1898 EV

[Dave Mellor NJ]

There's a lot of obvious questions about this pic. It said to get from the country to the town. Kinda limited

[zepher]

So, it's a personal trolley car?

[3macboys]

Interesting that no one is at the tiller.  Because of the nature of the picture looking like an artist's concept I did a Google image search and found this:

 

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffrey_Electric

[AzBob]

Looks like a good way to get electrocuted. ☹️

[wayne sheldon]

"Early" history of the automobile is filled with bad ideas! And this is clearly one of them. Talk about impractical? The only place that car can go is where the poles and wires are preinstalled for the car's use. A mile of poles and wires would cost nearly as much as the car itself, and the wire strands would have to be pulled a lot tighter and straighter than that if there was to be any hope of the electrical contacts carriage to follow the car pulled simply by another electric wire.

I think I will go back to my giant clock spring motorcar. At least that can go anywhere it wants to, and I can just wind it up again wherever it stops. Of course the half a block driving distance is still a bit annoying.

Maybe compressed air?

[rocketraider]

Shows that the infrastructure needed to support electric vehicles was no more in place then than it is now.

 

Maybe someday the infrastructure will catch up.

[7th Son]

9 hours ago, Dave Mellor NJ said:

 It said to get from the country to the town. Kinda limited

The country must have been just one power pole away from the town.

No way to get over the glass insulators that I can figure out.

 

 

[JACK M]

I remember the city busses in Seattle had a system like this. Maybe still?

I have not been in downtown Seattle for decades.

I didn't ride the busses but remember the driver sometimes had to get out a long pole and put the thingys back onto the cables when they fell off.

[Bloo]

It's an indisputable part of Seattle's identity, and has been around since the 40s. I hope it never goes away.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybuses_in_Seattle

 

 

 

 

Edited February 6 by Bloo (see edit history)

[TerryB]

I’m trying to make a diorama of a trolley that ran in my area.  This is the start of it

Edited February 6 by TerryB
Newer photo (see edit history)

[8E45E]

Edmonton Transit also utilized trolley buses from about 1939 until 2009.   Calgary Transit's last trolley bus route was in 1975.

 

Craig

[playswithbrass]

Doesn’t Toronto, Ont still have streetcars?

[Larry Schramm]

Dayton, Ohio has electric street cars/busses.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybuses_in_Dayton#:~:text=One of only five such,an electric transit service that

[8E45E]

8 minutes ago, playswithbrass said:

Doesn’t Toronto, Ont still have streetcars?

Yes.

[CChinn]

San Francisco also still runs a streetcar line, the F Line down Market Street through the Financial District, along the Embarcadero waterfront and ending in Fisherman’s Wharf. From there you can avoid walking over the hills by taking the cable car from Fisherman’s Wharf back to Market Street. Did it a lot when I grew up in the City. Go 49ers!

[JACK M]

Just now, CChinn said:

San Francisco also still runs a streetcar line, the F Line down Market Street through the Financial District, along the Embarcadero waterfront and ending in Fisherman’s Wharf. From there you can avoid walking over the hills by taking the cable car from Fisherman’s Wharf back to Market Street. Did it a lot when I grew up in the City. Go 49ers!

Those use an underground cable. 

Pretty cool idea.

[JACK M]

I think if I ever have an occasion to drive in downtown Seattle again, I want do it on my backhoe.

 

[8E45E]

4 minutes ago, JACK M said:

I think if I ever have an occasion to drive in downtown Seattle again, I want do it on my backhoe.

Why?   You might end up getting hired by the city next time they raid another public park and require a clean-up crew!

 

Craig

[JACK M]

2 minutes ago, 8E45E said:

Why?   You might end up getting hired by the city next time they raid another public park and require a clean-up crew!

 

Craig

Ha, They couldn't afford me.

[CChinn]

4 minutes ago, JACK M said:

Those use an underground cable. 

Pretty cool idea.

The Cable Car Museum near SF Chinatown is pretty cool. A lot of old technology that still works that all of us here would appreciate and marvel over. You can view the cables still operating the cable cars. The cable car turn around sites at Fisherman’s Wharf and Market Street are also amazing to see in action. They are similar to the old train turn around sites but on a much larger scale. The NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC is adjacent to one. If you are going to the Annual Convention in VA this week, there is a NC Transportation Museum seminar. Should be a good presentation

[Larry Schramm]

Agree on the cable car museum.  Very cool.

[Pfeil]

Most everyone knows the story of the electric Red car Trolleys in Los Angeles that were replaced by G.M. buses. What most people don't know is that there was an interim form of transportation before the diesel bus. The interim bus (electric) used the Redcar power lines and routes. Below is the transition.

[DFeeney]

How sad it is , when people can make fun of a major U.S. city and everyone knows  what you are talking about.

[Studebuddy]

18 hours ago, Dave Mellor NJ said:

There's a lot of obvious questions about this pic. It said to get from the country to the town. Kinda limited

That is a wild design. Crazy impractical, but very cool.

[3macboys]

4 hours ago, playswithbrass said:

Doesn’t Toronto, Ont still have streetcars?

They certainly do, just don't try and drive down King St anymore - the street cars rule the roost and cars can only go 2 blocks or so before you have to make a turn.  There's still something neat about watching the cars run at night and seeing sparks fly off the overhead wires.  I believe that it's San Francisco that has a fleet of old restored street cars in their original livery including one from the TTC.  Who can forget the old TTC tag line - Ride the Rocket!  

 

[jdome]

20 hours ago, Dave Mellor NJ said:

 

This photo was taken before the cordless version was invented. 

[wayne sheldon]

Don't confuse the "cable cars" with "electric trolley cars". San Francisco has BOTH! 

Electric trolley cars are basically a bus or sometimes even an open delivery truck that may run on the street itself or on a train type track either in the street or separate from the street. They may be powered by batteries carried on the trolley, or from an electrical cable carefully placed and maintained especially for their use. Most of them are powered by special power cables which may be strung overhead or might be underground, or even in part or whole the tracks themselves (rare due to safety issues). Some electrical trollies may still use a main power overhead cable and well grounded rails for partial return path. (I think a lot of them are still that way?)

"Cable cars" use a miles long continuous steel cable underground that is continuously moving in a single direction (very long numerous loops!) which the cable car grabs onto to be pulled along with the underground cable. The basic design dates back to the 19th century in cities built upon mountains (small to sometimes very large mountains?). 

The wonderful idea behind the design is that it is actually fairly energy efficient! Although the cable has to pull each and every cable car up every covered hill, at the same time, another car is going down that or another hill on the same miles long line. So while some cars are fighting gravity, other cars are being pulled by gravity to offset the power demands! Once the system is powered up and going at its designed speed, the amount of energy to keep it moving is not as much as one might expect.

The design was originally proposed in the 19th century because trollies were originally pulled by horses. Cities like San Francisco on major hills had a lot of problems with horses collapsing and often dying pulling the trollies uphill, or brakes failing going downhill! Accidents were very common, causing a lot of expensive damages and even deaths of passengers or pedestrians.

As long as the cables were well maintained, once the cable car was locked onto the cable and running along, accidents or brake failures were rare.

San Francisco is credited with being first, however at one time a couple dozen cities around the USA and even the world also ran cable car lines similar to Sn Francisco's.

[8E45E]

9 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

Don't confuse the "cable cars" with "electric trolley cars". San Francisco has BOTH! 

Electric trolley cars are basically a bus or sometimes even an open delivery truck that may run on the street itself or on a train type track either in the street or separate from the street. They may be powered by batteries carried on the trolley, or from an electrical cable carefully placed and maintained especially for their use. Most of them are powered by special power cables which may be strung overhead or might be underground, or even in part or whole the tracks themselves (rare due to safety issues). Some electrical trollies may still use a main power overhead cable and well grounded rails for partial return path. (I think a lot of them are still that way?)

"Cable cars" use a miles long continuous steel cable underground that is continuously moving in a single direction (very long numerous loops!) which the cable car grabs onto to be pulled along with the underground cable. The basic design dates back to the 19th century in cities built upon mountains (small to sometimes very large mountains?). 

The wonderful idea behind the design is that it is actually fairly energy efficient! Although the cable has to pull each and every cable car up every covered hill, at the same time, another car is going down that or another hill on the same miles long line. So while some cars are fighting gravity, other cars are being pulled by gravity to offset the power demands! Once the system is powered up and going at its designed speed, the amount of energy to keep it moving is not as much as one might expect.

The design was originally proposed in the 19th century because trollies were originally pulled by horses. Cities like San Francisco on major hills had a lot of problems with horses collapsing and often dying pulling the trollies uphill, or brakes failing going downhill! Accidents were very common, causing a lot of expensive damages and even deaths of passengers or pedestrians.

As long as the cables were well maintained, once the cable car was locked onto the cable and running along, accidents or brake failures were rare.

San Francisco is credited with being first, however at one time a couple dozen cities around the USA and even the world also ran cable car lines similar to Sn Francisco's.

Agreed there is a HUGE difference.  A San Fran 'Cable Car' as we know them has NO on-board motor to propel it, where trolley buses on tires, or streetcars on rails have electric motors mounted on the chassis attached to drive wheels to move it, and stop, start, and control its speed.  Cable cars do not have the ability to stop and start, and I believe are governed at 8mph, and always have the right-of-way on the road for that reason.  (Think of Ryan O'Neill & Barbara Streisand in "What's Up Doc!" almost getting smoked by two cable cars while out of control on the runaway delivery bike!!)

 

Craig

[CChinn]

I know the difference between an electric powered streetcar and a cable car. I just thought I would share some interesting and now unique examples of public transportation options in San Francisco that would contribute to the info being shared in this thread. Was not trying to equate the 2 systems as being powered by the same mechanism. I could have included BART which is powered by electricity, but decided not to go there even though the system is 25+ years old 

[46 woodie]

One of my pet peeve's is overhead electric lines and overloaded telephone poles. In my city everywhere you look you see dozens of unsightly electric, cable TV, telephone, fiber optic and other assorted cables. Everything should be underground as they have in dozens of cities across America.

[Larry Schramm]

Like this?

 

[60FlatTop]

 

In 1894 Maxim built a tandem tricycle which was purchased by the Pope Manufacturing Co. of Hartford, Connecticut. He was engaged by them to develop it, and two years later introduced the Columbia electric motor carriage, the first practical electric automobile, with a speed of 12 miles an hour.

 

When Connecticut was the center of automotive development Hiram Percy Maxim was right in the middle of it.

 

Great book:

 

If General Motors hadn't provided the matches to burn mass transit there probably wouldn't be electric vehicles today. Like traveling in Europe.

 

 

[Larry Schramm]

Diesel buses became more popular than electric trolley systems because of the flexibility of changing the route(s) and needs and population shifted in the cities. 

 

No different that the reason gas won over electric vehicles 100+ years ago.  Just competition.

[46 woodie]

Larry, That's what some areas look like, really bugs me. I was talking to one of the linemen one day and he said a lot of the wires are obsolete but companies just leave them up in place and let some other utility deal with it.

[JACK M]

This happens to be in Viet Nam.

[rocketraider]

From a time when overhead cables and transmission towers were considered a sign of progress. Big high-voltage towers silhouetted against a sunset is still an awe-inspiring view. 

 

Some of the infrastructure here around the house is at least 75 years old. Installed when electricity first came to this very rural area. I'd love to see it all changed to underground service but it's hard enough getting rotten light poles replaced.

[TAKerry]

Most of the outliers in my area are underground. Still have poles on the main roads. They put very large transmission towers across my grandfathers farm in the late 60's early 70's. For the time period he was paid hansomely for the right away. I was too young to know anything about it but he and my grandmother could not reach a common decision on what to do with the money. It was put away until she passed away at which time he promptly built a new silo.