Related TopicsEric W. Sanderson, “Roads to Rails,”Places Journal, June 2013. Accessed 27 Aug 2018.https://doi.org/10.22269/130610
I came across by accident this article dealing with streetcars and various other issues such a physics of motion, air pollution, efficiency of motors and so on. Although I just skimmed the article very lightly and the article was written in 2013, the view point of Mr. Sanderson is that the world would be a better place if there were a lot more electric streetcars in existence. In my fast view of the article in a few minutes, Mr. Sanderson is picturing an electric economy where streetcars would be plenty and freight would be delivered by electric trains or trams. In the past few years, looking over news accounts of new light rail or tram systems in the United States is showing that some are becoming out of favor and are considered by some people as a waste of money and resources. Some recently opened tram systems are not doing well. Here in New York City, the waterfront streetcar in Brooklyn and Queens appears to be dead ( like all the other tram projects but forth) and there does not appear to be even new proposals for new routes. Remember my 20, 20 20 plan? That is, twenty years to talk about a proposal, twenty years to figure out how to pay for it and twenty years to build? It is hard to believe that in Brooklyn New York and New York City as a whole, the anti-trolley movement started about a 100 years ago. The last line built in Brooklyn, the Eighth Avenue in Bay Ridge started around 1918 -19? After this line was built, the BRT or other private Brooklyn tram line operators could not get permission from the City of New York to build any more lines in Southern Brooklyn.
Don't forget that Mayor Walker from the 1920's was very anti trolley and many of the mayors that followed. I believe that there is not a single exhibition of a electric trolley, such a trolley car in a Museum or on a side track anyplace in New York City. I would be happy if we had such an exhibition. We cannot expect anything more.
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