Scott Molloy
All Aboard: The History of Mass Transportation in Rhode Island covers
the period from the Civil War to the creation of the Rhode Island Public
Transit Authority (RIPTA). Each of the seven chapters examines a
particular form of travel and its impact on the people and surrounding
area. From the horse-drawn omnibus, horse car, and cable tramway to the
rumbling buses of modern times, this book welcomes readers to explore
various types of bygone transport. As well as a cornucopia of
transportation street images, the book reproduces documents, badges, and
tokens to provide a comprehensive glimpse of yesteryear; it includes
little known facts and stories of life on the road. Learn how the horse
car beat out the old-fashioned omnibus to dominate city streets during
the Gilded Age, and how the electric streetcar quickly replaced the
horse car by the 1890s. Discover the joy that grandparents experienced
taking an open bloomer car to Rocky Point or Roger Williams Park. See
the rubber-tired, trackless trolleys that ran on electric current from
overhead wires. Explore the action of the 1902 railway strike in
Providence and Pawtucket that led to the mobilization of the state
militia.
