The interurban’s best known cars were built not far from the end of its line just outside of its namesake city.
The cars were the “Red Devils” and the interurban was the Cincinnati & Lake Erie. The interurban couldn’t enter Cincinnati because of the two-wire overhead used by the Cincinnati street railway system…
In addition to the two wire overhead there was another problem that was also found in other Ohio cities…
The Cincinnati and Lake Erie and its predicessors were standard guage, but the Cincinnati city system was broad gauge.
Cincinnati and Columbus at least were “Pennsylvania Broad Gauge” 5’ 2 1/2". Columbus had dual-gauge track where routes were shared between city cars and interurbans. The local carbuilder Cincinnati Car Co. had dual-gauge test track sections with dual overhead.
You guys split the answer.
Happy to have CSS ask the next question. If he is reluctant to come with on e, I’ll do my best.
North Shore Line operated a single city streetcar route in Milwaukee. What was an unusual characteristic of this operation?
That all the 90mph trains ran over it to get downtown?
Not quite. City cars and interurban trains operated by the same operator and on the same tracks was hardly unusual. Besides, North Shore’s city cars operated on some trackage that the interurban trains did not use.
Both the single-truck Birneys that migrated to the line when the double-truck safety cars that were normal were required to boost the Waukeegan - Great lakes N . B. setvice had special floor construction for better heat insulation against cold wearther. All runs carried a complement of flags to indicate runnung extra or second section following, etc. The line gave and received transfers to and from only one of the routes of the main transit system, the one line that had been the local operation of the interurban north to Sheborgan.
Chicago & Milwaukee Electric (the official name of the CNS&M’s street trackage) owned three blocks of track on Wells St. that was also used by The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co. (TMERL). TMERL cars on Wells lasted several years longer than C&ME’s, but C&ME owned the track to the end.
Daveklepper has the answer. It’s kind of hard to imagine transfers being issued by a transit operation with only one line.
Take it away, Dave.
The answer to this question was the answer to another question about this particular rail line. From aboout 1952 to 1957, on the same tracks, five different forms of motive power were used and represented five of the six (now or were) in wide-apread use in North America. Excluded are animal power, sails, graviy, cable.
The line is still in used, intesively, but not with five forms of motive power.
Which line, which trains?
The owner of the line today was neither the owner nor the other user in the 1950s, nor was it the predicessor of the single user and owner today, But equipment of the predicessor and crews…
But the equipment and train-crews of the predicessor of the present owner were n these tracks very frequentty.
The period showed both passenger and freight trains on this line, but today, only passnger with only passenger.
PRR east of Newark? Steam (PRR to Jersey City, LV from Manhattan Transfer), Diesel (ditto), Third rail 600VDC (H&M) and Electric (PRR, both MU and Loco-hauled). I guess PATH works as a successor to H&M, and Amtrak to PRR.
Amtrack does not run to Jersey Citu, so PATH, the Successor to H&M, is now exclusive owner and user. Although H&M (and compatible PRR) equipment, as well as crews, used the line, they were PRR trains west of Journal Squaew, Jersey City.
Your question,
In the “classic” electric era, many locomotives were built by the two main running gear/electric partnerships, Alco/GE and Baldwin/Westinghouse. In the case of one electrification, all of the original locomotives were built by one of the running gear firms and equipped by the “wrong” electrical firm. Railroad and builder/electical.
You do know the West Valley had a Baldwin with GE electrical gear in 1925…
This was a major steam railroad electrification…Later units were all from one builder.