Trains.com

New York City Battery Powered Streetcars in the 1900s?

3774 views
6 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Toronto, Canada
  • 2,560 posts
Posted by 54light15 on Saturday, August 12, 2017 6:13 PM

Speaking of battery powered streetcars, I was just in Detroit and had a look at the new Woodward avenue streetcar. It must run on batteries as the catenary is only in sections and then the car runs without catenary. Interesting.

What's also interesting is how Detroit is turning around. There's new construction, renovations and such happening everywhere downtown. If only they'd renovate the Packard plant on East Grand Boulevard and start building Packards again.  

  • Member since
    June 2002
  • 20,096 posts
Posted by daveklepper on Monday, August 7, 2017 5:22 AM

[quote user="CandOforprogress2"]

Dave Klepper can you explain what the Settlement Contrversy is in Israel what are "settlements" to a low infomation american?

 

[/quote above]

Settlements were originally intended to mean any settlements, the original collective farms and shared owner-farms started by Jewish agricultural pioneers in the Holy Land in the 1860's, but since the Six-Day War of 1967, the term has been narrowed to the post-1967 settlements in areas occupied by Jordan 1948-1967, primarily in areas where Jews lived before 1948.  Illegal settlements, where the Israeli government has not authorized Jews to live are called "outposts," and are occasion evacuated by the Israeli police.

There were also settlements in Gaza that were so evacuated, under P.M. Sharon, leading to the Hamas takeover.  I had supported Sharon's move.  More comment would get into politics, and is best reserved for personal discussion via my email address daveklepper@yahoo.com.

But to return to something like battery cars, here is something from the Friday Jerusalem Post Magazine section:

A pdf is available by return email attachment at daveklepper@yahoo.com

  • Member since
    March 2016
  • 1,568 posts
Posted by CandOforprogress2 on Sunday, February 5, 2017 1:22 AM

Dave Klepper can you explain what the Settlement Contrversy is in Israel what are "settlements" to a low infomation american?

 

 

  • Member since
    June 2002
  • 20,096 posts
Posted by daveklepper on Sunday, February 5, 2017 12:34 AM

My Jereusalem apartment is being thoroughly renovated, and access to my files is difficiult.   But you can write

;Elec. Railroaders' Assoc.,  P. O. Box 3323, Grand Cen. Sta

New York, NY 10163-3323,

Ask for the  Bulletdin on the Third Avenue Ry batttery cars

Send a two-dollar check, five if you feel generous.

  • Member since
    March 2016
  • 1,568 posts
Posted by CandOforprogress2 on Wednesday, February 1, 2017 1:07 PM

Do we have any pictures of these low floor battery streetcars in the early 1900s out there somewhere? What is in the past now is trendy again with low floor lituim ion streetcars in 2017.

  • Member since
    June 2002
  • 20,096 posts
Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 4:22 AM

There were several experiments with battery cars around 1900 before the conduit system of current collection was adopted by Manhattan's streetcar lines.  But after the breakup of the Metropolitan system into component parts, around 1915 Third Avenue bought 50 low-floor battery cars, all single-truck, for its remaining horsecar lines' replacement.   This included the Belt Line, south from the W42nd Street Ferry to South Ferry and then back north to the LIRR E34th Street Ferry.  This line was never replaced by buses but abandoned.  Another was the 110th Street crosstown, which was abandoned in arouned 1928 or 1929, with Fifth Avenue Coach Company running several bus routes on 110 and on St. Nicholus Avenue.   These battery cars were body-extended and rebuilt intothe first of the 1934 home-manufactured lightweight cars, 101-150, condouit cars used originally on Broadway-42nd Street, and when replqced by the double-end Peter-Witt "Huffliners," run primarily on Third and Amsterdam Avenue and 125th STreet, Broadway (Kingsbirdge).  As Manhattan lines were abandoned,they were equipped with poles and replaced the old convertables for the remianing year-and-half of Bronx service, and then some saw service in Yonkers.

  • Member since
    March 2016
  • 1,568 posts
New York City Battery Powered Streetcars in the 1900s?
Posted by CandOforprogress2 on Saturday, January 28, 2017 2:18 PM

I have seen some mention of this in that some of the short routes on the Island where powered by batterys? Gee we think battery power is big today and there is that line in Seattle and Dallas

http://www.geekwire.com/2015/seattles-battery-powered-streetcar-testing-moving-along-set-to-open-this-summer/

 

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy