From its zenith, electric transit systems were built across the state at breakneck
speed, connecting towns, villages and that were isolated from each other. Beginning in 1884,
entrepreneurs, local citizens and bankers invested to build the best electric railway system in the
United States. The Rise and Fall of these systems was remarkable and changed social norms and
habits. It provided entertainment leisure time and changed the work culture. This book addresses
the entire state interurban system chronologically, and indexes all company names.
Interurban companies augmented their business models to include entertainment. They built
amusement parks that ran on the electricity they provided and offered discount rates for patrons to
and from the parks. Now, ridership on week nights and weekends would be filled to capacity as
people flocked to new electric parks for a fun filled day of entertainment. Many of these parks closed
as did the interurban lines. A few remain today in a different business model. This book takes a look
at many of these early ‘Trolley Parks’ that were a part of this illustrious era.
A detailed chronological progression will take the reader on a long journey, showing the
amelioration of each interurban line, when they were incorporated, reconsolidated, sold, and
reorganized over and over until each was finally abandoned, one at a time. Each branch had a
different name and when reorganization took place that name changed. The reader will be
challenged to keep-up with all of the name and date changes. These companies created stunts to
increase ridership. For example, President A. E. Akins of the Western Ohio Railway Company drove
a ‘Golden Spike into the last rail on the Findlay-Lima extension on December 30, 1905.
This completed what became known as the Green Line. Another was a race between a Cincinnati &
Lake Erie Red Devil car and a biplane.
The author has a plethora of evidence as to why these interurban and trolley lines across the
country went out of business. Beginning with ‘National City Lines a company created as a front
for General Motors, Standard Oil, Firestone, Mack Truck, Phillips Petroleum and others. The
General Motors conspiracy court trail of 1949, and the 1974 reexamining by the U. S. Senate
Judiciary Committee will be discussed as well as all of the cities in Ohio that had electric rail
systems removed by this scheme. In addition, Henry Ford and Thomas electric car will be
introduced.
Exclusive photographs are provided throughout the text to illuminate each company. A photo
chapter will enrich the readers understanding of interurban car styles over the decades.
In addition, detailed maps are provided showing the various branch locations around Ohio
over the decades. From the genesis, this fascinating story will give the reader an in-depth
understanding of interurban travel in Ohio over its 50 year history.
