From the beginnings of the horse car era to the “sardine days” or World War II, Cleveland transit operators provided high quality service while introducing procedures and equipment that were widely copies elsewhere. The social and political aspects of Cleveland’s public transportation history are the subject of this companion volume to Horse Trails to Regional Rails. The focus here is on the technological aspects of the system. From the start of street railway operations in 1859 until the end of the surface electric era in 1963, the city was crisscrossed with hundreds of miles of track and overhead wire, and with thousands of poles to keep the overhead wire in place. Thousands of streetcars, and then thousands of buses, carried millions of passengers. The old Cleveland Transit System alone carried over 493 million passengers in 1946, and that total does not reflect the ridership of various suburban carriers. In this volume are described and listed both the early vehicles and the modern ones. It is not so much a nostalgic look at earlier times as it is a description of how ongoing developments in the industry changed the way the public transportation system carried out its mission. In Cleveland this was accomplished with rare efficiency and with good speed. The authors confess, whoever, to one nostalgic piece. In 1965, Jack Ainsley, a Cleveland rail fan, wrote his reminiscences about taking the streetcar through the Detroit-Superior Bridge subway. His narrative is in part 3. His recollections help from the technological focus of this volume and give it a more human face.

Cleveland's Transit Vehicles: Equipment and Technology (Ohio)

Biographies & Memoirs

Toman, James A.

Hays, Blaine S.

Regional U.S.

The Kent State University Press

Transit In The Triangle

Toman, Jim

Central Electric Railfans Association

Central Electric Railfans' Association

A photographic essay of the history of the Detroit-Superior (now Veterans Memorial) Bridge subway, When Cleveland Had a Subway recalls the short era when streetcars traveled below ground in Cleveland. Between 1918 and 1954, Cleveland did have a subway of sorts. The lower deck of the Detroit-Superior Bridge witnessed the constant squeal of streetcars upon their rails. The line that ran from Public Square West at its height brought thousands of West-siders and others to and from Clevelands downtown area. The short time period is a period of nostalgia for many who experienced it, and the book brings back those memories.

When Cleveland Had a Subway

Young, Bruce E.

Spangler, James R.

Cleveland Landmarks Pr

The book is a photographic essay describing the trends in Cleveland's public transportation in the 20th century. It details, with ample photographs, the many vehicles that were used through the years in and around the streets of the Greater Cleveland area. The book takes readers back to past eras when different streetcars, trackless trolleys, buses and rapids graced the many Cleveland venues.

Cleveland Transit Through the Years

Cleveland Landmarks Press

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Books by Hays, Blaine S.