[11 / 11 / ?]
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It's been a while since I made one of these.
This was The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company (usually known as TMER&L or "the TM"). From about 1890 to 1958, it operated a large network of interurban and local streetcar lines in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is a classic example of a system that was owned by an electric utility company (hence the name), sold off due to the Public Utilities Act of 1935, and promptly bought up piecemeal by companies who proceeded to convert the trolley lines to buses. The system was almost entirely abandoned/"bustituted" during the Depression, though WWII provided a brief (and temporary) respite from the decline.
The last surviving "TM" interurban line (between Milwaukee, Waukesha and Hales Corners) was purchased in 1949 by a man named Jay Maeder, a foamer (i.e. /ourguy/). Maeder cut costs, brought in modern, lightweight cars from abandoned trolley lines across the Midwest, and actually managed to make the little line a modest profit. Unfortunately, he also ran it like a giant model railroad and disregarded proper operating protocol. During a "fan-trip" in June 1950, he took control of one of his lightweight cars, ran a red signal (supposedly he was not aware that he was colorblind) and barely managed to jump for safety as his car was telescoped by a heavyweight coach coming in the opposite direction. 10 members of the NMRA were killed in the wreck, and afterwards the company was never able to shake the stigma of being unsafe.
Maeder was acquitted of manslaughter and left Milwaukee in shame. The last interurban ran in 1951. The local streetcar system in Milwaukee survived until 1958, when it was converted to buses. Electric "trolley buses" lasted until 1965.
This was The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company (usually known as TMER&L or "the TM"). From about 1890 to 1958, it operated a large network of interurban and local streetcar lines in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is a classic example of a system that was owned by an electric utility company (hence the name), sold off due to the Public Utilities Act of 1935, and promptly bought up piecemeal by companies who proceeded to convert the trolley lines to buses. The system was almost entirely abandoned/"bustituted" during the Depression, though WWII provided a brief (and temporary) respite from the decline.
The last surviving "TM" interurban line (between Milwaukee, Waukesha and Hales Corners) was purchased in 1949 by a man named Jay Maeder, a foamer (i.e. /ourguy/). Maeder cut costs, brought in modern, lightweight cars from abandoned trolley lines across the Midwest, and actually managed to make the little line a modest profit. Unfortunately, he also ran it like a giant model railroad and disregarded proper operating protocol. During a "fan-trip" in June 1950, he took control of one of his lightweight cars, ran a red signal (supposedly he was not aware that he was colorblind) and barely managed to jump for safety as his car was telescoped by a heavyweight coach coming in the opposite direction. 10 members of the NMRA were killed in the wreck, and afterwards the company was never able to shake the stigma of being unsafe.
Maeder was acquitted of manslaughter and left Milwaukee in shame. The last interurban ran in 1951. The local streetcar system in Milwaukee survived until 1958, when it was converted to buses. Electric "trolley buses" lasted until 1965.
