Wikipedia

Interurban

"Interurbans" redirects here. For the publishing company once known by that name, seeInterurban Press.

Theinterurban(orradial railwayin Canada) is a type ofelectric railway,withtram-like electric self-propelledrailcarswhich run within and between cities or towns.[1]The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms used outside it. They were very prevalent in many parts of the world before the Second World War and were used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities. Interurban as a term encompassed the companies, their infrastructure, their cars that ran on the rails, and their service. In the United States, the early 1900s interurban was a valuable economic institution, when most roads between towns, many town streets were unpaved, and transportation and haulage was by horse-drawn carriages and carts.

An interurban car from thePhiladelphia & Western Railroad,which survived long in the interurban business

The interurban provided reliable transportation, particularly in winter weather, between towns and countryside. In 1915, 15,500 miles (24,900 km) of interurban railways were operating in the United States and, for a few years, interurban railways, including the numerous manufacturers of cars and equipment, were the fifth-largest industry in the country. But due to preference given to automobiles, by 1930, most interurbans in North America had stopped operating. A few survived into the 1950s.

Kusttram,The Belgian Coast Tram, is a European interurban tramway.
Aigle–Sépey–Diablerets railway lineinSwitzerland

Outside of the US, other countries built large networks of high-speed electric tramways that survive today. Notable systems exist in theLow Countries,PolandandJapan,where populations are densely packed around large conurbations such as theRandstad,Upper Silesia,Greater Tokyo AreaandKeihanshin.Switzerland, particularly, has a large network of mountain narrow-gauge interurban lines.

In addition, since the early 21st century manytram-trainlines are being built, especially in France and Germany but also elsewhere in the world. These can be regarded as interurbans since they run on the streets, like trams, when in cities, while out of them they either share existing railway lines or use lines that were abandoned by the railway companies.

TheKeihan Keishin Lineis a Japanese interurban.

Definition

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Postcard of electric trolley-powered streetcars inRichmond, Virginia,in 1923, two generations after Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888. The intersection shown is at 8th & Broad streets.

The term "interurban" was coined byCharles L. Henry,astate senatorin Indiana. The Latin,inter urbes,means "between cities".[2]The interurban fit on a continuum between urbanstreet railwaysand full-fledged railroads. George W. Hilton and John F. Due identified four characteristics of an interurban:[3]

  • Electric power for propulsion.
  • Passenger service as the primary business.
  • Equipment heavier and faster than urban streetcars.
  • Operation on tracks in city streets, and in rural areas on roadside tracks or privaterights-of-way.

The definition of "interurban" is necessarily blurry. Some town streetcar lines evolved into interurban systems by extending streetcar track from town into the countryside to link adjacent towns together and sometimes by the acquisition of a nearby interurban system. Following initial construction, there was a large amount of consolidation of lines. Other interurban lines effectively becamelight railsystems with no street running whatsoever, or they became primarily freight-hauling railroads because of a progressive loss of their initial passenger service over the years.[citation needed]

In 1905, theUnited States Census Bureaudefined an interurban as "a street railway having more than half its trackage outside municipal limits." It drew a distinction between "interurban" and "suburban" railroads. A suburban system was oriented toward a city center in a single urban area and servedcommuter traffic.A regular railroad moved riders from one city center to another city center and also moved a substantial amount of freight.

The typical interurban similarly served more than one city, but it served a smaller region and made more frequent stops, and it was oriented to passenger rather than freight service.[4]

History

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See also:History of trams

Emergence

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USA

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Ohio and Indiana had the greatest mileage of interurbans in the United States, at 2,798 miles (4,503 km) and 1,825 miles (2,937 km), respectively.[5]This map shows the network across the two states in 1908.

The development of interurbans in the late nineteenth century resulted from the convergence of two trends: improvements in electric traction, and an untapped demand for transportation in rural areas, particularly in theMidwestern United States.The 1880s saw the first successful deployments of electric traction in streetcar systems. Most of these built on the pioneering work ofFrank J. Sprague,who developed an improved method for mounting anelectric traction motorand using atrolley polefor pickup. Sprague's work led to widespread acceptance of electric traction for streetcar operations and end of horse-drawn trams.[6]

The late nineteenth-century United States witnessed a boom in agriculture which lasted through theFirst World War,but transportation in rural areas was inadequate. Conventional steam railroads made limited stops, mostly in towns. These were supplemented byhorse and buggiesandsteamboats,both of which were slow and the latter of which were restricted to navigable rivers.[7]The increased capacity and profitability of the city street railroads offered the possibility of extending them into the countryside to reach new markets, even linking to other towns. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was theNewark and Granville Street Railwayin Ohio, which opened in 1889. It was not a major success, but others followed.[8]The development of theautomobilewas then in its infancy, and to many investors interurbans appeared to be the future of local transportation.[9]

Interurban Station and Superior Street, Toledo, Ohio

From 1900 to 1916, large networks of interurban lines were constructed across the United States, particularly in the states of Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa, Utah, and California.[10]In 1900, 2,107 miles (3,391 km) of interurban track existed, but by 1916, this had increased to 15,580 miles (25,070 km), a seven-fold expansion.[11]At one point in time beginning in 1901, it was possible to travel fromElkhart Lake, Wisconsin,toLittle Falls, New York,exclusively by interurban.[12]During this expansion, in the regions where they operated, particularly in Ohio and Indiana, "...they almost destroyed the local passenger service of the steam railroad."[13]To show how exceptionally busy the interurbans radiating from Indianapolis were in 1926, the immenseIndianapolis Traction Terminal(nine roof covered tracks and loading platforms) scheduled 500 trains in and out daily and moved 7 million passengers that year.[14]At their peak the interurbans were the fifth-largest industry in the United States.[15][16]

Europe

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InBelgium,a sprawling, nation-wide system of narrow-gaugevicinal tramwayshave been built by the NMVB / SNCV to provide transport to smaller towns across the country; the first section opened in 1885. These lines were either electrically operated or run with diesel tramcars, included numerous street-running sections, and inter-operated with local tram networks in the larger cities. Similar to Belgium,Netherlandsconstructed a large network of interurbans in the early 1900s calledstreektramlijnen.

In Silesia, today Poland, an extensive interurban system was constructed, starting in 1894 with a narrow-gauge line connectingGliwicewithPiekary ŚląskiethroughZabrze,Chebzie,ChorzówandBytom,another connectedKatowiceandSiemianowice.After four years, in 1898, Kramer & Co. was chosen to start electrification on Katowice Rynek (Kattowitz, Ring) - Zawodzie line, after which Schikora & Wolff completed electrification of four additional lines.[17]In 1912, the first short4 ft8+1⁄2in(1,435 mm)standard gaugeline was built inKatowice.[18]In 1913, a separate standard gauge system connecting Bytom with suburbs and villages west of the town was launched.[18]After World War I and the Silesian Uprisings, in 1922 the region (and the tram network) was divided between newly independent Poland and Germany, and international services appeared (the last one ran until 1937). In 1928 further standard gauge systems were established in Sosnowiec, Będzin and Dąbrowa Górnicza (the so-called Dabrowa Coal Basin - a region adjoining the Upper Silesian Coal Basin). Between 1928 and 1936 most of the original narrow gauge network was converted to standard, which allowed a connection with the new system in Sosnowiec. By 1931, 47,5% of the narrow-gauge network was reconstructed, with 20 kilometres (12 mi) of new standard-gauge track built.

A large network of interurbans started developing around Milan in the late 1800s; they were originally drawn by horses[19]and later powered as steam trams.[20]These initial interurban lines were gradually upgraded with electric traction in the early 1900s with some assistance fromThomas Edison.[21]By the 1930s a vast network of interurbans, theSocietà Trazione Elettrica Lombarda,connected Milan with surrounding towns.

In the first half of the 20th century, an extensive interurban tramway network coveredNorthern England,centered onSouth LancashireandWest Yorkshire.[22]At that time, it was possible to travel entirely by tram from LiverpoolPier Headto the village of Summit, outsideRochdale,a distance of 52 miles (84 km), and with a short 7 miles (11 km) bus journey across the Pennines, to connect to another tram network that linked Huddersfield, Halifax and Leeds.[23]

Asia

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A preservedHanshin Electric RailwayType 601 car

The first interurban railway in Japan is theHanshin Electric Railway,built to compete with mainline steam trains on theOsakatoKobecorridor and completed in 1905. As laws of that time did not allow parallel railways to be built, the line was legally defined as a tramway and includedstreet runningat the two ends, but was based on American interurbans and operated with large tramcars on mostly private right-of-way. In the same year, theKeihin Express Railway,or Keikyu, completed a section of what is today part of theKeikyū Main LinebetweenShinagawa,TokyoandKanagawa,Yokohama.This line competes with mainlineJapanese National Railwayson this busy corridor. Predecessors of theMeitetsuopened their first interurban lines in 1912, what today form parts of theMeitetsu Inuyama LineandTsushima Line.In 1913, the first section of what will become theKeiō Lineopened connectingChōfuto just outsideShinjukuwith street running on what is today theKōshū KaidōorNational Route 20.[24]Kyushu Electric Railroad, predecessor toNishitetsuopened its first interurban line in 1914 servingKitakyushuand surrounding areas, taking heavy inspiration fromHanshin Electric Railway.

Diverging fortunes

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Decline in North America

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The last day of electric operation on theSacramento Northern Railway,February 1965. At left is theCalifornia Zephyr.
See also:General Motors streetcar conspiracy

The fortunes of the industry in the US and Canada declined duringWorld War I,particularly into the early 1920s. In 1919 PresidentWoodrow Wilsoncreated theFederal Electric Railways Commissionto investigate the financial problems of the industry. The commission submitted its final report to the President in 1920. The commission's report focused on financial management problems and external economic pressures on the industry, and recommended against introducing public financing for the interurban industry.[25]One of the commission's consultants, however, published an independent report stating that private ownership of electric railways had been a failure, and only public ownership would keep the interurbans in business.[26]

Many interurbans had been hastily constructed without realistic projections of income and expenses.[citation needed]They were initially financed by issuing stock and selling bonds.[citation needed]The sale of these financial instruments was often local with salesmen going door to door aggressively pushing this new and exciting "it can't fail" form of transportation.[citation needed]But many of those interurbans did fail, and often quickly.[citation needed]They had poorcash flowfrom the outset and struggled to raise essential further capital. Interurbans were very vulnerable to acts of nature damaging track and bridges, particularly in theMidwestern United Stateswhere flooding was common.Receivershipwas a common fate when the interurban company could not pay its payroll and other debts, so state courts took over and allowed continued operation while suspending the company's obligation to pay interest on its bonds. In addition, the interurban honeymoon period with the municipalities of 1895–1910 was over.

The large and heavy interurbans, some weighing as much as 65 tons, caused damage to city streets which led to endless disputes over who should bear the repair costs. The rise of private automobile traffic in the middle 1920s aggravated such trends. As the interurban companies struggled financially, they faced rising competition from cars and trucks on newly paved streets and highways, while municipalities sought to alleviate traffic congestion by removing interurbans from city streets. Some companies exited the passenger business altogether to focus on freight, while others sought to buttress their finances by selling surplus electricity in local communities. Several interurbans that attempted to exit the rail business altogether ran afoul of state commissions which required that trains remain running "for the public good", even at a loss.[16]

Many financially weak interurbans did not survive the prosperous 1920s, and most others went bankrupt during theGreat Depression.A few struggling lines tried combining to form much larger systems in an attempt to gain operating efficiency and a broader customer base. This occurred in Ohio in year 1930 with the longCincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad(C&LE), and in Indiana with the very widespreadIndiana Railroad.Both had limited success up to 1937–1938 and primarily earned growing revenues from freight rather than passengers.[27]The 130-mile (210 km) longSacramento Northern Railwaystopped carrying passengers in 1940 but continued hauling freight into the 1960s by using heavy electric locomotives.[28]

Oliver Jensen, author ofAmerican Heritage History of Railroads in America,commented that "...the automobile doomed the interurban whose private tax paying tracks could never compete with the highways that a generous government provided for the motorist."[29][page needed]William D. Middleton,in the opening of his 1961 bookThe Interurban Era,wrote:[30]

"Evolved from the urban streetcar, the Interurban appeared shortly before the dawn of the 20th century, grew to a vast network of over 18,000 miles in two decades of excellent growth, and then all but vanished after barely three decades of usefulness."

Interurban business increased duringWorld War IIdue to fuel oil rationing and large wartime employment. When the war ended in 1945, riders went back to their automobiles, and most of these lines were finally abandoned.[31]Several systems struggled into the 1950s, including theBaltimore and Annapolis Railroad(passenger service ended 1950),Lehigh Valley Transit Company(1951),West Penn Railways(1952), and theIllinois Terminal Railroad(1958). The West Penn was the largest interurban to operate in the east at 339 miles (546 km) and had provided Pittsburgh-area coal country towns with hourly transportation since 1888.[32]

By the 1960s only five remaining interurban lines served commuters in three major metropolitan areas: theNorth Shore Lineand theSouth Shore Linein Chicago, the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, theNew York, Susquehanna and Western Railwayin northern New Jersey, and theLong Beach Linein Long Beach and Los Angeles, California (this was the last remaining part of thePacific Electricsystem). The Long Beach Line was cut in 1961, the North Shore Line in 1963; the Philadelphia Suburban'sroute 103and the NYS&W in New Jersey both ended passenger service in 1966.[33]Today, only the South Shore Line,Norristown High Speed Line(SEPTA Route 100), and SEPTA Routes 101/102 remain.

Some former interurban lines retained freight service for up to several decades after the discontinuance of passenger service. Most were converted to diesel operation, although theSacramento Northern Railwayretained electric freight until 1965.[34]

Consolidation in Europe

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NMVB trams at Oostende in 1982, on the survivingBelgian Coast Tramline. A more recent photo can be seenat top.

AfterWorld War II,many interurbans in other countries were also cut back. In Belgium, as intercity transport shifted to cars and buses; the large sections of thevicinal tramwayswere gradually shut down by the 1980s. At their peak in 1945, the mileage of vicinal tramways reached 4,811 kilometres (2,989 mi) and exceeded the length of the national railway network.

ANZH'Blue Tram' atKatwijk

Sprawling tram networks in theNetherlandsextended to neighbouring cities. The vast majority of these lines were not electrified and operated with steam and sometimes petrol or diesel tramcars. Many did not survive the 1920s and 30s for the same reasons American interurbans went bust, but those that did were put back into service during the war years, or at least the remaining parts not yet demolished. One of the largest systems, nicknamed theBlue Tram,was run by theNoord-Zuid-Hollandsche Stoomtramweg-Maatschappijand survived until 1961. Another, the RTM (Rotterdamse Tramweg Maatschappij), which ran in the river delta south-west ofRotterdam,survived until early January 1966. Its demise sparked the rail-related heritage movement in the Netherlands in earnest with the founding of theTramweg Stichting(Tramway Foundation). Many systems, such as theHague tramwayand theRotterdam tramway,included long interurban extensions which were operated with larger, higher-speed cars. In close parallel to North America, many systems were abandoned from the 1950s after tram companies switched to buses.

Instigated by theoil crisisin the 1970s, the remaining interurban tramways have enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance in the form of theSneltram,a modern light rail system that uses high floor, metro-style vehicles and could interoperate into metro networks. Various other interurbans in Europe were folded into local municipal tramway or light rail systems. Switzerland retained many of its interurban lines which now operate as tramways, local railways, S-Bahn, or tram-trains. Milan's vast interurban network was progressively closed in the 1970s but parts of it were reused as the outer parts of theMilan Metro.

Evolution in Japan

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Mikage Stationin 1910 (above) and today (below). Note the longer platforms and grade separation, which were constructed in 1929.[35]These improvements were typical evolutions of early interurbans in Japan.

Development of Japanese interurbans strayed from their American counterparts from the 1920s. The second boom of interurbans occurred as late as the 1920s and 1930s in Japan, with predecessors of the extensiveKintetsu Railway,Hankyu,Nankai Electric RailwayandOdakyu Electric Railwaynetworks starting life during this period. These interurbans, built with straighter tracks, electrified at 1500V and operated using larger cars, were built to even higher standards than theJapanese National Railwaysnetwork at the time. The (former JNR)Hanwa Linewas a wartime acquisition from Nankai, operating 'Super Express' trains on the line at an average speed of 81.6 kilometres per hour (50.7 mph), a national record at the time. The oldSendai stationterminus of the Miyagi Electric Railway (the predecessor of the JRSenseki Line) was situated in a short single-track underground tunnel built in 1925; this was the first stretch of underground railway in all of Asia, predating theTokyo Metro Ginza Lineby two years. Meanwhile, existing interurbans like the Hanshin Electric Railway started to rebuild their street-running lines into grade-separated exclusive rights-of-way.

After the war, interurbans and other private railway companies received large investments and were allowed to compete not only with mainline trains but also with each other, in order to rejuvenate the country's railway infrastructure and cater to the post-war baby boom. The companies continued their policies of improvement they had followed before the war; lines were reconstructed to allow higher speeds, mainline-sized trains were adopted, street-running sections were rebuilt to elevated or underground rights-of-way, and link lines to growing metro systems were built to allow for through operations. Many of these private railway companies started to adopt standards for full-blown heavy rail lines similar to the national rail network, and, like JR commuter routes, are operated as 'metro-style' commuter railways with mainline-sized vehicles and metro-like frequencies of very few minutes. In 1957, theOdakyu Electric Railwayintroduced theOdakyu 3000 series SE,the first in a line of luxurious tourist Limited Express trains named 'Romancecars'. These units set a narrow-gauge speed record of 145 kilometres per hour (90 mph) on its runs to the mountain spa resort of Hakone.

Nankai Electric RailwayNamba Station.Many Japanese private railways have large urban terminals connected to their department store and office developments.

Many private lines were nationalised during the Second World War. The handful that remained in the hands of JNR after the end of the war – including the Hanwa Line, Senseki Line and theIida Line– remain outliers on the national JR network, with short station distances, (in the case of the Iida Line) lower-grade infrastructure, and independent termini (such asAobadori Stationand the upper level ofTennōji Station).

KeikyuLimited Express trains feature a livery based on thePacific Electric.

Today, trackage of themajor sixteen private railways,in many places originally designed as American-style interurban railways, has been upgraded beyond recognition into high capacity urban heavy railways. Private railway companies that started out as interurbans such asTokyu,Seibu,Odakyu,HankyuandTobu;rail transportation now tends to form only a small part of their extensive business empires, which often include real estate, hotels and resorts, and tourist attractions. For example, the Keikyu network has changed unrecognizably from its early days, operating Limited Express services at up to 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph) to compete with JR trains, and inter-operating withsubwayandKeisei Electric Railwaytrains on through runs extending up to 200 kilometres (120 mi); the trains retain a red livery based on thePacific Electric's'Red Cars', true to the company's interurban roots. TheKeiō Linedid not fully remove thestreet runningsection on theKōshū Kaidōoutside ofShinjuku Stationuntil the 1960s, replacing it with an underground section.[36][37][38]

Similar to passenger railway conditions in early 1900s America, intense competition still exists today betweenprivate railwaysand mainline railways operated by theJapan Railways Groupalong highly congested corridors is a hallmark of suburban railway operations in Japan. For example, on theOsakatoKobecorridor,JR Westcompetes intensely with bothHankyu Kobe LineandHanshin Main Linetrains in terms of speed, convenience and comfort.

1000 Series on theNishitetsuKitakyushu Line before closing in 2000

However, a number of urban lines in Japan did close as late as the 2000s, with networks inKitakyushuandGifubeing shut down.[39]

Today

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Austria

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BetweenViennaandBaden bei WientheBadner Bahn,operates a classic interurban passenger service, in addition to some freight services.[40]Some interurban lines survive today a local railways inUpper Austriaare such as theLinzer Lokalbahn,Lokalbahn Vöcklamarkt–AtterseeandLokalbahn Lambach–Vorchdorf-Eggenberg.While others operate as extension of as local city tramways such as theTraunseebahnwhich is now connected to theGmunden Tramway.

Belgium

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Main article:Vicinal tramway

Today, two surviving interurban networks descending from thevicinal tramwaysexist in Belgium. The famousBelgian Coast Tram,built in 1885, traverses the entire Belgian coastline and, at a length of 68 kilometres (42 mi), which is the longest tram line in the world. TheCharleroi Metrois a never fully completedpre-metronetwork upgraded and developed from the dense vicinal tramway network around the city.

Canada

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Similar to the United States, in Canada most passenger interurbans were removed by the 1950s. One example of continuous passenger service still exists today, theToronto Transit Commission501 Queenstreetcar line. The western segment of the 501 Streetcar operates largely on what was theT&YRRPort Credit Radial Line, a radial line that remains intact throughEtobicokeand up to the border of the neighbouringCity of Mississauga,unlike other Toronto radial lines which were all abandoned outside of the 1960s boundary of theCity of Toronto.

Albtalbahnhof in Karlsruhe, where the transition between railway running and street running sections of some lines in theKarlsruhe Stadtbahnis located

Germany

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In Germany various networks have continued to operate. Karlsruhe revitalized the interurban concept into theKarlsruhe modelby renovating two local railwaysAlb Valley Railway,which already had interoperability with local tram trackage, and theHardt Railway.Other examples include:[40]

Italy

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Milanoperates one remaining interurban tramway toLimbiatewith another interurban route toCarate Brianza/Giussanosuspended since 2011. These two lines were once part of large network of interurbans surrounding Milan that were gradually closed in the 1970s.

Japan

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Fukui Railway 200 Series train operating on a street running section
Keihan 700 Series streetrunning on the Ishiyama Sakamoto Line

In Japan, the vast majority of themajor sixteen private railwayshave roots as interurban electric railway lines that were inspired by the US. But instead of demolishing their trackage in the 1930s, many Japanese interurbans companies upgraded their networks toheavy railstandards, becoming today's large private railways. To this day, private railway companies in Japan operate as highly influential business empires with diverse business interests, encompassing department stores, property developments and even tourist resorts. Many Japanese private railway companies compete with each other for passengers, operate department stores at their city termini, develop suburban properties adjacent to stations they own, and run special tourist attractions with admission included in package deals with rail tickets; similar to operations of large interurban companies in the US during their heyday.

While most interurbans in Japan have been upgraded beyond recognition to high-capacity urban railways, a handful have remained relatively untouched, with street running and using 'lighter-rail' stock. To this day they retain a distinct character similar to classic American interurbans.

These include:

  • TheKeihan Keishin Line,operating betweenKyotoandOtsu,with through services to theTozai Lineon the Kyoto side and street running on the Otsu side. Originally was entirely street running into Kyoto but was partly replaced by the opening of the Tozai Subway Line which trains through operate into.
  • TheKeihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Linea primary north south line operating in Otsu with some street running sections in the city center where it connects with the Keishin Line.
  • TheEizan Electric Railwayoriginally an interurban that once through operated into theKyoto City Tram[ja]network but was isolated after the closure of the Kyoto City Tram. To this day operates light, one or two car consists.
  • TheEnoshima Electric Railway,which is a 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) line with elevated and on-street trackage, and operated with light, two-car articulated trains.
  • TheFukui Railway Fukubu Line,which operates a variety of express and local services using light rail cars acquired fromNagoya Railroad's defunct interurban network inGifu,over a line with an extended on-street section.
  • TheKumamoto Electric Railway,which operates ex-Tokyo subwaystock on a line which includes a short on-street section.
  • TheChikuhō Electric Railroad Linestill operates articulated tramcars on private right-of-way, a holdover from its former inter-operation with the defunctNishitetsuKitakyushustreet tram network.

Netherlands

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ARandstadrailLine E 'Sneltram' on the way to Rotterdam from The Hague

The only surviving interurban line is also the oldest regional tramway in the Netherlands a line from The Hague to Delft. Which opened as horse-tramway in 1866. Nowadays the line operates as Line 1 ofThe Hague Tramway.[40]Line E, run byRandstadrail,was an interurban line connecting Rotterdam to The Hague and in the past also to Scheveningen. It now interoperates with theRotterdam Metro.

Poland

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A large interurban network called theSilesian Interurbansstill exists today connecting the urban areas of theUpper Silesia.It is one of the largest interurban networks in Europe.[41]

In Łódź region,an interurban tram systemconnects Łódź, Pabianice, Zgierz and Konstantynów Łódzki, and formerly also Ozorków, Lutomiersk, Aleksandrów Łódzki, Rzgów and Tuszyn.

United States

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A Pullman Company electric interurban unit heading west toward Michigan City on theSouth Shore Linein 1980

Only three continuously operating passenger interurbans in the US remain with most being abandoned by the 1950s.

TheSouth Shore Lineis now owned by the state of Indiana and uses mainline-sizedelectric multiple units.Its last section of street running, inMichigan City, Indiana,was finally closed in 2022 for conversion to a grade-separated double-track line.[42][43]

SEPTAoperates two former Philadelphia Suburban lines: theNorristown High Speed Line(Route 100) as an interurbanheavy railline, and theMedia–Sharon Hill Line(Routes 101 and 102) as alight railline.

InSkokie, Illinois,the Skokie Valley portion of the North Shore Line fromDempster StreettoHoward Streetwas acquired by theChicago Transit Authorityin 1963 and now runs as theYellow Line.The Yellow Line initially operated withthird railfrom Howard Street to theSkokie Shopsand switched tooverhead wirefor the remainder of the journey to Dempster Street, until 2004 when the overhead wire was replaced with third rail.

Several former interurban rights of way have been reused for modern light rail lines, including theAandElines of theLos Angeles Metro Railsystem and one section of theBaltimore Light RailLinksystem. Several museums and heritage railways, including theWestern Railway Museum,Seashore Trolley Museum,Fox River Trolley Museum,and theIllinois Railway Museumoperate restored equipment on former interurban lines. TheIowa Traction Railwaystill operates freight service today using interurban equipment and infrastructure. TheRiver Linein New Jersey is also considered an interurban.

Switzerland

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A BDe 8/8 unit streetrunning inDietikonon theBremgarten–Dietikon railway line
Aigle–Ollon–Monthey–Champéry railway line

Switzerland operated a huge number of interurbans which today many have been upgraded into a number of different modes with a few remaining interurban features left. Several still have interurban characteristics such as unprotected alignments next to the road right of ways and/or street running.[40]Today former interurban lines have been upgraded to operate as:

Infrastructure and design

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Right of way

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Main article:Right-of-way (railroad)
Filmed in 1924, the opening of the Leiden – Scheveningen interurban in the Netherlands

Interurbans typically ran along or on a public right-of-way. In towns, interurbansran in the street,sharing track with existing street railroads.[44]While street running limited acquisition costs, it also required sharp turns and made interurban operations susceptible to traffic congestion.[citation needed]Unlike conventional railroads, it was rare for an interurban to construct long unencumbered stretches of private right-of-way.[45]The torque characteristics of electric operation allowed interurbans to operate on steepergradesthan conventionalsteam locomotives.[46]

Trackage

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Main article:Track (rail transport)

Compared to conventional steam railroad trackage, interurban rail was light andballastedlightly, if at all.[44]Most interurbans in North America were built tostandard gauge(4 ft8+1⁄2inor1,435 mm), but there were exceptions. In Europenarrow-gaugeinterurbans were more common. In Japan the national mainlines were built to3 ft 6 in(1,067 mm) narrow gauge however due to influence from for US interurban operations the first interurban companies in Japan built trackage tostandard gauge.This remains the case today withKeikyuandHanshin,forerunners of Japan's interurbans, still using standard gauge today. Later companies regauged or outright built lines to3 ft 6 in(1,067 mm) narrow gauge for better interoperability and consistency with the Japanese mainline standards. Interurbans often used thetracksof existingstreet railwaysthrough city and town streets, and if these street railways were not built to standard, the interurbans had to use the non-standard gauges as well or face the expense of building their own separate trackage through urban areas. Some municipalities deliberately mandated non-standard gauges to prevent freight operations on public streets. In Pennsylvania, many interurbans were constructed using the wide "Pennsylvania trolley gauge"of5 ft2+1⁄2in(1,588 mm). In Los Angeles, thePacific Electric Railway,using standard1,435 mm(4 ft8+1⁄2in) gauge track, and theLos Angeles Railway,the city's streetcar system, using3 ft 6 in(1,067 mm) narrow gauge, shareddual-gaugetrack in downtown Los Angeles with one rail common to each.[47]

Electrification

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Main article:Railway electrification

Most interurban railways in North America were constructed using the same low-voltage 500 to 600VDCtrolley power in use by thestreet railwaysto which they connected.[48]This enabled interurban cars to use the same overhead trolley power on town street car tracks with no electrical change on the cars to accommodate a different voltage. However, higher voltages became necessary to reduce power loss on long-distance transmission lines and routes, thoughsubstationswere established to boost voltage.[49]In 1905Westinghouseintroduced a 6600 V 25 Hzalternating current(AC) system which a number of railroads adopted. This required fewer substations than DC, but came with higher maintenance costs.[50]The necessary on-board 6600 AC voltage reduction plus AC to DC rectification on each powered car to run DC traction motors added to greater car construction expense plus the operational dangers that such on-board high voltages created.[16]

More common were high-voltage DC systems – usually 1200 V DC, introduced in 1908 by Indianapolis & Louisville Traction Company for theirDixie FlyerandHoosier Flyerservices.[51][failed verification]In the streets, where high-speed service was not feasible, the cars ran at half speed at 600 V or got a voltage changeover device.[citation needed]such as on the Sacramento Northern. A 2400 V DC third-rail system was installed on theMichigan United Railways's Western Division between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids in 1915, but was abandoned because of the electrocution potential safety hazard.[52]Even 5000 V DC was tested.[49]

Most interurban cars and freight locomotives collected current from anoverhead trolley wire.The cars contacted this wire through the use of atrolley poleor apantograph.Other designs collected current from athird rail.Some interurbans used both: in open country, the third rail was used and in town, a trolley pole was raised. An example of this was theChicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railroadwhere a trolley pole was used in bothAuroraandElgin, Illinois.Third rail was cheaper to maintain and more conductive, but it was more expensive to construct initially and it did not eliminate the need for AC transformers, AC transmission lines, and AC/DC conversion systems. In addition, third rail posed a serious danger to trespassers and animals and was difficult to keep clear of ice.[citation needed]

Trains and equipment

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Rolling stock

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A pre-1910, all-wood heavy interurban car of theFort Wayne and Wabash Valley Traction Company,preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum
A preserved box motor from Iowa

From 1890 to 1910, roughly, American interurban cars were made of wood and often were very large, weighing up to 40 short tons (35.7 long tons; 36.3 t) and measuring as long as 60 feet (18.29 m). These featured the classic arch-window look with truss-rods andcow-catchers.Three of the best known early companies wereJewett,Niles,andKuhlman,all of Ohio.[citation needed]These interurbans required a two men crew, an operator and a conductor. By 1910, most new interurban cars were constructed of steel, weighing up to 60 short tons (53.6 long tons; 54.4 t).[53][verification needed]As competition increased for passengers and costs needed to be reduced in the 1920s, interurban companies and manufacturers attempted to reduce car weight and wind resistance in order to reduce power consumption. The new designs also required only a one-man crew with the operator collecting tickets and making change. Thetruckswere improved[how?]to provide a better ride, acceleration, and top speed but with reduced power consumption.[54]Into the 1930s, better quality and lighter steel and aluminum use reduced weight, and cars were redesigned to ride lower in order to reduce wind resistance.[citation needed]Car design peaked in the early 1930s with the light weight Cincinnati Car Company-builtRed Devilcars of theCincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad.[55]

In addition to passenger cars, interurban companies acquired freight locomotives and line maintenance equipment. A "box motor" was a powered car exclusive for freight that looked like a passenger interurban without windows and had wide side doors for loading freight. A freight motor was geared for power rather than speed and could pull up to six freight cars depending upon the load andgrades.Freight cars for interurbans tended to be smaller than those for steam railroads, and they had to have special extended couplers to prevent car corner contact at the very tight grinding turns at city street corners. Maintenance equipment included "line cars" with roof platforms for the trolley wire repair crew, snow plows and snow sweepers with rotating brushes, a car for weed control and to maintain track and ballast. In order to save money, many companies constructed these in their shops using retired or semi-wrecked passenger cars for the frame and the traction motor mounted trucks.[citation needed]

Passenger trains

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Passenger interurban service grew out of horse-drawn rail cars operating on city streets. As these routes electrified and extended outside of towns interurbans began to compete with steam railroads for intercity traffic.[citation needed]Interurbans offered more frequent service than steam railroads, withheadwaysof up to one hour or even half an hour.[56]Interurbans also made more stops, usually 1 mile (1.6 km) apart. As interurban routes tended to besingle-trackthis led to extensive use of passing sidings. Single interurban cars would operate with a motorman and conductor, although in later yearsone-man operationwas common. In open country, the typical interurban proceeded at 40–45 miles per hour (64–72 km/h). In towns with the middle of the street operation, speeds were slow and dictated by local ordinance. The result was that the average speed of a scheduled trip was low, as much as under 20 miles per hour (32 km/h).[citation needed]

Freight trains

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Many interurbans did substantial freight business. In 1926, theCincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railwaymoved 57,000 short tons (50,893 long tons; 51,710 t) of freight per month. By 1929, this had risen to 83,000 short tons (74,107 long tons; 75,296 t) per month.[57]During the 1920s freight revenue helped offset the loss of passenger business to automobiles.[58]A typical interurban freight train consisted of a poweredbox motorpulling one to four freight cars. These often operated at night as local ordinances forbade daytime freight operation on city streets.[59]Interurban freight in the Midwest was so extensive that Indianapolis constructed a very large freight handling warehouse which all of Indianapolis' seven interurbans companies used.[60][page needed]

In literature

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InRaymond Chandler's short storyThe Man who liked Dogs,the narrator trails a suspect in the Los Angeles area:

Carolina Street was away off at the edge of the little beach city. The end of it ran into a disused inter-urban right of way, beyond which stretched a waste of Japanese truck farms. There were just two house in the last block... the rails were rusted in a forest of weeds.[61]

Similarly inMandarin's Jade:

The Hotel Tremaine was far out of Santa Monica, near the junk yards. An inter-urban right of way split the street in half, and just as I got to the block that would have the number I had looked up, a two-car train came racketing by at forty-five miles an hour, making almost as much noise as a transport plane taking off. I speeded up beside it and passed the block.[62]

In E.L. Doctorow'sRagtime,a character rides on interurban systems from New York to Boston.

Preservation

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Numerous museums, heritage railways and societies have preserved equipment:

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Before Interstates, America Got Around on Interurbans".Bloomberg. 6 October 2021.Retrieved3 March2023.
  2. ^Middleton 1961,p. 13.
  3. ^Hilton & Due 1960,p. 9.
  4. ^Bureau of the Census 1905,p. 5.
  5. ^Hilton & Due 1960,pp. 41–42.
  6. ^Hilton & Due 1960,pp. 6–7.
  7. ^Hilton & Due 1960,pp. 7–8.
  8. ^Hilton & Due 1960,pp. 8–9.
  9. ^Hilton & Due 1960,p. 12.
  10. ^Rowsome & Maguire 1956,pp. 119–140.
  11. ^Hilton & Due 1960,p. 186.
  12. ^Dippel, Beth (4 November 2016)."Interurbans' meteoric rise, then fall".Sheboygan Press.
  13. ^Bruce 1952,pp. 407–408.
  14. ^Rowsome & Maguire 1956,pp. 138, 179.
  15. ^Patch, David (27 May 2007)."Toledo was hub of interurban 100 years ago".Toledo Blade.Archived fromthe originalon 29 April 2015.Retrieved5 July2015.
  16. ^abcHilton & Due 1960[page needed]
  17. ^Soida 1998,p. 12-14.
  18. ^abSoida 1998,p. 37-38.
  19. ^Cornolò 1980,p. 23.
  20. ^Cornolò 1980,pp. 30–31.
  21. ^Cornolò 1980,pp. 76–77.
  22. ^Royle 2016,pp. 20–21.
  23. ^Randall, D. (1954). "In the Shadow of the Pennines".Transport World.p. 154.
  24. ^Kinh vương điện thiết chu thức hội xã (2016).『 kinh vương ハンドブック2016』(in Japanese). Kinh vương điện thiết quảng báo bộ.
  25. ^Proceedings of the Federal Electric Railways Commission; together with Final Report of the Commission to the President(Report). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Federal Electric Railways Commission. 1920.
  26. ^Wilcox, Delos F. (1921).Analysis of the Electric Railway Problem(PDF).New York: Delos F. Wilcox. pp. x–xi.OCLC1039534127.
  27. ^Keenan 2001,p. 4.
  28. ^Rowsome & Maguire 1956,p. 176.
  29. ^Jensen 1993.
  30. ^Middleton 1961,p. 6.
  31. ^Hilton & Due 1960,p. 287.
  32. ^Hilton & Due 1960,p. 178.
  33. ^Hilton & Due 1960,p. ix.
  34. ^Hilton & Due 1960,p. 400.
  35. ^Binh khố の thiết đạo toàn dịch tư thiết ・ công 営 thiết đạo[All railway stations in Hyogo Private railways and public railways] (in Japanese). Japan: Kobe Newspaper General Publishing Center. 2012.ISBN9784343006745.
  36. ^"【 hoài かしの tư thiết tả chân 】 đô nội に tồn tại した kinh vương と đông cấp の tịnh dụng quỹ đạo".Thừa りものニュース(in Japanese). 2 December 2020.Retrieved5 March2022.
  37. ^"Địa hạ hóa trực tiền の kinh vương tuyến tân túc phó cận ( １ ) - モハメイドペーパーの hà が xuất てくるか?".モハメイドペーパーの hà が xuất てくるか?.Retrieved5 March2022.
  38. ^"Hoài かしの tân túc cận biên tả chân".tks-departure.sakura.ne.jp.Retrieved5 March2022.
  39. ^"Danh cổ ốc thiết đạo mỹ nùng đinh / điền thần tuyến tích を phóng ねて".pyoco3.c.ooco.jp.Retrieved13 February2022.
  40. ^abcdvan 't Hoogerhuijs & Moerland 2012[page needed]
  41. ^Schwandl 2017[page needed]
  42. ^"Double-track construction set to end South Shore street running".Trains.25 February 2022.
  43. ^"South Shore Street Running Ends This Weekend".Railfan & Railroad.24 February 2022.
  44. ^abMiddleton 1961,p. 21.
  45. ^Bradley 1991[page needed]
  46. ^Rowsome & Maguire 1956,p. 67.
  47. ^Hilton & Due 1960,pp. 51–52.
  48. ^Hilton & Due 1960,pp. 53–65.
  49. ^abMiddleton 1961,p. 425.
  50. ^Grant 2016,pp. 5–6.
  51. ^Middleton 1961,p. 155.
  52. ^Middleton 1961,p. 162.
  53. ^Keenan 1974,appendix:Equipment Roster.
  54. ^Design of the aluminum body, compact GE traction motored trucks "Red Devils":Keenan 1974[page needed]
  55. ^Bradley 1991,p. 187.
  56. ^Grant 1980,p. 55.
  57. ^Keenan 2001,p. 3.
  58. ^Middleton 1961,p. 393.
  59. ^Keenan 2001,pp. 86–87.
  60. ^Rowsome & Maguire 1956.
  61. ^Chandler 1964,pp. 67–68.
  62. ^Chandler 1964,p. 231.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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