interurban

, which survived long in the interurban business An interurban or radial railway is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term interurban is usually used in North America, with other terms used outside it. They were very prevalent in many parts of the world before the Second World War and were used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities. Interurban as a term encompassed the companies, their infrastructure, their cars that ran on the rails, and their service. In the United States, the early 1900s interurban was a valuable economic institution when most roads between towns, many town streets were unpaved, and transportation and haulage was by horse-drawn carriages and carts. The interurban provided reliable transportation, particularly in winter weather, between towns and countryside. In 1915, of interurban railways were operating in the United States and, for a few years, interurban railways, including the numerous manufacturers of cars and equipment, were the fifth-largest industry in the country. With the widespread use of automobiles, most interurbans in North America had stopped operating by 1930. A few survived into the 1950s.…

, which survived long in the interurban business An interurban or radial railway is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term interurban is usually used in North America, with other terms used outside it. They were very prevalent in many parts of the world before the Second World War and were used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities. Interurban as a term encompassed the companies, their infrastructure, their cars that ran on the rails, and their service. In the United States, the early 1900s interurban was a valuable economic institution when most roads between towns, many town streets were unpaved, and transportation and haulage was by horse-drawn carriages and carts. The interurban provided reliable transportation, particularly in winter weather, between towns and countryside. In 1915, of interurban railways were operating in the United States and, for a few years, interurban railways, including the numerous manufacturers of cars and equipment, were the fifth-largest industry in the country. With the widespread use of automobiles, most interurbans in North America had stopped operating by 1930. A few survived into the 1950s. , The Belgian Coast Tram, is a European interurban tramway. in Switzerland Outside of the US, other countries built large networks of high-speed electric tramways that survive today. Notable systems exist in the Low Countries, Poland, and Japan, where populations are densely packed around large conurbations such as the Randstad, Upper Silesia, Greater Tokyo Area, and Keihanshin. Switzerland, particularly, has a large network of mountain narrow-gauge interurban lines. In addition, since the early 21st century many tram-train lines are being built, especially in France and Germany but also elsewhere in the world. These can be regarded as interurbans since they run on the streets, like trams, when in cities, while out of them they either share existing railway lines or use lines that were abandoned by the railway companies. is a Japanese interurban.

History

Austria

The Badner Bahn operates a classic interurban passenger service between Vienna and Baden bei Wien, in addition to some freight services. Some interurban lines survive today as local railways in Upper Austria such as the Linzer Lokalbahn, Lokalbahn Vöcklamarkt–Attersee, and Lokalbahn Lambach–Vorchdorf-Eggenberg. The Stubaitalbahn and Traunseebahn, originally built as conventional narrow-gauge railways, were converted to interurban operation more recently when they were connected to adjacent city tram systems.

Germany

In Germany various networks have continued to operate. Karlsruhe revitalized the interurban concept into the Karlsruhe model by renovating two local railways Alb Valley Railway, which already had interoperability with local tram trackage, and the Hardt Railway. Other examples include: Interurban tram routes serving Mannheim, Heidelberg, Weinheim (Route 5), and Bad Dürkheim (Route 4) as part of the Mannheim/Ludwigshafen Tram System. Various interurbans upgraded as part of the Rhine-Ruhr Stadtbahn system such as Düsseldorf to Krefeld (U76), and Duisburg (U79), Bochum/Gelsenkirchen (Route 302), Mülheim to Essen, and Essen to Gelsenkirchen (Route 107). interurban route between Cologne to Bonn (Route 16) interurban route between Dresden, Radebeul, Coswig, and Weinböhla (Route 4) as part of the Dresden Tram System

Poland

A large interurban network called the Silesian Interurbans still exists today connecting the urban areas of the Upper Silesia. It is one of the largest interurban networks in Europe. In Łódź region, an interurban tram system connects Łódź, Pabianice, Zgierz and Konstantynów Łódzki, and formerly also Ozorków, Lutomiersk, Aleksandrów Łódzki, Rzgów and Tuszyn.

Infrastructure and design

Trackage

Compared to conventional steam railroad trackage, interurban rail was light and ballasted lightly, if at all. Most interurbans in North America were built to standard gauge ( ), but there were exceptions. In Europe narrow-gauge interurbans were more common. In Japan the national mainlines were built to narrow gauge however due to influence from for US interurban operations the first interurban companies in Japan built trackage to standard gauge. This remains the case today with Keikyu and Hanshin, forerunners of Japan's interurbans, still using standard gauge today. Later companies regauged or outright built lines to narrow gauge for better interoperability and consistency with the Japanese mainline standards. Interurbans often used the tracks of existing street railways through city and town streets, and if these street railways were not built to standard, the interurbans had to use the non-standard gauges as well or face the expense of building their own separate trackage through urban areas. Some municipalities deliberately mandated non-standard gauges to prevent freight operations on public streets. In Pennsylvania, many interurbans were constructed using the wide "Pennsylvania trolley gauge" of . In Los Angeles, the Pacific Electric Railway, using standard gauge track, and the Los Angeles Railway, the city's streetcar system, using narrow gauge, shared dual-gauge track in downtown Los Angeles with one rail common to each.

Trains and equipment

Preservation

Numerous museums, heritage railways and societies have preserved equipment. Notable examples include: California State Railroad Museum Connecticut Trolley Museum East Troy Electric Railroad Museum Electric City Trolley Museum Fox River Trolley Museum Fraser Valley Historical Railway Society Halton County Radial Railway Illinois Railway Museum National Museum of Transportation Orange Empire Railway Museum Oregon Electric Railway Museum Pennsylvania Trolley Museum Rockhill Trolley Museum Seashore Trolley Museum Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum Shore Line Trolley Museum Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway Western Railway Museum

See also

List of interurban railways in North America Streetcar suburb Rapid transit Interurban Press Light rail, a contemporary successor to interurbans Tram-train, a similar concept with streetcars sharing mainline intercity tracks for interurban sections Elektrichka, a similar system in Russia and post-Soviet states

References

Bibliography

Originally published in Black Mask. March 1936.

Further reading

External links

Central Electric Railfans Association Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society East Penn Traction Association fi:Kiskobussi

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377707864 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.