American Ground
Transport*
Page
2
Steam railroads provided
frequent service between urban centers and branch lines carried passengers
and freight to the remotest comers of the country. Barely a dozen years
earlier, Frank Sprague’s first successful trolley installation in
Richmond, Va., heralded a new era of electric transportation for our
cities and towns.
But even as electric
transit technology evolved and overspread the nation, the infant auto
industry was producing the antique ancestors of the vehicle that was to
indelibly alter, and, many would say, ruin, the American style of
living.
The electric railway industry
grew rapidly and peaked early. During the era preceding World War I
changes in the physical structure of the industry mainly took the form of
adjustments. New service was instituted for new markets, as trimming of
marginal lines marked areas where promoters’ ambitions exceeded patronage
potential.
After the “World War” a new
and disturbing element made itself felt in the urban picture as the
introduction of advanced assembly techniques began to turn a rich man’s
toy into a transportation alternative for many amidst the prosperity of
the '20s.
Trolleys and autos got in each
other’s way as they fought for the same street space and a contemporary
observer might not have believed which mode would eventually
prevail.
As auto development and
marketing progressed, the street railway industry didn’t stagnate.
Differing approaches to transit needs produced a variety of ideas and
inventions, but it was not until 1936 that the efforts of the Presidents’
Conference Committee (PCC) produced the fist batch of 100 modern
streetcars, which represented the greatest single advance ever made in
electric rail transportation. More than a mere cosmetic facelift of old
equipment, or a series of minor improvements in previous technology, the
PCC car set a new standard of comfort, performance and patron acceptance
through technical innovations still used in the design and manufacture of
rapid transit and light railway equipment throughout the
world.
Yet, just 20 years after
that huge forward step, the street railway had all but disappeared from
the American scene. Why?
A casual
observer might well ask whether that question has more than historical
significance in today’s auto-dominated world. His answer would be a
definite yes. We have reached a crossroads in national transportation
policy, where our future way of life may well depend upon decisions which
may be better understood in the context of recent transit
history.
Against this background,
American Ground Transport, a new report prepared by Bradford C. Snell and
financed by the Stern Fund of New York, ties together many of the loose
ends of years of transportation transition to present a picture of public
policy goals influenced by private business considerations. The report was
submitted in February [1974] to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust
and Monopoly of the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. Snell is presently
assistant counsel to the sub-committee, which is chaired by Sen. Philip A.
Hart of Michigan.
“This is a study of the social consequences of monopoly,” the
report begins. What follows reveals, among other things. the anatomy of
changes which altered the American landscape.
Continued on page 3
Copyright © 1974 by Third Rail Press, © 1999 by The Composing Stack
Inc.
Reprinted by permission. Not responsible for
typographical errors.
*Quotations in this article are taken from “AMERICAN GROUND TRANSPORT,
A Proposal for Restructuring the Automobile, Truck, Bus, and Rail
Industries,” © 1973 by Bradford C. Snell. Excerpts used by permission of
the author.
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