Trolley Cars
West Orange, NJ, USA
Trolley cars were simply electric trains that ran down the center of the road in most large towns. They were one car about the size of a large bus, they could hold probably 45 people maybe 50 people. They had wooden seats most of them, at least the ones I rode. They looked like a bus, but were square because they had two controls, front and rear. They were on trolley tracks and were connected to the over-head electric by a electrical connector in a moveable arm. When ever the trolley had to reverse the conductor would get out and with a insulated pole disconnect the front cable and connect the rear one. He would then take the fare box and move it to the "back" of the trolley and drive from the rear controls They also did this when they switched from one over-head wire to another. In the summer time they ran open air cars, We took these cars to Olympic Park. Grandma and the whole family would go, taking picnic hampers filled with good food and spending the whole day at the park having a great time. The trolleys were around for many years but after the war too many cars and buses were clogging the streets. On account of gas rationing and no new car production the trolley was a major part of the transportation system throughout the war. But afterwards after more cars were made available and more people were driving cars. It was dangerous getting on the trolleys because they loaded and discharged their passengers in the center of the road and too many people were getting hit by cars. They tried a trolley that could swing to the curb and then bus trolleys but soon most of the big cities, except a few like Philly, which still has trolleys, stopped running them switching to subways and buses instead. So now the only trolleys one sees are the ones on wheels that can be hired for tours and wedding, etc. It took years, though, for the towns to get rid of the tracks, if they ever did, and most just paved over them. They resurface briefly every few years when the road is repaved.
----- Betty Justin
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