The story of electric rail transportation in Schenectady
mirrors the development of urban transportation throughout America in
many ways, but it also has its own peculiar local characteristics. Most
notably, Schenectady had some of the finest amenities for street railway
passengers in the nation, including a Beaux-Arts waiting room with
45-foot-tall ceilings, the longest trolley bridge in the world, and
Bullet cars capable of traveling at 90 mph. These amenities helped make
Schenectady the hub of a regional interurban trolley network, with
hourly service or better to the region's other urban centers. With two
major factory complexes employing a significant percentage of the city's
population, Schenectady also had some of the most concentrated rush
hour traffic found anywhere.
This book focuses on the chronology and location of the streetcar and
interurban routes partially or wholly in Schenectady. It is hoped that
this book can also provide the reader with a brief overview of the
geographic development of the City That Lights and Hauls the World. Much
of this development took place in tandem with the growth of the street
railway system.
