Mark Hildebrant and Martha Churchill 128 pages softcover
Electric
streetcars and interurbans appeared in Washtenaw County in the 1890s.
Evolved from horse-drawn streetcars, electric cars were ideal for public
transportation. They were cheap, fast, and went to plenty of places.
The system developed around Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, branching out to
Detroit to the east and Jackson to the west. Bigger and better equipment
was added, and larger companies took over the small ones. In western
Washtenaw County, two interurban railways engaged in a struggle for
survival. Occasionally the interurbans crashed into buildings or one
another, with disastrous results. Electric Trolleys of Washtenaw County
explains how electric mass transportation flourished starting in the
1890s, why it bloomed, and why it suddenly became extinct after only a
few decades.
