The Minneapolis journal., 1906-06-29
DAY OF TROLLEY
| SEEMS TO Be NEAR
NEW YORK STATE TO MICHIGAN
ON REGULAR ELECTRIC FLYER.
Atlantic to Pacific by streetcar''
Within Next Decade scrappile Al
ready Waiting for the Steam Loco
motive-Boston to New York by
Trolley-Electricity from St. Paul to
Seattle Soon.
A n Ford in Smith % Mapazin,


So, SOC, 100000 dollars in the construc-
tion Of over 81 900 miles Of electric
railways. In other words, the trolley
line that extends almost without a
break from Bangor, Me-, to St. Louis,
Mo-, might be continued on to San
Francisco a dozen times back and forth
without using up all the trolley mile
age at our disposal s
Trolley Building in the West.
NinetY.fve per cent of the trolley
lines to he constructed in 1906 lie west
of Cleveland; Ohio. Spokane, Wash,
and towns of &northern Idaho are al
ready connected by an electric tram
way, with 3Ryery Probab ability that the
line will Fba farr1ed into Montana. The
cities Of Minnesota and Iowa are send
ing electric -feelers east Midwest, and
Illinois is reaching out to connect the
great trolley systems already In opera.
<tion on both sides Of the Mississippi
river When we recall that the first
interurban trolley line was built scarce
.chimerical to predict that before an
other decade passes over our heads 1t
will be possible to 60 by trolley from
fore the decade draws to q close we
may see the locomotive relegated to the
scrappile for the meditation Of the van
ishing horse, for already the New York
Central has begun to experiment. with
electric traction, the Great Northern
railway, from st. Paul to Seattle, pro
poses to substitute electricity for
steam, and the railways between Buff
falo and st. Louis are selling combina-
tion railway and trolley car tickets
across a thousand miles Of territory.
Long Trips at Low Rates.
The mileage Of electric railways In
New England falls little short Of 5000
miles, or about the same as that Of
leisurely sightseer may travel by troll
ley to New York in twenty hours at q
cost Of $2.85, or little more than half
the regular railway fare. From New
York to Philadelphia there is an hour
~ electric car, with one change, at
Trenton; the thru time is eight hours
and the fare, $1.10, as compared with
$3.50 by steam cars. ! Soon the trolley
to Baltimore and Washington may be
completed, and others are stretching
across Pennsylvania to Pittsburg and
the west. So far the western trolleys
set the pace,~ for in the east there is
no baggage allowed, and sleepers are
practically unknown on the interurban
trolley systems. West Of Pittsburg and
Buffalo, however, the trolley not only
competes with the railway, but actu
ally makes better time and connection
| for thousand miles at stretch. The
six or seven thousand miles Of inter
sell interchangeable mileage books q
the very low rate Of w cents a mile
or less than one half the rate charged
| az rof 1Vu6p
ers. baggage and dining cars are pro
vided on the thru trolley expresses, ans
4 eyery indueement offered the travelin,
man to turn from the steam to tn
electric railways. It is in the ives
! that the great future Of the interur
i ban trolley seems to lie.
From the northwestern corner O
New York state to Kalamazoo, Mich
I more than 500 miles, there is regnla
i electric flyer. You may eat, sleep an
write aboard the trolley, or, if @syo1
care to jump off to view the scener.
or sell a bill Of goods at small way
side town, there is no nlong watt be
fore the next train comes bowlin
along. Recently one of these specia
flyers over the Ohio and Indiana line
Icompleted trip Of .781 miles In TWEEN
i ty-seven hours and fifteen minutes, in
4 Guiding stops, This was at the rat
Iof twenty-eight miles an hour; an
4 have recently been trolleyized, th
speed was even more rapid. Not onl
are the narrow-gage railways discard
i ING the locomotive for the 8. overhea
!. trolley, but in Ohio trolley lines ar
q built parallel to the canals. and th
4 trolley car takes the place of the mule
. hauling great tows Of barges at q spec
4 that the original builders Of the cana
! never dreamed would be possible.