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Interurbans in North America

United States

In the late 1890s, electrified railed city transportation systems called streetcars, which had been developed by Frank Sprague, expanded rapidly from towns into the countryside and to adjacent towns and were called Interurbans. By 1900, just over 2,100 miles (3,400 km) of track had been laid, and by 1916, at the Interurban peak, over 15,500 miles (24,900 km) were in service. Most of the interurban track that had been laid was located in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana; Ohio and Indiana alone had 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of track. In Michigan and Illinois there was another 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of track which was interconnected. In Texas and in California, thousands of miles of additional track was also laid down by different companies. The first Interurban in Texas was the Denison and Sherman Railway, completed in 1901. In central Virginia, interurban lines connected City Point and Hopewell with Petersburg, and Petersburg with Richmond. Another connected Richmond with Ashland. Between 1900 and the middle 1920s, most rural roads in the United States were unpaved and were primarily traveled by horse-drawn buggies and wagons. In wet weather and in winter, these roads were often impassable. The wheels of wagons could sink axle deep and the horses would struggle to move them. The towns and cities themselves slowly paved their dirt streets, often using brick, and many had electric streetcar lines. Entrepreneurs began to form groups of local investors to build side of road single track trolley lines to connect to these town street car lines. The result was the start of a vast interurban trolley system within the nation. The interurban track was constructed above grade and was usually unaffected by weather, so these country trolley/interurban lines became a reliable source of travel for people and for moving farm and dairy products to town.

Passengers were often picked up in the middle of the street. Freight and express equipment, frequently running in multiple-car trains, would operate in these streets which became an increasing issue with town administrations who were unhappy about blocked traffic, noise, and growing damage to streets. In open country, the right-of-way often tightly paralleled a road or highway on one side, sometimes jogging to the opposite side. The track closely adjacent to auto road traffic, sometimes coming in the facing direction, required for safety that the speed of an interrban get not much over 45 miles per hour There was always the danger of hitting autos suddenly crossing the tracks just ahead of the oncoming interurban. As these parallel roads were paved and improved there were more autos using them, leading to more interurban-car or interurban-truck collisions. These new 1900–1905 interurban lines were expensive to build and often more expensive to maintain than expected. In the enthusiasm that often comes with wanting to start a new business and wanting to attract investors, enterprise startup costs were often underestimated and operating revenues overestimated. The initial stock offering would be followed by another then another to raise more capital, and possibly dividends were never paid on this stock. Rolling stock, right-of-way, and the very complicated electrical system to operate the trolleys were big initial costs and expensive to maintain. Sometimes coal-fired power houses had to be constructed by the Interurban, but one advantage to this might be a profit from selling excess power to surrounding communities who, in the early 20th century, might have no electricity available prior to that time. A bridge could be a big surprise, where the cost of one might dramatically exceed budget due to unexpected geological problems, and then later if there was a washout. Floods were a big problem to Interurbans in the Mid West. Passenger cars, freight motors, trolley wire maintenance equipment, snow sweepers, trolley, signals (if any), buildings for depots, repair "shops,' a coach yard: all had to be provided and all were expensive. Property taxes were levied, often resulting in the Interurban subsidizing road construction. Improved roads and automobiles and trucks on those roads became the demise of many interurbans. Franchise agreements with the various towns had to be obtained and maintained, and not all towns were cooperative. Maintenance was a continuing large expense, particularly if the rolling stock or track suffered from weather or from accidents. A classic photograph in the Belvedere, Illinois archives shows at a rural location a large arch-window interurban coach on its side and crosswise to the track due to derailment from just hitting a cow, apparently a very large cow. The result was that many interurban companies were in financial distress almost from inception and definitely by the 1920s. Many went bankrupt and were financially court ordered "reorganized" in bankruptcy again and again, and then might be combined with neighboring weak interurban lines in the hope that some operating efficiency could be provided, but it often wasn't. Around 1924, serious automobile competition had developed as states and counties began to pave their highways. The result was that five years before the United States began the Great Depression, many interurban lines were gone.

As discussed above, in the early 20th century, interurban transportation became very popular in both rural areas and cities. Electric cars offered greater acceleration and lower fares with a higher frequency of operation and more stops than mainline steam. After 1910, the popularity of the automobile began to diminish interurban ridership, and during the 1920s, many interurban systems were declared bankrupt. Many were also bought out in the so-called Great American Streetcar Scandal and deliberately destroyed. As a result of this shift in transportation methods, the small and unprofitable lines were discontinued. By the 1930s, most of the interurbans had disappeared, although some of their rail lines were taken over for the use of freight drawn by steam engines or continued using electric locomotives (known as juice jacks) such as the Illinois Terminal Railroad which had been the former Illinois Traction System. Most were replaced with buses. By the 1960s, very few lines remained; the Pacific Electric Railway in California final line was abandoned in 1961, and the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad near Chicago in 1963.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin had, at the turn of the 20th century, one of the largest networks of Interurban and Streetcar systems in the United States. With one of the earliest, from the 1880s, being the Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company, reaching as far north as Sheboygan, Wisconsin, as far west as Watertown, East Troy, and Burlington, also reaching to Kenosha in the south. Dominating the transportation in Milwaukee, before good roads, but by 1939 the Great Depression had started to take its toll on the Interurban system, when they had to close their lines to East Troy and Burlington. The track from East Troy to Mukwonago, was bought by the city and is still in operation as the East Troy Electric Railroad. Another large and notable system Wisconsin hosted was the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad which operated the last commercial interurban line in Wisconsin when it was abandoned on January 21, 1963. It was the fastest Interurban featuring the Electroliner, an EMU, which reached operating speeds of 100 mph between Milwaukee and Chicago. This road also operated a successful freight service and was the first railroad to use the piggy back system. Ironically, while the line was facing abandonment, Japanese engineers came to study the line while planning their high speed Bullet Trains.

Indiana

On pages 10–11 of William Middleton's excellent book The Interurban Era is a photograph of a Union Traction of Indiana classic wood interurban car in rural Indiana closing at speed on the photographer in an almost head-on shot. Better than words, this large two-page photo defines what the 1900–1920 interurban was by showing the interurban car, track, overhead trolley wire, a small wayside station, a semophore signal, and the cornfields beyond. A recent Indiana newspaper article regarding the state's former interurban network said the following: "Between 1900 and the mid-1930s, the best way to get from city to city in Indiana and much of the rest of the U.S. was the "interurban" rail car. Interurbans were like a city streetcar, but they traveled from city to city along dedicated track – single-car electric trains powered by electricity and tethered to power lines running just above the track. They first appeared around 1900 and grew rapidly. Indianapolis was the hub of all the interurban lines in the state and the Indianapolis Traction Terminal station was the largest of its kind in the nation – in fact it was the largest in the world. Competing with the heavier steam trains that came through Indianapolis Union Station, the interurbans ran trips all day long, almost hourly, and were a very reliable form of transportation from one city downtown to the next, and the city streetcars could take you from there." Indiana had some of the busiest interurban lines in the country. With 1,825 miles, Indiana ranked only slightly behind Ohio in interurban mileage. Indiana, like Ohio, saw interurbans rapidly develop throughout the 1900–1915 years and serve nearly every major city and town of significant size. Indianapolis with its extensive 1920s interurban network had an exceptionally busy downtown Indianapolis Traction Terminal with hourly departures and arrivals of the five interurban companies serving Indianapolis. The terminal had a trainshed roof covering nine passenger loading platforms and tracks. Seven routes radiated from Indianapolis like spokes on a wheel, and they were serious competition to the steam railroads in the area. Union Traction was a very efficient well constructed system that ran north on two main lines towatd Ft. Wayne, one to Peru, and one to Muncie. It was the largest line in the state (until it became part of the Indiana Railroad in 1930) with a system that extended over 400 miles and connected at Muncie and Peru with the Ft. Wayne based Indiana Public Service Corporation; the 400 mile "Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Eastern" ran west to Terre Haute and east to Richmond where it connected to an interurban from Dayton(the Dayton and Western) and also operated other lines northwest from Indianapolis. Interstate Public Service (known simply as "Interstate") ran south to Louisville, Ky, and even briefly provided overnight sleeper service between Indianapolis and Louisville. the AC voltage powered "Indianapolis and Cincinnati" later the "Indianapolis and Southeastern" ran southeast to Greensburg but never reached Cincinnati. Many used heavy large steel interurban cars and combines and, in some cases, had contracts to carry U.S. mail. Both the Interstate and Union Traction operated heavy steel interurbans and trailers equivalent to that of steam railroads with parlor cars and buffets. The Interstate's former sleeper cars as of year 2008 are operating on a railroad in Canada. In 1930, these four lines plus Indiana Public Service and Northern Indiana Public Service centered at Ft. Wayne were combined to become the modernized Indiana Railroad in 1930 where considerable money was invested to purchase new equipment and upgrade track. The Indiana Railroad survived to 1941 by carrying considerable freight which it interchanged with the busy Ohio lines. For more information, see the Misplaced Pages sites for each interurban line, for the Indiana Railroad, and for the Cincinnati and Lake Erie. What is described as the "worst wreck in Interurban history" occurred at Kingsland, Indiana, on the line that preceded Union Traction. Two passenger cars hit head on and 43 people were killed. Unfortunately, the state was also plagued with several small, disconnected systems that were not able to sustain long-term success and were abandoned by the 1920s, also true with the Ohio lines. The peak of heavy interurban car construction in the United States in terms of size and weight were Indiana Public Service's steel combines #375-378 built by St. Louis Car in 1926. One is pictured on pages 155 and 159 of Middleton's Interurban Era. Interurbans constructed after 1926 emphasized lighter weight and improved power efficiency and passenger comfort, particularly in 1929–39 with the construction of Indiana Railroad's high speed lightweights. In northern Indiana, the Chicago, South Shore & South Bend Railroad ran from Chicago east into northwestern Indiana along the lake to South Bend.

Ohio

Ohio, with flat terrain, a relatively dense population, and small agricultural communities scattered between and among many larger industrial cities, was an ideal place to build interurban railways. Dayton, Toledo, Columbus, Lima, and Cleveland were hubs. Dayton had lines radiating south to Cincinnati, north to Toledo, east to Columbus and west into Indiana with its complex of interurban lines. Toledo was served by 11 interurban companies and had frequent service to local towns Monroe, Blissfield, Metamora, Wauseon, Waterville, Bowling Green, Fostoria, Oak Harbor, Genoa, and other nearby towns plus more distant cities like Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton. Lima had lines running to Toledo, Springfield, and Ft. Wayne. Columbus had lines radiating to Cleveland and to Springfield. For a brief time, the interurban industry was the fifth largest employer in the country, and it employed many in Ohio. Ohio was a large industrial state, and in the 1930s when Ohio interurbans guaranteed 5 pm to 8 am overnight freight delivery to Cleveland from Cincinnati via Toledo, the volume of freight passing through Toledo exceeded 10,000,000 pounds one year, which is approximately 13 tons per day.

Pennsylvania

Conestoga Traction, later Conestoga Transportation Company, was a classic country interurban that operated seven routes radiating spoke-like from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to numerous neighboring towns and farm villages. It ran side-of-road trolleys through Amish farm country east to Coatesville and Strasburg/Quarryville, Pequea, Columbia/Marietta, Elizabethtown, north to Manheim/Lititz, and north east to Ephrata/Adamstown/Terre Hill. CT also transported farm freight, such as milk and produce, in its little cars. With a connection with neighboring Hershey Transit interurban, CT shipped Amish farm milk to the Hershey Company for use in chocolate production. A trolley connection at Coatesville and then at West Chester could provide a rider a trip from Lancaster to Philadelphia. line tripper to West Chester where it connected to Conestoga Traction.</ref> The CT was much more of a rural streetcar interurban in that its equipment was small city style streetcars running through the countryside compared to steam railroad style 60-foot long 50 ton interurbans operating in Indiana. A popular national newspaper cartoon strip was the "Toonerville Folks." It began in 1908 and ran to 1955. Central to the strip was a bouncy little trolley called the "Toonerville Trolley That Met All The Trains," operated by a grizzled old conductor and his silly motorman. The strip was modeled after Conestoga Traction and similar rural interurban trolley lines in Pennsylvania. West Penn Railways operated a very extensive rural trolley system throughout the coal country southeast of Pittsburgh centered around McKeesport-Greensburg-Connellsville-Uniontown until 1955. Lehigh Valley Transit operated a true legacy Pennsylvania interurban which wandered through village streets, ran side of road, over hill and dale from Philadelphia's 69th Street terminal to Allentown through Lansdale and Souderton, approximately 53 miles, until 1951. For more information, see the Misplaced Pages sites for Conestoga Traction Company, West Penn Railways, Lehigh Valley Transit, plus the Misplaced Pages site for "Toonerville Folks." (ref, Misplaced Pages LVT)
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area had several interurbans. The most travelled was the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley, commonly referred to as the Laurel Line, ran about 20 miles, connecting passengers to the cities of Scranton, Pittston and Wilkes-Barre from 1903 to 1952. The Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton ran for 30 miles between its namesake cities. Finally, the Scranton, Montrose and Binghamton Railroad, commonly referred to as the Northern Electric, was used primarily in the northern suburbs of Scranton from 1906 through 1932.

Illinois

Chicago had three major interurbans: The Chicago, North Shore, and Milwaukee; the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin (third rail); and the Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend. All had early 1900s interurban origins. In later years, the North Shore and the "Roaring" Elgin operated into downtown on Chicago's elevated system. The South Shore operated from South Bend (Notre Dame University) into downtown Chicago on the tracks of the electricfied tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad. All three became rush hour commuter railroads and were weak financially. The CA&E abandoned in 1955; the North Shore in 1963; and the South Shore still runs and moves freight. For more information, see the Misplaced Pages site for line.

Iowa

Although not concentrated around one city or in one area, Iowa had a number of very active interurban lines. Some had a substantial freight business, particularly the Waterloo, Cedar Falls, and Northern which owned six electric locomotive "juice jacks." The 147 mile long Ft.Dodge, Des Moines, and Southern was active freight and passenger operator and owned a very impressive tall 800 ft long steel bridge spanning a valley south of Des Moines. It ran passenger service until 1956 and continued to move considerable freight. The smaller Cedar Rapids and Iowa City operated second hand Cincinnati and Lake Erie "Red Devils" between the university town and Cedar Rapids. The short Mason City and Clear Lake moves considerable revenue freight today as the Iowa Electric using a roster of well-maintained, near ninety-year-old Westinghouse bright yellow "juice jacks." The also very short Charles City Western ran between Charles City and Marble Rock and still has an operating interurban coach at Charles City for an occasional excursion. Charles City's primary revenue business was freight with its connecting steam railroads.

California

California had a large number of interurban lines, particularly in the Los Angeles area, and it had a 185 mile line in the San Francisco area, the Sacramento Northern, a railfan favorite because it featured a trolley wire equipped railroad car ferry to cross an arm of Suisan Bay and a long tunnel. The Pacific Electric Railway ran interurban trains to many points outside Los Angeles through what was then mostly orange groves and farms. Possibly the longest line was to San Bernardino, fifty miles distant, and it competed directly with the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe railroads for passengers. Other lines radiated from Los Angeles to Pasadena, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Manhattan-Hermosa-Redondo Beaches, Monrovia, Riverside, and Redlands. Operating over 1000 miles of track, the Pacific Electric was the most expansive interurban in the United States. The Sacramento Northern from San Francisco through Sacramento to Chico was 185 miles in length plus had a branch to Oroville east of Yuba City and a branch to Woodland west of Sacramento. It entered the Bay area through a half mile long single track tunnel in the Oakland Hills. SN four and five car passenger trains ran until 1940 and continued with freight operation using "juice jacks" electric locomotives into the 1960s. It and cousins Tidewater Southern and the Central California Traction had been subsidiaries of the Western Pacific Railroad since 1926. The Sacramento Northern had a remarkable one mile long bridge collapse when a freight train of steel plate was too heavy for the structure.

image = 654 on Plumas - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg image_size = 300px image_caption = A GE Steeplecab street-running in Yuba City, California in 1964

Utah

Although low in population density, Utah had an active electric interurban network that survived into the 1950s. One could ride from Preston, Idaho, through Logan, Ogden, and Salt Lake City, to Provo, Utah (151 miles) on three lines. The Utah-Idaho Central ran south from Preston to Ogden. The Bamberger (named after its founder) ran from Ogden to Salt Lake City on a double tracked line using unusual high speed "bullet" cars purchased second hand from the Fonda, Johnstown, and Gloversville interurban in upstate New York. The Salt Lake and Utah ran from Salt Lake City to Provo. All three lines operated modern interurbans cars on substantial roadbeds, plus the Bamberger had an active freight business and used Westinghouse freight locomotives pulling standard railroad sized freight cars from its interchange with the Western Pacific and the Union Pacific. . A fourth line, the Salt Lake, Garfield, and Western went straight west from Salt Lake City to a resort and amusement center at the edge of lake Salt Lake.

New York

The Rochester and Buffalo areas had a number of classic heavy wood coach interurban lines that tended to not survive very long after inception. For one thing, they competed with a number of very active steam railroads such as the New York Central and the Nickel Plate Road connecting the same major towns. Another problem that caused them serious expense was fighting the continual heavy winter snows off the Great Lakes. The Jamestown, Westfield, and Northwestern provided an essential link from furniture manufacturing Jamestown to the main line of the New York Central at Westfield. The big red steel electric passenger cars of the JW&NW provided passenger connection service to Jamestown for New York Central passengers, and it also moved considerable freight to Westfield from Jamestown for pick up by the NYC. The JW&NW survived into the 1950s due to its freight business.

Other

Few historic interurban lines are still operated in their original form, although a number of more recently constructed transit lines could be considered interurbans by Hilton and Due's standards above.

The streetcar systems constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries typically only ran in single-car setups. Some rail lines experimented with multiple unit configurations, where streetcars were joined together to make short trains, but this did not become common until later. When lines were built over longer distances (typically with a single track) before good roads were common, they were generally called interurban streetcars in most of North America or radial railways in Ontario. After World War II, seven major North American cities (Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Newark, and New Orleans) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both the old and new systems.

• The South Shore Line running from Millennium Station in Chicago to South Bend, Indiana is the successor of the passenger operations of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, part of Samuel Insull's once-great interurban empire. The line now serves commuters to Chicago from the suburbs of Northwest Indiana. It still includes a street running section in Michigan City, Indiana, but has evolved into many characteristics of a commuter rail operation, including sharing the trackage of the Metra Electric Line (formerly the Illinois Central Railroad) into downtown Chicago.
• The Chicago Transit Authority's Yellow Line, otherwise known as the Skokie Swift, is the southernmost five miles (8 km) of the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee's 1924 high speed Skokie Valley Route. The North Shore was also part of Samuel Insull's interurban empire.
• The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's SEPTA Route 100 (also known as the Norristown High Speed Line) operates over the old Philadelphia and Western Railroad's Norristown, Pennsylvania line. The line has full grade separation, third rail electrification and high platforms, characteristic of rapid transit systems but uses smaller cars with on-board fare collection, like light rail systems.
• In Los Angeles, the LACMTA Blue Line uses much trackage that was the Pacific Electric's route between Los Angeles and Long Beach. There is street trackage at both the Long Beach and Los Angeles ends of the line, and a short subway section at the Los Angeles terminus. Much of the LACMTA Expo Line uses the right of way from the Santa Monica Air Line (Pacific Electric) from Los Angeles to Culver City, and the extension from Culver City to Santa Monica is currently being constructed on the same right of way.
• Although diesel powered, New Jersey Transit's RiverLINE qualifies as an interurban operation; fare collection is a proof-of-payment system. Opened in 2004, the RiverLINE mainly operates over an active frieght line owned by Conrail Shared Assets Operations.
• The Pittsburgh Light Rail system is a direct descendant of the former interurban lines of the Pittsburgh Railways Company. In 1984, the Port Authority of Allegheny County converted two former streetcar lines to the South Hills into a modern Light Rail system. It is the successor system to the streetcar network formerly operated by Pittsburgh Railways. The Red Line (Pittsburgh) operates on its own right of way and also through the streets of the Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Other lines that have some characteristics of an interurban include:

• SEPTA Routes 101 and 102 Media and Sharon Hill lines, operating as light rail service mostly on dedicated rights of way but with some street trackage.
• The Green Line "D" Branch in Boston, a streetcar line on a Boston & Albany Railroad line
• The Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line in Boston, a streetcar line operating on the formereDorchester & Milton Branch Railroad
• The IRT Dyre Avenue Line, a New York City Subway rapid transit line on a section of the former interurban New York, Westchester & Boston Railway
• The Iowa Traction Railroad (former Mason City & Clear Lake Railway) still operates electric freight service.
• Several former interurbans, such as the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway and Central California Traction Company now operate their trackage as diesel locomotive powered freight lines. The Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad also continues to operate freight service along the passenger South Shore Line.
• The new Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey (opened in 2000) operates along a dedicated right-of-way on some stretches, but in Jersey City it runs in the streets.
• San Pedro, California Port of LA Waterfront Red Car Line. A 1.5-mile heritage railway with three interurban streetcars, one original Pacific Electric streetcar and two Pacific Electric streetcar replicas, with four stations.
• Other California former interurbans where portions remain in service as parts of regular freight-hauling railroads include portions of the Sacramento Northern Railway once operated and owned by the Western Pacific Railroad now part of the Union Pacific. The longest surviving portion of the Sacramento Northern is now owned by the Sierra Northern Railroad. Most of the former Tidewater Southern Railway is still operated by Union Pacific. Another California former interurban company, the one-time Central California Traction Company, still operates diesel freight service on its one-time electric line between Stockton and Lodi. This includes street operation in Stockton.

Present-day interurban style street-running freight train operation

• Albany, Georgia Roosevelt Avenue
• Augusta, Georgia 6th Street & Broad Street
• Columbus, Georgia 9th Street & Broadway, 6th Avenue, 2nd Avenue
• Michigan City, Indiana South Shore Line freight from Gary.
• Oakland, California Embarcadero West, Union and Poplar Streets
• Visalia, California Oak Street from Willis St. to Santa Fe St (San Joaquin Valley Railroad)

Canada

Ontario

In 1887 the St. Catharines and Niagara Central Railway, the first interurban line in the world, started operations. It ran between St. Catharines and Thorold, Ontario, Canada. Not only was this the first interurban line in the world, but it was also one of the first commercially successful implementations of electric streetcars in the world.

In Southern Ontario, intercity streetcar lines were called radial railways, because their routes generally radiated from a central city. The longest routes from Toronto included one running to Lake Simcoe and another to Guelph. A portion of one of these lines is preserved and plays host to a working museum of streetcars and other transit vehicles at the Halton County Radial Railway in Milton. A notable feature of Toronto's radial railways was that because the city streetcar tracks of the Toronto Railway Company (later taken over by the Toronto Transportation Commission) were built to a wider gauge (which is still used to this day), radial cars from the outlying areas could not pass the city limits, requiring passengers to change trains.

Some of the closer sections of Toronto's radial railways were assimilated into the city's streetcar network, and with the city's expansion, some communities once linked by radial railway now have relatively central stations on the Toronto subway. On a regional level, GO Transit's commuter railway network is designed on a similar radial principle, though it uses much heavier-capacity mainline trains.

There were also significant radial systems operating from Hamilton, St. Catharines, Windsor, and throughout the Grand River Valley, the last of which will see a revival since The Region of Waterloo approved a plan to build a light railway between Waterloo, Kitchener, and eventually Cambridge, running partially on the tracks of the former Grand River Railway. Hamilton and the Niagara Region are also investigating the possibility of reviving former interurban railway routes as modern light rail. Another southern Ontario line, the London and Port Stanley Railway, is notable for hauling large quantities of coal from Port Stanley that would arrive via railway ferry from Conneaut, Ohio.

British Columbia

In British Columbia, five interurban lines were operated by the British Columbia Electric Railway Company. The private right-of-way of the Central Park line, between Commercial Drive in Vancouver and New Westminster, is now used by the SkyTrain's Expo Line. The Fraser Valley Line became the British Columbia Hydro Railway when BC Electric was nationalized in the 1960s; it was later privatized and is now the Southern Railway of British Columbia, a local shortline freight railway. The BCER also operated interurban trains between Vancouver and Marpole, and between Marpole, Steveston and New Westminster on the Vancouver and Lulu Island Railway, which it leased from Canadian Pacific. This railway is also known as Arbutus Corridor route. Likewise, the Millennium Line of the SkyTrain connects the same communities as the former Burnaby Lake Line; however, the new SkyTrain line does not follow the original right-of-way, which is now the route of Highway 1 through Burnaby. The fifth BCER interurban connected Victoria and Patricia Bay on the Saanich Peninsula. Its right-of-way is commemorated by Interurban Road in Saanich.

During July and August 2013, a portion of the interurban tram in Cloverdale was opened as a tourist railway with one of the surviving interurban railcars.

Quebec

In Quebec, the Montreal and Southern Counties Railway operated electric interurban lines from central Montreal across the St. Lawrence Seaway to Longueuil and Granby from 1909 to 1956.

Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia, the Cape Breton Electric RCompany operated interurban services between Sydney, Glace Bay and New Waterford from 1901 to 1947, and the Pictou County Electric Company operated interurban services between the five towns of Pictou County from 1904 to 1931.

Interurbans in Mexico

In the 1900s (decade), Canadian investors purchased the Mexico City tram operator Compañía de Tranvías de México, and attempted to create an interurban radial-railway system on the Canadian model, beginning work on lines that were intended to reach Toluca and Puebla. Typical US-style interurban electric cars built by the St. Louis Car Company were imported for the service. Expenses due to Mexico's difficult terrain and political instability that culminated in the Mexican Revolution combined to end this project, although lines were completed as far as La Venta and Tulyehualco and a popular suburban line was built to San Angel and Coyoacán. A portion of the ex-Puebla line operates today as the Xochimilco Light Rail system. Another Mexican system that would have been considered of an interurban type was the Playa Miramar high-speed line in Tampico.

The Mexican state of Yucatán had approximately 1,500 kilometers of interurban tramway network, mostly narrow gauge and either animal powered (mule or horsecars) or gasoline powered.

Interurbans in Cuba

The Hershey train is an electrified train from Havana to Matanzas that was built by the Hershey Company in order to facilitate transport of workers and products after it had bought sugar plantations in 1916. It is a commuter service running in northern Havana and Matanzas provinces, some original equipment still exists.

Europe

In Europe, lines that fit the interurban definition were rare historically. A large interurban system, the Silesian Interurbans in Upper Silesia, Poland, has been in continuous operation since 1894.

Switzerland

Switzerland has a large number of narrow gauge interurban electric rail lines. Some are operated by the Swiss Federal Railways, but most are canton owned or are privately owned. In Europe, tram-trains began running on the streets in cities, particularly Germany, in the mid-late 19th century. Then heavier equipment railroad style regional railway lines from cities to the suburbs and nearby countryside developed in the mid 20th century. The Swiss narrow gauge mountain lines are operated primarily for tourism and are heavily subsidized by the Swiss government.

Lake Geneva area, Nyon to Montreux

Narrow gauge lines run from the shore of Lake Geneva north into the foothills of the Jura mountain range that separates Switzerland from France. These include the NStCM (Nyon, St Cergue, Morez); the BAM (Biere, Apples, Morges); the CEV (runs trains to Blonay and to the regional park of Les Plieades); the BC (Blonay-Chamby) museum line; the 14-mile (23 km) LEB (Lausanne, Echallens, Bercher); the far ranging MOB (Montreux, Oberland, Bernois) which operates the well-known Panorama Express. Just inland from Montreux at Bulle, the meter gauge GFM (Gruyere-Fribourg-Montobon) line (renamed TPF for the Transports Publics de Fribourg) goes to the cheese-making village of Gruyere and on to the Nestle chocolate factory. Freight trains on this line deliver product from Nestle. At Montobon, the GFM connects to the MOB for a passenger transfer from Montreux on Lake Geneva to GFM's Chocolate Express. The GFM/TPF has a freight business moving chocolate and cheese. At Blonay, a suburb of Lausanne, there is an operating museum owned by local rail enthusiasts and open to the public. At Montreux, there is also the MGR (Montreux-Glion-Rochers-de-Ney.)

Valais and Vaud Cantons

Aigle: Transports Publics du Chablais (TPC) is a combined group of four formerly separate meter gauge mountain interurbans. The TPC is headquartered at the municipality of Aigle (Eagle), population 8,100, 13 km southeast of Montreux at the foot of the Bernese Alps in the Canton of Valais just across the Rhone from the Canton of Vaud. ("Chablais" is a historic name for a large former French region which is now the two Swiss cantons. Some local history: in the 1847, a group of Catholic cantons, including Valais, tried to leave the Swiss Confederation. This was stopped by Federal troops in a brief low casualty civil war called the Sonderbund.) The four legacy lines of the TPC are: the ASD (Aigle-Sepey-Diablerets) which runs east from Aigle in the Rhone valley to the ski resort of Diablerets; the AL (Aigle-Leysin) which runs east from Aigle to the ski resort of Leysin; the AOMC (Aigle-Ollon-Monthey-Champerey) which runs west from Aigle across the Rhone River into the Canton of Vaud to reach Monthey and Champery. These three meter gauge lines plus the BVB (Bex-Villars-Bretaye) which runs east from Bex, a village just south of Aigle, are operated by the TPC. In 2007, TPC carried 2.1 million passengers, producing 14.5 million passenger-km. In 2008, after opening new combined line narrow-gauge platforms in Aigle adjacent to the Swiss Federal France-Italy main line depot, it was decided to change the voltage on the AOMC line from 900 to 1500vdc. Some AOMC trainsets were adapted while older ones were retired, and some AL and ASD trainsets reach the new depot trackage under reduced power. In the summer of 2010, the railway took a step towards a unified brand image with the introduction of a two tone green livery for its cars. AL and ASD: 6.2 km and 23 km long respectively, meter gauge, electrified at 1500vdc. AOMC: 23 km long, meter gauge, electrified at now 1500vdc. BVB: 17 km long, meter gauge, electrified at 650vdc. (ref: three Misplaced Pages sites: TCP Switzerland; Valais; Vaud.) The wintertime ski business and the summertime tourist business are very important to this mostly agricultural (wine grapes) region, but the TCP cost to the two canton's taxpayers (the lines are heavily subsidized by both the cantons and the federal government) has been the subject of debate over the years. These train-an-hour electric mountain side interurbans require expensive maintenance due to avalanche, rock slides, washouts, and bridge repair.

Martigny: The municipality of Martigny lies south of Aigle and Bex at the mountainous point where the Rhone makes a ninety degree turn from the east and flows north toward Lake Geneva. Like Aigle, it sits on the main Swiss Federal line from Italy. The MO and the MC system now is called the TMRSA (Transports de Martigny et Regions) which operates the local narrow gauge lines, all of which reach ski resorts. The MC runs from Martigny to le Chatelard at the French border and continues into France to Chamonix. It operates the Mont Blanc Express to Chamonix in conjunction with the French company. The MO runs from Martgny to Semmbenacher where it splits and one line goes south to Orsieres and the other eastward to Chable. It operates the St. Bernard Express to Orsieres. The TMRSA later took over the Octdure-Voyages and the Orsieres-Octodure companies. The TMRSA employs 180 permanent staff.

Netherlands

The Netherlands used to have an extensive "tram-system" that came very close to the American-style interurban. The standard gauge NZH trams in the area between The Hague, Leiden and Haarlem were fairly big electric trams running on 1200 volt with in-street running in towns and quite a lot of private right-of-way outside towns. Especially the "Budapester" trams (see picture) resembled American interurban cars. A typical tram was made up by coupling a motorised unit (A400 or A500 series) with one or two trailers (B400/B500). In common with American practice the NZH also had local streetcar lines in The Hague, Leiden and Haarlem sharing some of the track with the interurban routes. Power supply was entirely by overhead wire. Although there was a connection between tram and train tracks in Leiden it was not possible to convey railway cars on NZH track due to differing track and wheel geometry, curve radius and loading gauge. The A/B600 series of twin-cars, built around 1930, resemble those of Oakland's Key System 'Bridge Units' built slightly later.

Part of the NZH system was built to metre-gauge. In the 1920s the same "Budapester" interurbans were bought for use here (with narrower wheel-sets of course). It was envisioned that some of this track would be converted to standard gauge at a later date but the axe fell before this could occur. Because the terminus of one of these lines was at Spui in the centre of Amsterdam (where the streetcars use standard gauge) some three-rail track (combined standard/narrow gauge) existed there. Long after the demise of the NZH-interurbans the tree-rail track was still present in some streets with interesting pointwork where streets crossed.

Nowadays few lines remain, one of which is Line 1 of HTM, running from Scheveningen to Delft. NZH turned into a bus company and in 1999 was taken over by Connexxion. However Connexxion also runs the light-rail line from Utrecht to Nieuwegein that was built around 1980 but has roots in the steam-tram era. In addition, until 2006 Nederlandse Spoorwegen ran two regional lines between The Hague and Rotterdam Hofplein/Zoetemeer as a train (heavy-rail) service, and these were then transformed into Randstadrail, a concept similar to the old interurbans. Interestingly this "Hofplein-line" started early 20th century as a separate company (ZHESM) modelled after the American style interurbans (running fully electric multiple-unit trains right from the start) but was included into the nationalised rail system later on.

Belgium

The Belgian Vicinal tramway system had many characteristics of the American interurban, although operating speeds and vehicle comfort were only comparable on a few of the more important services. The main surviving section is the Belgian Coast Tram, which has been in service since 1885. With 70 stations along its 68-kilometre line, connecting the cities and towns along the entire Belgian (West Flanders) coastline, it is the longest tram line in the world. Some other sections were absorbed into urban tramway systems, especially in Charleroi.

Czech Republic

Two interurban lines exist, both connected to city street car systems, the Liberec-Jablonec line and the Most-Litvinov line. The Liberec-Jablonec line is notable for being metre-gauge.

Germany

In Germany, interurbans that fit the whole definition were uncommon. However, in many instances the definition is almost met.

One of these cases are the many early secondary (connecting) railway lines that were built in the onset of the 20th century. Many of them were street-running in urban and suburban areas while using a dedicated right of way in less populated areas. Those lines were usually operated with mainline stock, however very few were electrified. Most of them have disappeared or were moved onto a fully dedicated right-of-way due to increasing street traffic and safety concerns. One of the few such railway lines still in service is the steam operated narrow-gauge Molli train between Bad Doberan and Kühlungsborn West on the shore of the Baltic Sea in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern which is street-running inside Bad Doberan and has its own right-of-way on the rest of the line.

Another not-uncommon case are interurban tramways. Germany has numerous areas where several larger cities are clustered together, and there were always places not served by mainline railway lines. Often urban tramways companies jumped at the opportunity and built over-land tramway lines, sometimes linking two existing tramway networks together. Those lines were run with standard tramway cars. The most extensive system was the originally German Silesian interurbans, which are now in Poland.

After World War II these interurban tramways were modernised and now dubbed Stadtbahn. All of them are street-running in city areas and use a dedicated right-of-way between cities, and all of them are electrified. Rolling stock used is either standard tramcars or special heavier cars which still qualify for tramway use in street-running lines as regulated in BOStrab. Generally, the Stadtbahn systems fit the definition of an interurban once their network leaves city boundaries. This is especially true for the ones which run both in the streets and on true railway (often S-Bahn) tracks. This requires two power systems (German: Zweisystemstadtbahn): Both the common 600 V DC tram voltage, and the 15 kV AC used by German railways. On the railway tracks, they run at up to 114 km/h. Such tram-train systems have been constructed in some cities, including Karlsruhe and Kassel, and later also in countries other than Germany, including Spain and France.

One particularly large effort was the Stadtbahn Rhein-Ruhr, which was meant to grow to a length of 300 km (190 mi), spanning over 10 cities of the Ruhrgebiet industrial area, building upon already existing interurban and urban tramway lines. Although those plans were later abandoned due to exploding costs, 17 Stadtbahn lines between Krefeld in the west and Dortmund in the east were finished, and today one can travel from Krefeld to Bochum without using a single mainline train. The only link missing is between Bochum and Dortmund.

Poland

In Poland interurban tram lines - in addition to the Silesian interurbans - exist in Łódź agglomeration. They were built before first world war and served Ozorków, Zgierz, Pabianice, Konstantynow, Lutomiersk, Aleksandrów and Tuszyn. Today the first four of these are still active. The line to Ozorków is 38 km long, the second longest in the world after the Belgian coastal tram line.

Isle of Man

The Manx Electric Railway survives after over 100 years of service, using mainly original equipment. It links Douglas with Ramsey. The Snaefell Mountain Railway links the M.E.R with the summit of Snaefell, the highest point on the island.

Interurbans in Asia

Japan

Influence of the U. S.

In Japan, no clear distinction of the interurban from the ordinal heavy rail has been settled, but most of the major private railway companies, which now play important role in public transportation, had been influenced greatly by the systems of U.S. interurbans, such as motors and controllers of General Electric, Westinghouse Electric, air brakes of Westinghouse Air Brake Company, trucks of J. G. Brill Company and Baldwin Locomotive Works, just to name some.

Pioneers

The first interurban in Japan was the Hanshin Electric Railway's main line, which opened in 1905 between Osaka and Kobe. In the Greater Tokyo area in the same year, the present Keihin Electric Express Railway (Keikyū) extended its main line to the station of Kanagawa in Yokohama, to connect Tokyo. The followers of this earlier period were Keihan Electric Railway's main line between Kyoto and Osaka in 1910, Nagoya Electric Railway (present Nagoya Railroad) in Nagoya to surrounding towns such as Inuyama (present Inuyama Line) and Tsushima (Tsushima Line). The latter had operated through to the center of Nagoya via streetcar tracks, though the former had planned so in Osaka but the administrating authority refused permission.

Second generation

The second boom of Japanese interurbans occurred in the 1920s and 1930s, unlike the counterparts in the US that declined during that period. The difference between the two countries is the extent of motorization; in Japan, private automobiles remained uncommon until the 1960s. The operators of this generation built their exclusive tracks with heavier rail (e.g. 100 lb. per yard) and fewer curves, and they rarely laid tracks on roads.

In Kansai region, mostly from Osaka:

• Kobe Line of Hanshin Kyūkō Railway (present Hankyu Corporation)

  competing Hanshin's Main Line in the same region

• Kobe - Himeji Electric Railway

  western half of the main line of present Sanyo Electric Railway connecting Akashi and Himeji

• Shin-Keihan Railway

  concurrent to Keihan, later transferred to Hankyū

• Hanwa Electric Railway

  later merged to the governmental network under wartime condition, presently Hanwa Line

• Osaka Electric Tramway's main line (present Kintetsu)

  for Nara

• Nara Electric Railway's line (presently Kintetsu)

  Kyoto and Nara

• Sangū Kyūkō Electric Railway

  Together with Osaka Electric Tramway line, from Osaka to Ise, exceeding 100 km in distance

In Tokyo:

• Tōbu Railway' Nikkō Line

  preceding main line Isesaki Line applied steam traction, but a long branch to Nikkō was built electrified, more than 100 km from terminus Asakusa in Tokyo on the main line.

• Odawara Express Railway's main line (present Odakyu)

  to Odawara

• Tokyo Yokohama Electric Railway's Tōyoko Line (present Tokyu Corporation)

  to Yokohama

• Keisei Electric Railway's main line

  to Narita

In other regions

• Aichi Electric Railway's main line (eastern half of present Nagoya Railroad's Nagoya Main Line)

  Nagoya to Toyohashi

• Kyūshū Railway (2nd) (present Tenjin Ōmuta Line (Nishitetsu)

  Fukuoka to Ōmuta

Development

During the Japanese post-war economic miracle (1955–1975), rapid urbanizations increased the traffic and required the capacity expansion. Descendants of interurbans responded by:

• Extending the length of platforms to accommodate longer trains.
• Acquiring higher capacity, metro-like trains.
• Operating trains on shorter headways.
• Interoperating with subway lines.
• doubling, tripling, or quadrupling their tracks.
• grade-separating their lines.

Nowadays, most notably in and around Tokyo and Osaka, companies such as Keikyū, Tōbu, Odakyū, and Hankyu operate trains of 200 m length and tend to resemble commuter rail.

References

1. Indianapolis Star, 1/10/2013
2. Rowsome: p. 140, map of Midwestern interurbans in 1912.
3. Hilton: p. 122, Ohio versus Indiana interurban mileage.
4. Rowsome: p. 64, photo and caption of Indianapolis Traction Terminal in downtown Indianapolis.
5. Middleton: p. 153, a dramatically posed Union Traction company photo with new steel interurban #427.
6. Middleton: p. 157, huge cow catcher THI&ER combine grinding around a corner in Indianapolis.
7. Middleton: pp. 152–159, photos and discussion of all the Indiana interurban companies.
8. Bradley: Indiana Railroad, the Magic Interurban, a history of the Indiana Railroad.
9. Middleton: p. 370, photo with caption.
10. Toledo Blade, May 27, 2007)
11. Keenan: lecture at Indiana History website, CEO Conway's statement regarding shipments at Toledo.
12. Keenan: entire book describing the rise and fall of the Cincinnati and Lake Erie from 1930 to 1938.
13. Middleton: pp. 21, 1949 photo and caption showing elderly Red Arrow trolley on the West Chester to Philadelphia line.
14. Rowsome: discussion and example of the Toonerville comic strip.
15. Middleton: p. 24, excellent large photograph of Lehigh Valley Transit Liberty Bell Limited interurban car pacing a Reading RR passenger train.
16. Kulp: four books on the history of the Lehigh Valley Transit Company.
17. Northern Electric Railway, by Thomas F. Flanagan, published by Ben Rohrbeck Traction Publications 1980.
18. Middleton: p. 185, discussion of FtDDM&S history with photos of equipment and photo of bridge.
19. Rowsome: p. 129, excellent photo with caption of the Ft. Dodge line's impressive bridge, with wood arch windowed interurban car #82 crossing; and, p. 178, three Ft. Dodge line's arch windowed interurban cars close to the line's quitting passenger service.
20. Middleton: pp. 177–178, CRANDIC photos.
21. Middleton: p. 26, photo of Sacramento Northern passenger train paused at the Sacramento interurban station.
22. Middleton: p. 377, photo.
23. "Region of Waterloo Rapid Transit". Region of Waterloo. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
24. Morrison, Allen. "The Tramways of Mexico City; Part 2: Early Electrics". The Tramways of Mexico. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
25. Morrison, Allen. "The Tramways of Yucatán; Part 2: Intercity Lines". The Tramways of Mexico. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
26. Data taken from internet sites on these railways and from internet photo sites of the area noted in External Sites
27. This information is found at the Swiss TCP Internet and Misplaced Pages sites.
28. This data and history is found on the internet site for the Swiss TMRSA, MO, and MC railways.