|
 |
|
Twin Cities by Trolley The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul John W. Diers and Aaron Isaacs |
|
|
See the city as it once was—a pictorial history of the trolleys that traversed Twin Cities neighborhoods. The recent development of light rail transit in the Twin Cities has been an undeniable success. Plans for additional lines progress, and our ways of shopping, dining, and commuting are changing dramatically. As we embrace riding the new Hiawatha light rail line, an older era comes to mind—the age when everyone rode the more than 500 miles of track that crisscrossed the Twin Cities. In Twin Cities by Trolley, John Diers and Aaron Isaacs offer a rolling snapshot of Minneapolis and St. Paul from the 1880s to the 1950s, when the streetcar system shaped the growth and character of the entire metropolitan area. More than 400 photographs and 70 maps let the reader follow the tracks from Stillwater to University Avenue to Lake Minnetonka, through Uptown to downtown Minneapolis. The illustrations show nearly every neighborhood in Minneapolis and St. Paul as it was during the streetcar era. At its peak in the 1920s and early 1930s, the Twin City Rapid Transit Company (TCRT) operated over 900 streetcars, owned 523 miles of track, and carried more than 200 million passengers annually. Recounting the rise and fall of the TCRT, Twin Cities by Trolley explores the history, organization, and operations of the streetcar system, including life as a streetcar operator and the technology, design, and construction of the cars. Inspiring fond memories for anyone who grew up in the Twin Cities, Twin Cities by Trolley leads readers on a fascinating and enlightening tour of this bygone era in the neighborhood and the city they call home. "In Twin Cities by Trolley John W. Diers and Aaron Isaacs, who have both worked in the transit industry for more than 30 years, wax nostalgic about the trolley way of life. Meticulously documenting the trolley years through transit maps of virtually every neighborhood in town, and including more than 400 photographs, the authors reconstruct the era." —City Pages “Through readable text, detailed maps, and an assortment of black-and-white photos that's nothing short of impressive, authors Diers and Isaacs illustrate every corner of the system and tell the story of how the Twin Cities Rapid Transit system came to be and how it disappeared. The authors, both employees of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Transit Commission who also rode Twin Cities streetcars as kids, approach the subject without drowning it in nostalgia. This book covers a piece history that’s repeating itself—with a twist." —Trains Magazine “This gorgeous coffee table book chronicles the rise and fall of that remarkable system with fascinating stories and historical images. This is not simply a comprehensive and compelling chronicle of a bygone way of travel, it’s a remarkable portrait of a city coming of age.” —Minneapolis Observer Quarterly “Coffeetable-worthy.” —Metro “Twin Cities by Trolley is packed with information, supplemented by more than 400 pictures and 70 maps that follow the tracks as far away as Stillwater and Lake Minnetonka. Besides showing the streetcars including early cars drawn by horses, these wonderful old photos remind us of what St. Paul and Minneapolis looked like before World War II.” —St. Paul Pioneer Press “Hardcore transit wonks will want to devour the entire book, and more casual readers will delight in the huge array of photographs. Diers and Issacs book is an excellent background as the region embarks on a new era of transit.” —Minnesota Magazine “Recreates the streetcar era in words, maps, charts and more than 400 marvelous photographs. The lavish black-and-white photographs provide an amazing window into the past, in which trolleys were always front and center in the bustling downtowns and the transit company-operated resorts at Minnetonka and White Bear Lake. A large portion of the book is devoted to details on each route, giving readers a chance to look up the streetcars that served their neighborhoods, down to how often they ran. In the end, the streetcars were sunk by Americans’ love of cars, massive spending on highways and the migration to the suburbs. Yet the nostalgia for the streetcar era never faded. The success of the Hiawatha light-rail line has set off a scramble to build a second line linking St. Paul and Minneapolis, a commuter train link to St. Cloud and other rail projects. And a half-century after trolleys disappeared from the city streets, the Minneapolis City Council is studying how to put streetcars back on a handful of busy routes. By delving into the past, Twin Cities by Trolley makes the case that Minneapolis and St. Paul are ready to get back on board.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune “Streetcars played a huge role in the making of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Gone for half a century, they remain embedded in our collective memory like the ghostly rails still buried in our streets. Now their full story has at last been told in Twin Cities by Trolley, a book that will cause you to marvel at what we once had and what we have lost.” —Larry Millett John W. Diers has worked in the transit industry for thirty-five years, including twenty-five years at the Twin Cities Metropolitan Transit Commission. He has written for Trains, and has served on the board of the Minnesota Transportation Museum. Aaron Isaacs worked with Metro Transit for thirty-three years. He is the author of Twin City Lines—The 1940s and The Como-Harriet Streetcar Line. He is also the editor of Railway Museum Quarterly. 368 pages | 422 halftones, 6 line art, 1 table, 70 maps | 10 x 11 | 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 1. From Horsepower to Electric Power: The Early Years Epilogue |
||
$39.95 cloth/jacket