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Why streetcars nearly vanished...
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One big problem with the original developers / operators of the trolley lines is that they pretty much failed to modernize either their infrastructure or their car fleet. That accounts for both the deteriorating ride and the ancient look of most streetcars (with the possible exception of major cities that converted over to the more streamlined PCC cars. <br /> <br />They also had to compete with the advnet of better roads and more and better automobiles. The irony is that most cities would pay dearly to have some or all of these lines back, because highway congestion has literally choked off the so-called "freedom of the open road" (unless you live well beyond the suburbs). <br /> <br />In Columbus, Ohio (for instance) part of the planned light rail system would run on the former ROW of the Columbus-Delaware & Marion Interurban line. This was part of an interurban system which, in its heyday, could carry you to any part of the state ... even places the railroads didn't go. They had intermodal connections with local streetcar systems, which (in turn) made connections at most of the local train stations. <br /> <br />Now we find ourselves pursuing a return to that intermodalism, with the notable addtion of making connections at major airport. <br /> <br />The more things change....
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