I have lived in Washington, D.C. since 1974 and never knew the old street cars. Street car service had ended by January 28, 1962, well before my time. Still, I remember the street cars in my native city of Milwaukee which operated until March 2, 1958. I loved the street cars when I was young, and my affection has continued with the years. With Washington, D.C. as my home, I gradually became interested in the city's local history and in its street cars.
Kenneth Springirth's book, "Street Cars of Washington, D.C" (2016) offers a photographic history of Washington, D.C.'s street cars through 1962 and then picking up with the new "D.C. Streetcar" which, after many delays and cost overruns began operation on Benning Road in Northeast D.C. on February 27, 2016. The book also covers the unique National Capital Trolley Museum in nearby Silver Spring, Maryland. Springirth has a lifelong interest in streetcars and trolleys and is the author of more than 30 books.
The D.C. Street Car system was unique in many ways. As Springirth explains, Congress passed a law forbidding the use of overhead wire operation in the downtown area. Thus, in the downtown, the streetcars operated on a conduit system, drawing power from an underground rail. When the cars entered downtown, trolley poles were taken down and a "plow" underneath the car was attached to the conduit for operation. The system was expensive and sometimes dangerous, particularly in bad weather.
The opening chapters of the book offer a succinct discussion of the history of rail transit development in the nation's capital and of the many companies involved in the early years. Springirth discusses the different kinds of cars used on the system which culminated in the President Conference Fleet (PCC) cars used in the systems final years. Eventually, the entire fleet consisted of these modern cars, and Washington, D.C. was the only city where the cars were designed for conduit operation.
Most of the book consists of an exploration of the various street car lines serving D.C. Each chapter takes a particular line and gives its route, its history, when service was discontinued, and information on ridership. The largest part of each chapter consists of photographs of the street cars. Most of the photos date from the 1940s through the early 1960s. Many photographs are in color and show the characteristic green color scheme of the PCC cars in the latter years. The photos are annotated with information about the cars shown and about the location.
I found these photographs moving and they made me feel nostalgic for a city and a mode of transportation that I had never in fact seen when it was operational. I enjoyed looking at the street cars, of course, but also enjoyed seeing the people, the old automobiles, and the streets on D.C. of many years ago. I liked seeing photographs of the street cars at places I have come to know well, including Georgia Avenue, with its old car barn at the terminal end of the line, Capital Street, downtown D.C. Cabin John Park, Thomas Circle, the 14th Street Corridor, Cabin John, Glen Echo Park, Mount Rainier in Prince Georges County, Takoma, Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E., the Department of the Interior Building at 18th and C, and much more. I thought about the places as they were and as they are now and of the experiences I have had in D.C. over many years. I could imagine the city as at was and as I know it through the book, think about the street cars, and about my life in the city.
Many people love the old street cars. (As I wrote this review at a computer in a D.C. public library, another patron came up and took information so that he could purchase the book.) They capture an urban life of a different place and time. Readers with a fascination for street cars and an interest in Washington, D.C. will love this book. For readers wanting to pursue D.C. street cars further, another book, "Capital Streetcars" by John DeFerrari Capital Streetcars: (General History) published at about the same time includes fewer photographs but a more detailed written history of the Washington, D.C. street car system.
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