Trolley: The Cars That Built Our Cities

A fast-paced, lively look at electric traction's influence on urban life. Streetcars, trolleys, interurbans, cable cars, elevated lines, subways, from horse-cars to modern light rail - from the industry's 19th-Century origins to its mid-20th Century decline and its remarkable renaissance from the 1980s as cities rediscover and reinstall clean, quiet, safe, attractive and efficient people-moving technology that was allowed to wither not that many years previously. There are memorable images, and rare and unusual footage of trolley and streetcar operations in many North American cities, and some from abroad. One sequence shows hot breakfast being prepared and served aboard a Dallas streetcar. The years of decline are especially poignant, with a bittersweet aura enveloping the gradual loss of once-prevalent traction lines. But there's new hope at the film's conclusion, with a look at the rebirth of urban electric transit. This film was seen in abridged form over the Arts & Entertainment Network and the History Channel.