Blog search

Why streetcars survived in Boston

It's a commonplace sentiment among fans of streetcars that a cabal of car and tire manufacturers bought out city streetcar systems one by one and shut them down, replacing the wonderful old PCC trolley cars with diesel-belching buses. In reality, there were many factors undermining the popularity and financial feasibility...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 24, 2019 1:16 AM

April 21, 1914: Tate Brady offers to raise Indian cavalry for Mexico war

The Tulsa Daily World and the Tulsa Democrat both ran front page stories about Congress authorizing President Wilson to use the Armed Forces to intervene in Mexico. The World's front page was almost entirely devoted to the impending Mexico invasion. Above the masthead, a red banner headline read "LAND MARINES...

Posted by Michael Bates on April 21, 2014 10:23 PM

Tulsa 1921 map

A remarkable and detailed 1921 map of Tulsa is available for viewing online, from the Special Collections of the University of Tulsa McFarlin Library. The inset map shows the entire city, and is captioned; TULSA AND ADDITIONS A Ready Reference and Guide Map to Tulsa's OFFICE & PUBLIC BLDGS. CLUBS,...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 29, 2014 12:01 AM

Tulsa's streetcars 1922: Frequent service

As a point of comparison, Tulsa Transit bus service doesn't run evenings (except for a few special night lines), and typical headways are 30 minutes or longer between buses. DO YOU KNOW THAT STREET CAR SERVICE STARTS On the Kendall-West Fifth car line at 5:00 a.m. and after 6:44 a....

Posted by Michael Bates on January 4, 2012 1:03 AM

Tulsa streetcar and interurban lines in Google Maps

In response to a thread at TulsaNow's public forum, here is a map showing the routes of Tulsa's three streetcar/interurban lines: Red is the Tulsa Street Railway, blue is Oklahoma Union Traction, and green is the Sand Springs Railway. The latter two lines had interurban routes to Sapulpa and Kiefer...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 15, 2009 12:30 AM

Tracks of the trolley

I mentioned a few weeks ago my stunned amazement as I drove down Quincy Ave.: Looking south on Quincy Ave. from 6th St., I noticed a tell-tale pair of parallel cracks in the asphalt, each crack about the same distance from the middle of the street. The distance between the...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 4, 2009 7:21 AM

Cracks and tracks

I was driving around the Pearl District -- the topic of my upcoming column -- this evening just about sunset. Looking south on Quincy Ave. from 6th St., I noticed a tell-tale pair of parallel cracks in the asphalt, each crack about the same distance from the middle of the...

Posted by Michael Bates on February 15, 2009 6:47 PM