit Disaster, 1945 to 1980 Part 2 Unsubsidized Private Transit Chapter 4 Baltimore: Urban Crisis, Race, and Private Transit Collapse Chapter 5 Atlanta: Race, Transit, and the Sunbelt Boom Part 3 “Pay as You Go” Public Transit Chapters 6 Chicago: The Failure of “Pay as You Go” Public Transit Chapter 7 Detroit: Racism and America’s Worst Big-City Transit Part 4: Public Transit That Worked Better Chapter 8 Boston Pioneers Public Regional Transit Chapter 9 San Francisco: Deeply Subsidized Public Transit Conclusion Beyond Transit Fatalism Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisA brilliant analysis of the troubled history and uncertain future of mass transitTrade ReviewJones ultimately attributes mass motorization to consumer preferences—for single- family home ownership, suburban living, and sun belt metropolises where low-density development and dispersed employment made automobiles essential.Vol. 96.2 September 2009 -- Thomas G. Andrews * University of Colorado Denver *David Jones does a great job of dispelling myths that many of us hold about the advent of the automobile and the decline of public transit in the United States. * publictransport.about.com *Jones documents well the politics of postwar efforts by big city mayors to obtain federal aid for rail systems. . . . He provides good evidence for transit's very limited potential to solve the pressing problems of congestion, energy use, and global warming. . . . Highly recommended.March 2009 -- D. Brand * formerly, Harvard University *In this sweeping history of urban transportation modernization and post-modernization in the United States, David Jones debunks popular explanations for the decline of mass transit and the rise of mass motorization. . . . offers a solid foundation for debating alternative theses that seek to account for technological change.Vol. 50 July 2009 -- Gregory Thompson * Technology and Culture *This is a valuable and topical book which brings transport issues to the fore in American domestic and foreign policy. 43 2009 -- Margaret Walsh * University of Nottingham *Table of ContentsContentsList of TablesList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsPart 1. U.S. Motorization in International Context1. Motorization in the United States and Other Industrial NationsPart 2. U.S. Motorization in Historical Context2. Transit's American History, 1880–19293. The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Pivotal Epoch in U.S. Transportation History4. World War II and Its Immediate Aftermath: The End of the Streetcar Era and the Beginnings of the Freeway Era5. The Interstate and Pervasive Motorization, 1956–806. Transit's Conversion to Public Ownership7. U.S. Motorization since the OPEC Embargo8. The Competitive Difficulties of the U.S. AutomakersPart 3. Evolving Challenges in an Evolved Environment9. The Changing Valance of U.S. Motorization10. The Road to Sustainable Motorization11. Motorization and Sustainability: History and ProspectGlossaryNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisChronicle of twenty specific events in the history of New York’s mass transit systems between 1940 and 1968, including large numbers of rare photos. 1940 to 1968 was chosen because those years bracket two sea change events – the June 1940 subway unification, and the March 1968 inception of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Trade Review"After many years of deep and effective involvement in the operation of one of the world's most complex suburban rail operations (Long Island Rail Road), Andy Sparberg has now turned his attention to one of the world's most complex rapid transit operations. His research on not just what happened but why, and more important what we can learn from history, is in this new volume. I look forward to learning from it." -- -Donald O. Eisele Director of Operations and Service Planning. L.I.R.R. (retired) "Mr. Sparberg traces nearly three decades at the dawn of public ownership, from the city's acquisition and unification of the subway system, to the demolition of the elevated lines, to the replacement of trolleys by buses, to the elimination of the politically sacrosanct nickel fare and the first air-conditioned subways." -The New York Times "There never has been a better, more comprehensive history of New York's elaborate transit system than From a Nickel to a Token. Better still, Andy Sparberg takes us on this comprehensive journey in a most readable fashion. This is not a book merely for transit buffs, it should be a must-read for any New Yorker who wants an inside view of his and her city during a gripping, tumultuous era. Nobody in the transit-writing business can do a better job than Sparberg has done for us." -- -Stan Fischler author of The Subway and the City: Celebrating a Century "In each of the book's 20 chapters, the author investigates a particular event that altered New York City transit during those 28 tumultuous years in New York and American History." -- -D. Brand, Harvard University Choice "A very strong discussion of a time of evolution in the New York City transit system." -- -Joseph B. Raskin author of The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway SystemTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1. Unification: IRT and BMT Join the IND, and Subways Become 100% Publicly Owned 2. 1941: Fifth Avenue Coach and New York City Omnibus 3. 1941: Dyre Avenue Subway Extension Opens 4. Third Avenue Transit: Rails to Rubber in the Bronx and Manhattan 5. 1944 and 1950: Goodbye to Brooklyn Bridge Rails 6. 1947-1948: Private to Public Bus Operations 7. 1948: Goodbye to the Nickel 8. 1947-1956: Final Decade for Brooklyn Trolleys 9. 1950: Farewell, Lexington Avenue 10. 1953-1968: The TA, Tokens, and TWU Triumphant 11. 1953: Last Double-Deck Buses Operate on Fifth Avenue 12. The BMT and IND Begin a Courtship 13. Sunshine Returns to Third Avenue 14. Fifth Avenue Coach 15. 1957-1959: IRT West Side Improvement 16. Fifth Avenue Coach Suddenly Disappears 17. 1964: World's Fair, Blue Subways, Steel Subways 18. 1966: Mike Quill's Last Hurrah 19. The BMT and IND Marry Forever 20. 1968: The MTA Is Created and Express Buses Appear Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review'The Handbook is a cogent and comprehensive overview of research issues and opportunities that characterize public transport. The research areas provide insightful perspectives drawing on international experiences in operations, planning, policy and governance with a look to future trends and developments. The Handbook is a timely resource for practitioners and academics who wish to better understand the complexities intrinsic to public transport and the importance and role of research in identifying fresh ideas and solutions to help advance the state of the industry for operators and decision makers.' -- Paul P. Skoutelas, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association (APTA), US'This is not just a book but an encyclopaedic array of public transport related research. It comprehensively maps and captures the development of new knowledge needed to advance public transport. The Handbook provides a recognition of the fantastic work done by researchers all over the world and the key role of public transport to improve the quality of life of people.' -- Mohamed Mezghani, Secretary General, International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Belgium'Graham Currie is one of the greatest minds in public transport today and he has produced an outstanding compendium of knowledge on that topic in this book. I highly encourage those interested in the academic side of transport as well as those interested in the research on the latest trends in mobility to get this book: the Handbook of Public Transport Research.' -- Paul Comfort, author of The Future of Public Transportation and host of the Transit Unplugged podcastTable of ContentsContents: 1 Introduction to the Handbook of Public Transport Research 1 Graham Currie PART I RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS, TRENDS AND FUTURES 2 World transit research: state of the art 9 Nicholas Fournier and Graham Currie 3 Methodologies for empirical research on the link between the built environment and transit use 30 Laura Aston, Graham Currie, Md Kamruzzaman and Alexa Delbosc PART II USER PERSPECTIVES 4 Transit customer satisfaction research: is the customer always right? 57 Madalena Harreman-Fernandes, Ehab Diab, Boer Cui, James DeWeese, Miles Crumley and Ahmed El-Geneidy 5 Personal safety on public transport: research frontiers and new tools for an old problem 70 Graham Currie, Mustafizur Rahaman, Carlyn Muir and Alexa Delbosc 6 The power of design to enrich the public transport experience 92 Selby Coxon, Robbie Napper, Ilya Fridman and Vincent Moug 7 The paradigm shift in revenue protection research and practice 115 Graham Currie and Alexa Delbosc PART III POLICY PERSPECTIVES 8 The governance of public transport: towards integrated design 137 Wijnand Veeneman 9 The total social cost (TSC) of public transport modes 156 John Preston 10 New approaches and insights to managing on-road public transport priority 172 James Reynolds and Graham Currie 11 Paying for public transport 202 Joel Mendez, James Wood, Dristi Neog and Jeffrey Brown PART IV PLANNING AND OPERATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 12 Public transport network resilience 226 Menno Yap and Oded Cats 13 Service reliability: a planning and operations perspective 252 Niels van Oort 14 Rail transit disruption management: a comprehensive review of strategies and approaches 280 Amer Shalaby, Lisa Li and Ehab Diab 15 Demand management in urban railway systems: strategy, design, evaluation, monitoring and technology 314 Zhenliang Ma, Haris N. Koutsopoulos, Anne Halvorsen and Jinhua Zhao 16 Transit signal priority: research and practice review and future needs 340 Amer Shalaby, Wen Xun Hu, Mike Corby, Andrew Wong and Daniel Zhou 17 ACES technologies and public transport operations and control 373 Juan Carlos Munoz, Ricardo Giesen, Felipe Delgado and Omar Ibarra-Rojas 18 Research in public transport vehicle scheduling 388 Tao Liu and Avishai (Avi) Ceder PART V SERVICE DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES 19 Incorporating Mobility-on-Demand (MOD) and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) automotive services into public transportation 410 Emma Lucken and Susan Shaheen 20 Large increases in bus use in Sweden: lessons learned 434 Maria Börjesson, Margareta Friman and Masoud Fadaei 21 Advances in transit customer information 454 Kari Watkins, Candace Brakewood, Sean Barbeau and Aaron Antrim Index 473

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Book SynopsisBedford Buses and Coaches provides a detailed review of the entire range of purpose-built Public Service Vehicle (PSV) bus and coach chassis that carried the Bedford name from 1931 until production ceased in 1986. Bedfords were once a familiar sight on the roads not only of the United Kingdom, but throughout the world. They were produced in such volume that the advertising slogan 'You see them everywhere' was quite legitmately adopted by Vauxhall Motors, the manufacturer of Bedford vehicles. Fully illustrated throughout with hundreds of photographs, the majority in colour, the book includes detailed descriptions of the Bedford petrol and diesel engines and other manufacturers engines used in Bedford bus and coach chassis. Detailed specifications and production histories are given for all the full-size passenger chassis including the WHB/WLB, WTB, OB/OWB, SB, VAS, VAL, VAM, Y-series and the Venturer. Road tests and owners' experiences are covered along with advice on buying and restoring a Bedford bus or coach.

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Book SynopsisProviding a comprehensive overview and analysis of the latest research in the growing field of public transport studies, this Handbook looks at the impact of urbanisation and the growth of mega-cities on public transport. Chapters examine the significant challenges facing the field that require new and original solutions, including congestion and environmental relief, and the social equity objectives that justify public transport in cities.This cross-disciplinary Handbook explores current topics in public transport research, focusing on the impact of innovative research on planning and operations in practice. Looking at the research frontiers in this increasingly complex and growing industry, the Handbook offers detailed analysis of the foundations, trends and futures of research, user perspectives, policy, planning and operational perspectives, and the future of service developments.A critical read for transport and urban planning students and scholars, this cutting-edge book showcases important case studies and insights into current research. The practical applications of research discussed in the Handbook will also be useful to transport and urban planners as well as public transport regulators.Trade Review'The Handbook is a cogent and comprehensive overview of research issues and opportunities that characterize public transport. The research areas provide insightful perspectives drawing on international experiences in operations, planning, policy and governance with a look to future trends and developments. The Handbook is a timely resource for practitioners and academics who wish to better understand the complexities intrinsic to public transport and the importance and role of research in identifying fresh ideas and solutions to help advance the state of the industry for operators and decision makers.' -- Paul P. Skoutelas, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association (APTA), US'This is not just a book but an encyclopaedic array of public transport related research. It comprehensively maps and captures the development of new knowledge needed to advance public transport. The Handbook provides a recognition of the fantastic work done by researchers all over the world and the key role of public transport to improve the quality of life of people.' -- Mohamed Mezghani, Secretary General, International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Belgium'Graham Currie is one of the greatest minds in public transport today and he has produced an outstanding compendium of knowledge on that topic in this book. I highly encourage those interested in the academic side of transport as well as those interested in the research on the latest trends in mobility to get this book: the Handbook of Public Transport Research.' -- Paul Comfort, author of The Future of Public Transportation and host of the Transit Unplugged podcastTable of ContentsContents: 1 Introduction to the Handbook of Public Transport Research 1 Graham Currie PART I RESEARCH FOUNDATIONS, TRENDS AND FUTURES 2 World transit research: state of the art 9 Nicholas Fournier and Graham Currie 3 Methodologies for empirical research on the link between the built environment and transit use 30 Laura Aston, Graham Currie, Md Kamruzzaman and Alexa Delbosc PART II USER PERSPECTIVES 4 Transit customer satisfaction research: is the customer always right? 57 Madalena Harreman-Fernandes, Ehab Diab, Boer Cui, James DeWeese, Miles Crumley and Ahmed El-Geneidy 5 Personal safety on public transport: research frontiers and new tools for an old problem 70 Graham Currie, Mustafizur Rahaman, Carlyn Muir and Alexa Delbosc 6 The power of design to enrich the public transport experience 92 Selby Coxon, Robbie Napper, Ilya Fridman and Vincent Moug 7 The paradigm shift in revenue protection research and practice 115 Graham Currie and Alexa Delbosc PART III POLICY PERSPECTIVES 8 The governance of public transport: towards integrated design 137 Wijnand Veeneman 9 The total social cost (TSC) of public transport modes 156 John Preston 10 New approaches and insights to managing on-road public transport priority 172 James Reynolds and Graham Currie 11 Paying for public transport 202 Joel Mendez, James Wood, Dristi Neog and Jeffrey Brown PART IV PLANNING AND OPERATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 12 Public transport network resilience 226 Menno Yap and Oded Cats 13 Service reliability: a planning and operations perspective 252 Niels van Oort 14 Rail transit disruption management: a comprehensive review of strategies and approaches 280 Amer Shalaby, Lisa Li and Ehab Diab 15 Demand management in urban railway systems: strategy, design, evaluation, monitoring and technology 314 Zhenliang Ma, Haris N. Koutsopoulos, Anne Halvorsen and Jinhua Zhao 16 Transit signal priority: research and practice review and future needs 340 Amer Shalaby, Wen Xun Hu, Mike Corby, Andrew Wong and Daniel Zhou 17 ACES technologies and public transport operations and control 373 Juan Carlos Munoz, Ricardo Giesen, Felipe Delgado and Omar Ibarra-Rojas 18 Research in public transport vehicle scheduling 388 Tao Liu and Avishai (Avi) Ceder PART V SERVICE DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES 19 Incorporating Mobility-on-Demand (MOD) and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) automotive services into public transportation 410 Emma Lucken and Susan Shaheen 20 Large increases in bus use in Sweden: lessons learned 434 Maria Börjesson, Margareta Friman and Masoud Fadaei 21 Advances in transit customer information 454 Kari Watkins, Candace Brakewood, Sean Barbeau and Aaron Antrim Index 473

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Book SynopsisSince its introduction in 1950 the Volkswagen Transporter has become legendary for its versality and adaptability to many commercial uses. Known originally as Sonderausführungen, abbreviated to SO, these Special Models were usually converted by specialists, companies and coachbuilders approved by VW.

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Book SynopsisTrams, Buses, and Rails recounts the unique and little-known 130-year history of Bangkok’s transportation system, from the first horse-powered tramway in 1888 to the mass transit urban railway of the twenty-first century. Using government archives and annual reports, the author deftly pieces together long-buried records and statistics to reconstruct the transportation policies of each successive metropolitan and national administration. He highlights the politicization and regulation of Bangkok’s transport systems over the decades, and uncovers a series of setbacks, reversals, duplications, revisions, and cancellations that help to explain Bangkok’s continuing transportation woes. A series of maps and tables elucidate the development of transportation routes and the rise and fall of the city’s trams, railways, and bus lines.Table of ContentsList of Tables and Figures Acknowledgments Acronyms Introduction 1. Introduction of Rail Transport, 1880s-1900s 2. Emergence of Competition, 1910s-1930s 3. Expansion of Bus Networks, 1940s-1950s 4. Unification of Buses, 1960s-1970s 5. Revival of Rail Transport, 1970s-1990s 6. A Confused Urban Transport Policy, 2000s 7. Regulation and Politicization of Urban Transport in Bangkok Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisFrom an acclaimed author and a New York Times Best Illustrated artist comes the fascinating, little-known—and true!—story of New York City’s first subway.   New York City in the 1860s was a mess: crowded, disgusting, filled with garbage. You see, way back in 1860, there were no subways, just cobblestone streets. That is, until Alfred Ely Beach had the idea for a fan-powered train that would travel underground. On February 26, 1870, after fifty-eight days of drilling and painting and plastering, Beach unveiled his masterpiece—and throngs of visitors took turns swooshing down the track.   The Secret Subway will wow readers, just as Beach’s underground train wowed riders over a century ago.A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids, 2016

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Book SynopsisDavid Harvey looks at the iconic double-deckers of Midland Red.

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Book SynopsisA collection of photographs documenting the 'new bus for London' - the new Routemaster sporting a dual-staircase and three doors.

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Book SynopsisPreviously unpublished images of the popular operator - Lothian Buses. With examples of the current fleet and comparison photos to show the changes that have happened since deregulation.

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Book SynopsisAn interesting collection of previously unpublished photographs showing a variety of buses in all-over adverts.

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Book SynopsisWith a wealth of teffific, previously unpublished photographs, telling the story of trolleybuses in Portugal.

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Book SynopsisWith a range of rare and previously unpublished images, Kenneth Williamson looks at the history of the city of Edinburgh's trams system.

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Book SynopsisAlthough there had been experiments with the use of a new form of transport - the 'trackless tram' (better known as the trolleybus) - during the first decade of the 20th century, it was in June 1911 that Bradford and Leeds became the country's pioneering operators of trolleybuses. Whilst, in Leeds, the trolleybus was destined to have a fairly peripheral role (and finally disappeared in 1928), in Bradford, perhaps as a consequence of the hills surrounding the city centre which represented ideal territory for the trolleybus, the 'trackless' was destined to have a long and illustrious career stretching for more than 60 years until - on 26 March 1972 - the final first-generation trolleybus system finally succumbed to the all-conquering motorbus. This is the first of two volumes to cover the history of all of the trolleybus operators of the British Isles and focuses on those systems in the North of England and Scotland as well as the only network in Northern Ireland - Belfast. The book includes comprehensive fleet and route histories allied to some 250 illustrations, both colour and mono, including a map of each network featured.

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Book Synopsis`Cincinnati Streetcar Heritage’ is a photographic essay of the Cincinnati, Ohio, streetcar system. Cincinnati’s first electric streetcar line was the conversion of the Mt. Adams & Eden Park Inclined Railway Company cable car line to electric operation in 1888, which became part of the Cincinnati Street Railway Co. in 1896. Because of concern over corrosion of underground conduits and water pipes, Cincinnati’s streetcar lines were required to have a double overhead wire within city limits. Cincinnati, along with Merrill, Wisconsin, and Havana, Cuba, were the only streetcar systems in North America with a double overhead wire system. Two open observation streetcars were placed in sightseeing service during 1939. The only Presidents’ Conference Committee (PCC) cars ever built with two trolley poles were operated in Cincinnati. Although Cincinnati’s streetcars made their last run in 1951, the Toronto Transit Commission purchased 52 of Cincinnati’s PCC cars with the last one taken out of service in 1982. `Cincinnati Streetcar Heritage’ documents the city’s streetcar era, including the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar line which opened in 2016, linking downtown Cincinnati with the Over the Rhine neighborhood.Table of ContentsAcknowledments; Introduction; 1 Cincinnati Street Railway Company; 2 Routes 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9; 3 Routes 16, 18, 19, and 21; 4 Routes 27, 31, 32, 35, 46, and 47; 5 Routes 49, 53, 55, 60, 61, and 64; 6 Routes 68, 69, 70, 71 and 78; 7 Cincinnati Trackless Trolleys; 8 Cincinnati Bell Connector (Cincinnati Streetcar); 9 Cincinnati’s Streetcar Legacy.

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Book Synopsis`Baltimore Streetcar Memories’ is a photographic essay of the Baltimore, Maryland streetcar system. Baltimore was the first United States city to begin regularly scheduled electric railway service in 1885. However, because of technical problems the line had to go back to horse car operation. After Frank J. Sprague developed an electric streetcar powered by an overhead wire for Richmond, Virginia; Baltimore adopted the new system and in 1893 opened the first electric line in the United States to operate on an elevated structure. By 1899, Baltimore streetcar lines, with their unique 5 foot 4½ inch track gauge, were unified by the United Railways and Electric Company which purchased 885 semi-convertible cars with windows that could be raised up for summer operation and lowered for winter operation. Baltimore Transit Company was the third United States system to introduce modern Presidents’ Conference Committee (PCC) cars and at its peak operated the eighth largest fleet of these cars. Although Baltimore’s streetcars made their last run in 1963, a new light rail system opened in 1992. `Baltimore Streetcar Memories’ documents the city’s street railway era.

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Book SynopsisPhiladelphia's Streetcar Heritage is a photographic essay of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, streetcar system. The first electric streetcar line in Philadelphia opened in 1892 and quickly replaced horsecar service by 1897. Streetcar lines were merged into the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT) in 1902 to achieve a unified system. There were 1,500 new streetcars purchased by 1913, which was the largest fleet of standardized streetcars ever purchased by one transit company. Ridership dropped during the Depression, and PRT reorganized as the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) in 1940. After National City Lines (NCL) obtained control of PTC in 1955, many streetcar lines became bus operated. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) acquired PTC in 1968. The overhaul of 112 Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) cars began in 1979. Kawasaki Heavy Industries built 112 streetcars (light rail vehicles) for the subway surface lines. With buses taking over Route 15 (Girard Avenue) in 1992, only five subway surface lines remained. SEPTA restored Route 15 streetcar service in 2005 using Brookville Equipment Corporation rebuilt PCCII cars. Philadelphia's Streetcar Heritage documents the city's streetcars, including Fairmount Park Trolleys and trackless trolleys.

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Book Synopsis

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