Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...

es, generally called trackless trolleys there, were a major component of the

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

ation system in the middle decades of the 20th century, carrying some 80 percent of all transit ridersCarson, O.E. Gene (January–March 1997). "Atlanta art 1. ''

Motor Coach Age The Motor Bus Society (MBS) is a United States-based non-profit organization formed by a voluntary association of persons who share an interest in buses and bus transportation in North America and, in particular, the history of the same. Founde ...

'', pp. 3–29. during the period when the system was at its maximum size. At the end of 1949 Atlanta had a fleet of 453 trolleybuses, the largest in the United States, Sebree, Mac; and Ward, Paul (1974). ''The Trolley Coach in North America'', pp. 14–19. Los Angeles:

Interurbans The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

. LCCN 74-20367. and it retained this distinction until 1952, when it was surpassed by Chicago.

History

Origins

As in many other cities, trolleybuses mostly took over

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

routes. Sebree, Mac; and Ward, Paul (1973). ''Transit’s Stepchild: The Trolley Coach'', p. 52, 68, 91. Los Angeles:

. LCCN 73-84356. Some Atlanta streetcar lines were converted to

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es starting in 1925. Those early conversions were to "motor buses" (gasoline-powered buses), but starting in 1937 some streetcar lines were converted instead to trolleybuses. The first trolleybus route opened on June 28, 1937, and was a suburban route to East Point and with branches beyond to College Park and Hapeville. A second route opened in 1940. Conversions continued until closure of the last streetcar line, in 1949. In 1950, 453 trolleybuses served 31 routes. Trolleybuses made up 70% of the fleet, but carried 80% of the transit system's riders.

Operation, continued growth

The transit system was owned and operated by the

Georgia Power Company Georgia Power is an electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was established as the Georgia Railway and Power Company and began operations in 1902 running streetcars in Atlanta as a successor to the Atlanta Consolidat ...

until June 1950, at which point it was sold to a group of local businessmen, who formed the

Atlanta Transit Company The Atlanta Transit Company (ATC) was a public transport operator based in Atlanta, Georgia, which existed from 1950 to 1972. It was the immediate predecessor of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). History Since the 1920s, ...

(ATC). Trolleybus service continued, and the large network of electric routes remained largely intact for another decade. One of the system's unusual features was express operation, uncommon on trolleybus systems. Express service ultimately was implemented on eight routes, and these were equipped with "sidings" in the overhead trolley wires to enable vehicles on express trips to pass those on "local" trips. Although the pace of expansion slowed after 1950, it did not cease. Extensions continued to be built under ATC, including the conversion of bus line 26-Perry Homes to trolleybuses in November 1956, and extensions of that route in 1960 and 1962.Carson, O.E. Gene (July–September 1998). "Atlanta, Part 2". ''

'', pp. 24–47. There were 39 trolleybus routes at the end of 1962.

Closure

In late 1962 Atlanta Transit decided to phase out all trolleybus service the next year, to avoid the expense of having to string new overhead wires when extending service to new areas. Another reason cited was the anticipated high cost and difficulty of obtaining new trolleybuses to replace ATC's large fleet, which ranged in age from 14 to 17 years. Since 1959, when

Marmon-Herrington The Marmon-Herrington Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer of axles and transfer cases for trucks and other vehicles. Earlier, the company built military vehicles and some tanks during World War II, and until the late 1950s or early 1960s wa ...

ceased production of trolleybuses, no manufacturer in North America was still making the electric vehicles (a situation which lasted until the late 1960s).Murray, Alan (2000). ''World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia''. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. . At the beginning of 1963 the active fleet included 273 trolleybuses. The entire electric system was converted to diesel buses over a period of less than one month in September 1963. Atlanta's last trolleybus service operated on the night of September 27, 1963.

Fleet

Over the years, Georgia Power (GP) purchased its trolleybuses from four different manufacturers:

Twin Coach Twin Coach was an American vehicle manufacturing company from 1927 to 1955, located in Kent, Ohio, and a maker of marine engines and airplane parts until the 1960s. It was formed by brothers Frank and William Fageol when they left the Fageol Mo ...

, the

St. Louis Car Company The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, interurbans, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887 to 1974, based in St. Louis, Missouri. History The St. Louis Car Company ...

Pullman-Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century ...

and Brill. The first came in 1937, the last in 1949. GP's successor, Atlanta Transit Company, never purchased a trolleybus.

Fleet list

Routes

An early 1950s map of the trolleybus system detailed the following routes:"Trackless Trolley Map and Bus Lines circa 1950", Emory University Library
/ref> * 2 Lucile Ave. ** 2PD Ponce de Leon Avenue, Clairmont Ave., Ponce to Decatur (Poplar) ** 2G via Lucile to West End (Inman) ** 2W "West View" via Lucile Ave. to West End, then via Gordon St. to

Mozley Park Mozley Park is a typical early 20th-century residential neighborhood, located approximately three miles west of downtown Atlanta. The community is named after the original landowner, Dr. Hiram Mozley, whose heirs inherited the land after his death ...

* 3B, 3WH Hunter St. *3I Irwin St. *4C Edgewood Avenue, McLendon to Candler Park (Clifton) *4L Edgewood Avenue, McLendon to Lake Claire *4F Federal Prison *4NM North Moreland *6 Forrest Ave., Briarcliff Rd., Oxford Rd. to Emory, 6C continues to Decatur/Clairmont **6A (Atlanta Ave.) via Capitol Ave. and Atlanta Ave./Ormond to Grant Park **6AM (Amsterdam) Boulevard, Boulevard (now Monroe) almost to Piedmont **6G (Georgia Ave.) via Capitol Ave. and Georgia Ave. to Grant Park * 10 Gordon St. **10C Cascade Heights **10G, 10S Stewart Ave., to Melrose & Sylvan **10PA Peachtree Street to

Ansley Park Ansley Park is an intown residential district in Atlanta, Georgia, located just east of Midtown and west of Piedmont Park. When developed in 1905-1908, it was the first Atlanta suburban neighborhood designed for automobiles, featuring wide, win ...

**10PP to

Piedmont Park Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentlema ...

**10R Richland * 11 via

Marietta Street Marietta Street is a historic street in Downtown Atlanta. The street leads from Atlanta towards the town of Marietta, as its name indicates. It begins as one of the five streets intersecting at Five Points, leading northwest, forming the sou ...

to Chestnut St. **11E Englislh Avenue **11L (Lakewood) via Washington Street, Milton and Lakewood to

Stewart-Lakewood Center Crossroads Shopping Center, better known by its name in its heyday, Stewart-Lakewood Center, is an open-air shopping center on Metropolitan Parkway (formerly Stewart Avenue) at Langford Parkway (formerly Lakewood Freeway) in the Sylvan Hills nei ...

* 13W West Fair * 15 "Virginia-McLynn": Memorial Drive,

Moreland Avenue The City of Merri-bek is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The Merri-bek local government area covers , and in June 2018, ...

to Confederate * 16L, 16N Forrest, Highland to Lanier Place (L) and Noble Park in Morningside (N) *16S Sylvan Hills * 17

Edgewood Avenue Edgewood Avenue is a street in Atlanta, Georgia, United States which runs from Five Points in Downtown Atlanta, eastward through the Old Fourth Ward. The avenue runs in the direction of the Edgewood neighborhood, and stops just short of it ...

, DeKalb Avenue, West Howard to Decatur *18S Memorial Drive, Boulevard Drive, 3rd, Hill, McDonough to Decatur *18C Memorial Drive, Boulevard Drive to East Lake (Candler at Glenwood) * 19A Bankhead Ave. to Brook Ave. * 19 also marked as 19R ("River") Bankhead Ave., Hollywood Rd., and Bolton Rd. to Marietta Rd. and Chattahoochee River * 20 Lee St. to East Point and via Central to Hapeville (20C to College Park, 20E to East Point only, 20H to Downtown Hapeville, 20F to Ford Plant) *23 West Peachtree Street to Beverly (Midtown), then via Peachtree Street to Brookhaven Country Club (23B Buckhead, 23O Oglethorpe, 23W West Peachtree) * 27 Stewart Ave. to Hapeville

References

Bibliography

* ''The Trolley Titans: A Mobile History of Atlanta'' (Interurbans Special 76, 1981). O.E. Carson. Glendale CA:

Interurban Press Interurban Press was a small, privately owned American publishing company, specializing in books about streetcars, other forms of rail transit and railroads in North America, from 1943MacDougall, Kent (May 19, 1983). "Books Ring Bell With Devot ...

. .

External links

"Trackless Trolley Map and Bus Lines circa 1950", Emory Libraries

at Trolleybuses.net – Pictures, advertisements, literature about the trolleybus system in Atlanta {{DEFAULTSORT:Trolleybuses In Atlanta Transportation in Atlanta

History of Atlanta