Electric Interurbans and the American People

H. Roger Grant is Kathryn and Calhoun Lemon Professor of History at Clemson University. He is author of more than 30 books, including Railroaders without Borders: A History of the Railroad Development Corporation (IUP, 2015), The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road: Dreams of Linking North and South (IUP, 2014), and Railroads and the American People (IUP, 2012).

"A well-written social history of the shortest-lived major US transportation mode . . . This book will appeal to railroad enthusiasts and social historians with its extensive stories and case studies of the benefits in that era. . . . Highly recommended."—Choice"This compact, highly readable volume should be considered essential to understanding the interurban phenomenon, especially because it avoids getting caught up in technology and rolling stock. Instead, it focuses on what life was really life for people who rode the electric cars. . . . Rarely seen photographs of traction at high tide help to tell the story."—Classic Trains"Chronicles one of the most intriguing yet neglected pieces of American transportation history, electric interurban railroads."—Sn3 Modeler"An enjoyable and informative read."—Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society"With this book, the subject no longer has footnote status. In fact, Grant's work deserves a place alongside some of the other landmark surveys of the subject . . . Here, Grant moves beyond the receiverships, the rickety track, and all that fascinating rolling stock. He shows us why the whole darned thing mattered."—Railroad History"Grant carefully provides specific examples from his broad knowledge of transportation history to support any assertions made in his text material. Even the most knowledgeable rail historian is likely to discover something new about electric interurbans that he or she had never considered before."—The Michigan Railfan"A lucid synthesis of an industry's rise, demise, and impacts on its myriad stakeholders."—John Spychalski, Pennsylvania State University"H. Roger Grant has produced a fine social history of America's electric interurbans, exploring the relationship between people and those railway enterprises. The book fills a void, is eminently readable, and richly illustrated."—Don L. Hofsommer, author of The Iowa Route: A History of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway

• Foreword by Norman CarlsonPreface Acknowledgements1. Enthusiasm2. Interurbans in Daily Life3. Saying GoodbyeNotesIndex