The Decline of the Trolley: A Sixties View - Softcover

Olsen, Olaf

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798234231635

Publisher: Olsen Street Railway Press, 2026

Synopsis

Why did America get rid of its streetcars? And was replacing them with buses really progress?

Once an everyday part of American life, the electric trolley virtually disappeared from the nation's streets within a few decades.

But what if the story wasn't simply one of inevitable technological progress?

Written by Olaf Olsen in 1969, The Decline of the Trolley: A Sixties View takes a provocative look at the disappearance of America's streetcar systems and questions the conventional wisdom behind their replacement by buses.

Olsen points out an intriguing contradiction: unlike many earlier transportation revolutions, the change from electric trolley to diesel bus did not necessarily give passengers a better ride. The bus could mean less comfort, slower acceleration, more noise, reduced capacity, and more air pollution.

More than fifty years after writing his original essay, Olsen returned to it and decided to publish it. He added photographs from his collection—many showing the streetcars, streets, and transportation systems discussed in his text—and wrote new captions reflecting his later perspective.

The result is a fascinating combination of historical essay, photographic record, and personal reflection on a transportation system that once seemed indispensable and then nearly vanished.

For readers fascinated by New York City history, trolleys, streetcars, railways, public transportation, and the changing American city, this book offers something unusual:

A chance to reconsider the disappearance of the trolley—and ask whether we really replaced it with something better.

Edition details

• Publisher: Olsen Street Railway Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798234231635
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 116