[PRCo] Fwd: Rail Mail EXtra - The "Roar of the Four"

[Fred Schneider]

These appeared on my computer today ...
Left top is Canal Street looking west from St. Charles immediately  
after World War II.   The center two tracks were used by Canal /  
Cemeteries cars.   The outer two tracks were used by other routes  
that came in to Canal and went around the block and went back out.    
The present St. Charles line comes in on Carondelet, one block away,  
runs toward the camera on Canal, and goes back out.    Not sure if  
the tracks on the right were on every other street.   It is obvious  
that the car on the far right track came into Canal on Royal  
(opposite St. Charles).   I think it went out on Bourbon.   May have  
been a Desire car.    The tall white building is the Maison Blanche  
(White House) Department Store.

The car right shows San Francisco looking northeast on Market  
Street ... automobiles suggest the 1930w.   Municipal Railway had the  
outer two tracks.   Market Street Railway used the inner two.   I'm  
not a  100% certain but I suspect that's a B or a C car turning off  
onto Geary Street.   The cross street should be 3rd to the right and  
Kearny to the left.    Muni took over Market Street Railway in  
1944.   It was politically correct at the time to abandon most of  
their routes, saving on a small portion of one line in the  
southwestern part of the city which is still in service today.    
Otherwise what runs today are all Muni lines.   The exception, of  
course, are the cables.  They were all pre 1906 and Muni is 1912.    
Am I correct Jim?

And the lower right image looks east on West Superior Avenue toward  
Public Square in Cleveland from the entrance to the subway across the  
Detroit-Superior High Level Bridge across the Cuyahoga River.   The  
last streetcars in Cleveland ran across this bridge early in 1954.   
Cleveland Union Terminal is on the right.   Herb Brannon posted news  
of a tour of the lower deck (subway) of the bridge a few months ago.



Begin forwarded message:

> From: "bvolkmer" <bvolkmer at bellsouth.net>
> Date: January 27, 2008 5:27:33 PM EST
>
> Subject: Rail Mail EXtra - The "Roar of the Four"
>
> All:
>
> Frank asked me some questions regarding how the four track lines  
> operated in New Orleans and San Francisco.
>
> So I depicted three systems with four track lines, each with a  
> different method.  In Cleveland there were two separate pairs of  
> lines in/out/in/out.  In San Francisco there were two competing  
> companies, one on the outside tracks and one on the inside tracks.   
> In New Orleans the outside tracks served as turning loops for cars  
> from the burbs.
>
> Canton, Ohio had FIVE tracks at one time but I don't have a good  
> picture of it.
>
> Bill Volkmer
>
> PS          For what its worth, Market Street has SIX electrified  
> tracks + two lanes of trolley coach, TODAY!