Trolley Titans, The A Mobile History of Atlanta by O.E. Carson w/ dust jacket for Sale

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Trolley Titans, The A Mobile History of Atlanta by O.E. Carson w/ dust jacket For Sale

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Trolley Titans, The A Mobile History of Atlanta by O.E. Carson w/ dust jacket:
$100.00

RailroadTreasures offers the following item: Trolley Titans, The A Mobile History of Atlanta by O.E. Carson w/ dust jacket The Trolley Titans A Mobile History of Atlanta by O.E. Carson Hard cover with dust jacket Copyright 1981 178 pagesContentsIntroduction page IX1. Mud, Mules and the Spark of Progress 12. The Second Battle of Atlanta 213. Atkinson, Arkwright and Co 534. Troubles, Plagues and a Reconstruction 675. \"A Citizen Wherever We Serve\" 916. The Interurbans 1117. Time of the Trackless Trolley1478. A Return to Reason 1599. Prominent Personalities 165Acknowledgments 168Index 172THEY WERE two of the most colorful figures the electric railway industry ever had. Joel Hurt: obstinate, progressive, a fighter. Henry M. Atkinson: patrician, knowledgable, shrewd. Once friends, the two moguls fought to build rival streetcar companies, spurring Atlanta\'s growth into the colossus of the South. Their rivalry spanned the years from the lowly mule-drawn car which lifted Atlantans out of the mud, to the dawn of the electric age which made possible the spacious, fast and dependable trolley cars.It was Atkinson who prevailed, parlaying his interests into what became the giant Georgia Power Co., the South\'s leading utility empire. This new book by O.E. Carson traces Atlanta\'s transport history from the Civil War right up to today\'s sleek MARTA rapid transit trains. There are other major personalities, notably Preston Arkwright who stepped out of Atkin-son\'s shadow to run Atlanta\'s streetcar system for years, and a very well run system it was. And Robert L. Somerville, who inherited Georgia Power\'s postwar trackless trolley system, improved it and was the first to seriously propose a rail rapid transit system.Perhaps the most typical Atlanta transit vehicle is the deck-roof streetcar of the Georgia Power era, like the 948 on the front cover which has been lovingly restored to its former glory by the author of this book. But also included in this work are the early animal-powered lines, the interurbans to Marietta and Stone Mountain, the latter-day buses and trolley coaches. There are maps galore, and many rare photos, often including wonderful views of Atlanta architecture of years past.This work truly captures the flavor of Atlanta and its people, and tells a fascinating story to boot. We commend it to you .IntroductionTHE STORY of rail transit in Georgia cities, as in hundreds of other cities around the nation, was associated with the urban growth which followed the War Between the States, and often involved an overenthusiastic civic pride coupled with sometimes questionable private land schemes.The first such period of growth was in the late 1870s and early 1880s, fueled by the revival which followed the panic of 1873, and the gradual recovery of the urban South from the effects of the war. The cost of setting up a horsecar line was minimal and routes appeared in remarkably small villages. One or two secondhand cars, some light strap rail, and a couple of horses or mules and the line would be more or less ready to run. Some of the mule/horsecar systems held on for a remarkable length of time, while others perished in the panic of 1893, or very shortly thereafter.The second period of growth was after the 1893 panic, and before the panic of 1907, and the third period followed the 1907 panic.In the larger communities, electrification started in 1889. Some systems, such as Joel Hurt\'s Atlanta & Edgewood Street Railroad Co., attracted money with which to build a creditable system. Others attracted only limited amounts of capital and built systems which were marginal at best. Sometimes it was due to dishonest investors primarily interested in turning a quick profit. More often the problem was one of miscalculation by the investors who would either underestimate the cost or overestimate the return. Many, attracted by the grandiose land schemes which blanketed the South before the crash of 1893, lost heavily in that panic. Others lost in the panic of 1907, or during World War I. Since these schemes were often tied to street railway properties, land and trolley companies often sank into bankruptcy together.In Atlanta, Hurt\'s East Atlanta Land Co. and his Atlanta & Edgewood rail line had shown what an electric street railway could do to open up land.The books, Trolley Car Treasury and Time of the Trolley cover the background of the men, especially Charles J. Van Depoele, who brought the trolley car almost to the edge of practicality. Recognizing the potential of the electric streetcar, Frank Julian Sprague resigned from Edison\'s company at Menlo Park, N.J., in 1884 to organize the Sprague Electric Railway & Motor Co. Edward H. Johnson was its president. Johnson was also associated with Edison\'s firm, but it was his stock involvement with Sprague\'s company that would make him rich.In 1886 Van Depoele installed the first citywide electric streetcar system in Montgomery, Ala., but it was beset with problems.In 1887 the three major street railway electrical \"systems\" were: Bentley Knight Co.-partners Edward M. Bentley and Walter Knight were devoting their attention to underground conduit operation. Sprague Electric Railway & Motor Co. - Sprague installed the electric street railway operation in Richmond, the largest of that day, opening February 2, 1888. He used the best of all of the previous inventions.Van Depoele Electric Manufacturing Co.-at the time Van Depoele was in financial straits. Sprague could have bought him out, but lacked the money.At this time no one was watched more closely by the business community than Sprague. Problems notwithstanding, his growing success in Richmond brought into the field a new competitor-Thomson-Houston Electric Co. of Boston, a well-managed firm which had previously confined its attention exclusively to electric lighting.In spite of Sprague\'s problems, which he continued to solve, the officials of Thomson-Houston perceived that the growth and profit potential in the electric railway field promised to be greater by far than in electric lighting. To create a new electric railway system, they purchased the Van Depoele patents and secured the services of Van Depoele himself, thus obtaining as a foundation for their new setup what was probably the best of the earlier regimes before Sprague. Improvements were rapidly made in light of the Richmond lessons, and by the end of 1887 the three prominent companies in the electric railway field were Bentley-Knight, Sprague and Thomson-Houston.In 1888 the Sprague and Thomson-Houston companies began battling in earnest for supremacy and within six months had left the other \"systems\" behind. Each company had a corps of agents well established in every large city in the country. New street railway companies were started, existing ones began to seek the right to operate their roads by electricity, and the large banking and brokerage offices of the east were besieged by a host of applicants for funds to carry out the projected improvements. It was eminently true in this case that \"competition made business.\" In the struggle of the two companies to present the special features of their respective systems the old question of \"horses versus electricity\" was quickly lost sight of and became instead \"which electric system is the better?\"By the end of 1888 the Sprague and Thomson-Houston companies claimed about 30 clients each, with systems either in operation or under contract. Thomson-Houston opened an office in Atlanta, in the Kimball House in 1888, with Judge H.E.W. Palmer as manager. Palmer was also an incorporator of the Atlanta & Edgewood Street Railroad Co., so it was only natural for that company to sign up with Thomson-Houston for the installation of a \"complete electric railway system.\" Thomson-Houston then rapidly secured the contract for installation of Atlanta\'s second electric line, the Fulton County Street Railroad Co., as well as for systems in Americus, Macon, and the second electric line in Augusta, the first one being a Sprague installation.All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
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