Some sources claim that Hetch Hetchy sells power at the top of the trolley pole, so that overhead wire is not a direct expense of the Municipal Rwy. of San Francisco.

I have heard the GM conspiracy told to visitors at trolley museums recently. It just won't die.

The real cause for the death of streetcars was planted when most systems were started. The franchise to the private company called for a five cent fare forever. There also were some financial scams like watered stock involved. The United States had serious inflation during World War I. The five cent fare no longer paid the operating expenses of the operating companies. Before long over half of the operating companies were bankrupt because their franchises prevented raising fares.

President Wilson realized we had a serious problem. He called a conference to solve the problem. The solution was to cancel the five cent fare in the franchises and have fares set by a government body such as a city council. Since politicians now set the fares. they knew would happen at the polls if they raised the fares too much in a service at cost concept. As a result the operating companies were badly under funded for years.

In some cases streetcars were kept operating long after the company wanted to convert to buses simply because the company could not raise money to buy buses. Baltimore is one example.

Gasoline rationing during World War II caused a huge increase in transit ridership. Many cars and lines were totally worn out. After the war city fathers wanted to change to buses because they were considered modern while streetcars were old fashioned. Converting downtown streets to one-way traffic to handle motor vehicles also was resonsible for abandoning some streetcar lines that were not totally worn out.

Back in the streetcar days, downtown was the transit hub. Today, especially in smaller cities, downtown no longer is the hub. Shopping centers and theater multiplexes were built near the outskirts of the city. The old transit patterns no longer worked. Transit became something that was subsidized. Today in many cities farebox revenue is under 50% of operating cost.

Try explaining all this to museum visitors. The GM conspiracy is much easier.

They lasted just over 10 years, from the day they were delivered by the builder to the day service ended in Chicago in 1958.

David -

Yes. Managed to ride them a few times. My first "solo" trip away from home to visit my cousin. After school runs from Fenger High School. A number of times to/from White Sox games. And a less-than-memorable ride when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade when I get sick and threw up on one!

The "Green Hornets" were great cars!

Les

So telling people a distorted or biased view of history, or worse an outright lie, is supposed to be OK because it's "easier"????

Again, PLEASE tell me you're kidding.

I don't care if that seems to be the approach our government is taking all too often of late. It's not right for us, supposed historians.

If an American History museum advanced the mindset that American involvement in World War Two came about only because the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, or that it was a Zionist conspiracy against Germany, they would have a lot of further explaining to do.

I think I'll start telling kids we haven't gone to the Moon in recent years because we found it wasn't made of green cheese after all. After all, that's easier, right?

ADM, he's on your side. He's just saying lazy people choose to tell the conspiracy story because it's easier than having to think.

And "lazy" people engage in unsafe railroad/shop practices because it's easier than doing things safely.

If they're out there on your railroad or in your museum, they both need to be stopped and "whipped" into proper operating/teaching practices. It doesn't matter of the "GM Conspiracy" fits your personal pro-rail, anti-bus/corporation/etc. agenda or not.

David, sad to say but even our favorite blog hinted at the relationship in a guest post a couple of months ago. It was a minor point in a long piece so I didn't comment, but the thought is very pervasive.

There is even a discussion on the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association, page blaming NCL/GM for the demise of the streetcar in New York City.

<http://www.brooklynrail.net/info_streetcar.html>.

Al