Book Review
Title: None
Source: First & Fastest Magazine
Reviewer: George Bradley Date: Summer 1993
This excellent work packs a lot of information into a compact, easy to read and understandable book. Considering the huge volume of material that could be assembled for such a book (CERA began looking into the subject in 1974), the authors have supplied an almost “quick read” text which pulls the reader along through each of the three main sections. These “Parts” are outlined in the “Contents” with a one-line highlight description for each of the 23 chapters.
Every type of electric railway--whether it be a single-truck converted streetcar, an interurban box-motor with or without trailers or heavy-duty electric locomotives hauling steam railroad cars in regular service is covered not only in the text but in carefully selected photos with good, explanatory captions. If the reader looked at the photos and only read the captions you would have a fine feel for the story...but you would miss the best and most informative part.
The first Part--"The Traffic” describes the multitude of items and materials that were carried by the electric interurban railroads, including small packages and baggage, closed carloads of merchandise, cattle and other materials, open top cars full of coal or other materials, and finally, containers and truck trailers on flat cars. The second Part--"The Railroading” describes the equipment and the services as well as the interface with the steam railroads. The third Part--"Case Study"--covers, in some detail, trolley freight in New York state which had a wide variety of electric railroading ranging from rural interurbans that handled little freight to those whose business involved considerable interchange with the steam railroads.
Not Only Passengers does not cover, except in general references, the mainline steam railroad electrifications but it shows that service and conditions similar to those of the steam lines could be found on a number of interurbans. One parallel is the Chicago area electrics, in the freight business at an early date, evolving from the typical services described in the book so common to the majority of the interurbans to substantial interchange freight carriers. The North Shore, South Shore and the CA&E are adequately covered by describing and illustrating the services the diverse equipment (from box motor to “little Joes") as well as some of the problems presented by their early interurban construction heritage. Truck trailers on flatcars were a 1920's innovation on both the North Shore and the South Shore and forerunners of today's railroads hauling large truck trailers on special flat cars. What you might find more remarkable would be the Cincinnati, Lawrenceburg & Aurora Electric Street Railroad's intermodal container service, started in 1921, and perhaps, the forerunner of “stack” trains on today's major railroads.
What the reader will find in Not Only Passengers is an excellent description of all types of freight services and, in relationship with First & Fastest, a common thread between the Chicago big three with the many tri-state area interurban lines which, in one way or another, connected them.
Copyright 1993 Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. Book review from First & Fastest magazine reproduced on this site by permission of Shore Line
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