In the 1850s, Baltimore's 170,000 residents had few options when it came to getting around town. Before the decade's end, however, the omnibus--an urban version of the stagecoach--emerged as Baltimore's first mass-transit vehicle. Horsecars followed, then cable cars, and ultimately electrically powered streetcars. Recognizing the need for cohesion, the city's myriad transit providers merged into a single operator. United Railways and Electric Company, incorporated in 1899, faced the unenviable task of integrating routes ...
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In the 1850s, Baltimore's 170,000 residents had few options when it came to getting around town. Before the decade's end, however, the omnibus--an urban version of the stagecoach--emerged as Baltimore's first mass-transit vehicle. Horsecars followed, then cable cars, and ultimately electrically powered streetcars. Recognizing the need for cohesion, the city's myriad transit providers merged into a single operator. United Railways and Electric Company, incorporated in 1899, faced the unenviable task of integrating routes being served by inadequate, incompatible, and often obsolete equipment. Over the next seven decades, privately run mass transit in Baltimore survived bankruptcy, a name change, two world wars, the proliferation of private automobiles, a takeover by out-of-town interests, and a plethora of new vehicles. Arguably a unified system of privately operated mass transit was no closer to being a reality in 1970, when it reached the end of the line and was taken over by the state.
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In 1944, when Judy Garland sang "Clang, clang, clang went the trolley/ Ding, ding, ding went the bell" she created an unforgettable picture of the American streetcar as a symbol of romance. Garland first sang "The Trolley Song" in the movie "Meet me in St. Louis" in celebration of the St. Louis streetcar system. But the romance of the streetcar applies to all America's streetcar and trolley systems through the first half of the Twentieth Century.
In his book "Baltimore's Steetcars and Buses", Gary Helton captures the romance of the streetcar in the City of Baltimore. Helton also tells the story of a diverse, colorful mass transit system in the city from the 1850's through 1970s that included horse-drawn vehicles, cable cars, steam-driven vehicles, diesel and gas buses, trackless trolleys, and a wide variety of streetcars. The book is part of the "Images of America" series of Arcadia publishers which presents photographic local history of places throughout the United States. For all the diversity of the transit system, the heart of the book, and of this reader, is with the streetcar. The romance of the streetcar is a strong presence in many of the Images of America books of urban history.
Baltimore's mass transit system was unique for many reasons in addition to its diversity. As early as 1859, Baltimore established by ordinance a wide track gauge of 5 feet 4.5 inches, which became known as the "Baltimore Gauge". This gauge was used throughout Baltimore's streetcar history. Baltimore's streetcars could not be interchanged with streetcars in other cities, given the difference in the gauge. Baltimore was home to the first electric streetcar system in the United States when one Leo Daft invented the third rail in 1885. This system was soon replaced with the overhead trolley system for safety reasons. Baltimore was also home to the nation's first elevated railway. In 1899, various private companies operating a welter of mass transit in Baltimore consolidated to form the United Railway and Electric Company. After a bankruptcy in 1933, the company reorganized in 1935 as the Baltimore Transit Company. It continued to operate until 1970 when the system was taken over by the state.
In six chapters and 127 pages of photographs and text, Helton tells the story of Baltimore transit. In his first chapter, Helton describes the welter of companies and means of public transit in Baltimore between 1859 and 1899. He offers rare photos which highlight Baltimore's short-lived cable cars in the 1890s and the beginnings of the electrified streetcars. Helton next describes the consolidation and attempted unification of operations by United Railways and Electric with many photos of old streetcars and early 20th Century Baltimore. Motorized buses also arrived early in Baltimore, beginning in 1915. The years between 1920 and WW II saw a complex array of new streetcars and buses as well as a boom and a Depression. As mentioned United Railways went bankrupt in 1933. But the business aspect of the story that Helton recounts pales in comparison with the romance of the streetcars, trackless trolleys, and buses, as Helton presents photos of streetcars large and small, exteriors and interiors, as they worked the busy downtown areas, the residential areas, and the suburbs of Baltimore.
In the fourth chapter of the book, Helton shows how the local transit system had a short-lived resurgence during WW II. He highlights photographs of streetcars bedecked with patriotic themes supporting the war effort. Because of the unique Baltimore Gauge, many old streetcars which had been placed in storage years earlier were resurrected for service and appeared again on the streets of Baltimore during WW II together with more modern cars.
Following WW II, the transition from streetcars and trackless trolleys to gas buses accelerated. Baltimore lost its trackless trolleys in 1959 and its streetcars in 1963. Helton shows the interplay of both systems during this transitional period.
The final chapter of the book is devoted to the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, the only museum of its type located in a downtown metropolitan area. The museum opened in 1970 as a result of the efforts of lovers of the streetcar who donated their time and effort to preserving the old cars. The museum includes examples of Baltimore's rich streetcar history, with the cars lovingly and carefully restored. Most of the cars are operational, allowing those who are too young to remember the streetcars first hand to experience and ride them in the museum.
With the passage of time, many have come to question the wisdom of dismantling the urban streetcar systems in favor of buses and automobiles. Be that as it may, streetcars played an important role in the development of urban America and deserve to be remembered. More importantly, they are fascinating, fun, and picturesque. I will always love them. Helton's book captures the romance of the streetcar in Baltimore.
