This narrated video shows the last days of operation of Belmont, Irving Park and Montrose trolley bus lines in Chicago, taken on January 13, 1973. trolley bus electric bus Marman
I have hundreds of feet of color movie film of the CTA Marmon-Herrington trolley coaches in their last days of operation. I worked long and hard to try to convince the CTA to retain the trolley coaches, but my efforts failed. But my efforts were successful in Dayton, Ohio, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Seattle. For my efforts and hard work in Chicago, a local group back then presented me with a gorgeous, framed water-color painting of a CTA Marmon. That painting hangs proudly on the wall of my computer room 51 years later here in New Jersey where I live. Speaking of Marmon trolley coaches, I have three of them from Philadelphia {called trackless trolleys there} in my vintage transit vehicle collection. Also in my vehicle collection is a Philly 1947 Brill, a 1947 Dayton Pullman and a 1939 Mack from Wilmington, Delaware.
They didn't need additional infrastructure, they just ran where existing lines were. They had the advantage of being able to detour occasional obstructions that halted rail bound trolleys.
I remember these when I was very little. Every now and then the bus would lose connection with the overhead wires. Driver had a big pole he’d use to get it back on track. Can’t believe they ran till ‘73 my high school graduation year. Great video!
I only ever rode the trolley busses once or twice; there were street cars on the Cottage Grove line when I was a kid. This vid brings back memories. Thanks.
This post really brings back memories of the many times I stayed with my grandparents near Belmont and Laramie in the 50’s and 60’s. So many times we would take the Belmont bus to what is now the “red line” to go to the loop. Chicago’s transit system was so easy to use that they never even had driver’s licenses.
I Remember riding the Trolley Buses in "1972" for the first time I Was 13 years Old Sparks Used to fly Off Poles When it Struck the Line those Were fund Memories in Chicago Illinois!!! 👍🏾💞😎
🔴🦅🇺🇸🦅, I grew up in Chicago, I used to ride the trolley back and forth to work to the bicycle shop I was employed By after school , Great footage 🎥🎞️📺 👍👍👍‼️
Fantastic video. Losing those trolley buses were a crime against humanity. From your video, it appears as if everyone was speeding. January 13, 1973 must have been a cold day. Thanks for sharing your memories with us for all posterity.
124 Marmon Herrington trolleybuses from Chicago were sent to Guadalajara in 1972, I met them in 1980 and the crush was instantaneous, I was 8 years old; ...... this year I am about to finish a book about trolleybuses, in it I drew a miniature with a Marmon from Chicago, yes; the Marmon TC49 is designed in the Chicago color scheme of white and green. Thanks for sharing!!!
I remember these growing up in Chicago. Left in 1971 for college in New Mexico but returned for work during the summer and Christmas Break. Returned in May 1973 and no electric busses on Montrose or Lawrence. Dad said they were all gone. The end of an era.
I grew up in Chicago! I remember these buses and rode on some. They were the good old days. I used to take these buses on North Avenue to Lincoln Park and back! WOW! thank you for these historic pictures! Brings back a slew of memories!
I recall a huge coal power plant on Addison and California. You could see huge piles of coal/cinders. The buses were pollution free but the plants supplying the power to the buses were not. The snow on the ground in winter would have black ash spread across it. The electric cars today still face the same issue.
Great video! Thanks for posting. I noticed at about 5:47 at the Central Ave. stop, Portage Park on the left (my old neighborhood). Brings back great memories.
In winter the best seat was in the back over the resistor bank, it was always warm. It was entertaining when a driver would forget he was driving an electric, and attempted to pass a bus at a stop. Then he would have to get out and reset the trolley poles. During ice storms the trolleys could not get good contact with the wire, and would lurch along with lots of sparks. CTA had its own DC 600V power stations. Massive cables along streets with electric busses. Expensive.
Thanks Dad--love your productions. I actually don't remember the trolly buses in the 70s. Probably because by then, I was driving everywhere. I certainly remember them in the 50s though.
Awesome video!! Thanks for capturing the end of an era. I believe the turn-ins identified as Belmont and Octavia were actually at Cumberland, and the next one identified as Cumberland was actually Octavia. The first Irving Park clip after the ones at Neenah is crossing Central. You were right, 01/13/1973 was the last day of electric operation on Roosevelt also. Only two days later, Grand had its last day - a week after that we lost Fullerton too. After that only North, Pulaski and Cicero survived. North until 03/23 and Pulaski & Cicero until the overall final day, early in the morning of 03/25. Thanks again!!!
Octavia was the original end of the city limits. West o f that was Belmont Heights, until chicago acquired the suburb. The line was then extended to Cumberland
Thank you, this is awesome. To think we had zero Emission busses 50 years ago and gave it up for those stinky Diesels. I spoke to an old CTA employee who said these busses were very quick and had great heat.
absolutely nobody thought in those terms back then. they switched to diesel because it was cheaper than electricity at the time and they wanted more flexibility to change routes quickly to match the population growth. what a time we live in now.
I grew up near Huron and Cicero Ave. in the 50's. I remember my mom taking me on the Chicago Ave bus to shop at Montgomery Wards. I went to Our Lady Help of Christians grammar school and church. We always walked unless it was really cold. Getting bus money was a real treat. Years later I took the bus everywhere, but especially to North Ave beach in the summer. The trolley buses were reasonably quiet and comfortable. I liked putting my coins in the fare box and getting a transfer. The diesel replacement buses were awful. They belched out black smoke, were very loud, and smelled awful. Thanks for reminding me of the good old days.
Thanks for fantastic video and your style of presentation. Was born in Chicago in '57 and remember quite well the trolley buses. Shame they had to go. Were very dependable and still used in many European countries today.
Not only Europe including Russia and Ukraine, but also Turkey, Morocco, China with 13 cities and a host of trolleybus manufacturing companies, Latin America with Brazil and Mexico at the forefront
We had trollies in Columbus Ohio until sometime in the late1960's I think. I used to ride them all the time. We lived in Linden and rode the Cleveland Ave. line to down town when we were like 10 years old in the 1950's ! Can you imagine that happening today ? I remember riding the trollies in my freshman high school year but then I bought my first car and never rode them again. I can distinctly remember a conversation between a bus driver and a man as we rode on the Cleveland Ave. bus during the final days of their existence. The driver said that we were lucky that the Cleveland Ave line was one of the last to be converted to the diesel buses. He said the the exhaust from the diesel was just awful. I had heard that the conversion of trollies to diesel was a plan of General Motors who made the diesels. True or not I don't know. But even today at 78 years I miss those beautiful yellow trollies as they always took me to where I wanted to go. Loved your video. Thanks.
Going to Columbia College,1968 to 1971, was located on Lake Shore Drive, across from Navy Pier. The Grand Avenue Trolly Bus heading east was the way to get to the college from State Street. These trollies would turn around by Navy Pier to head back west on Grand avenue.
I was born in Chicago in 1969, so a bit too young to remember these, unfortunately. I do recall in the later 70s seeing remnants of streetcar tracks and assumed (in my 8 or 9 year old mind) that they had stopped running in the late 1800s not realizing that streetcars were in use until about 20 years prior.
Thanks so much. Really appreciate your efforts from 50 years ago. We had these in Toronto (just imagine the green replaced by dark red). Wish they never got rid of them. Very powerful acceleration, smooth and quiet. Moreso than the streetcars we now have (plus diesel electric busses made in China). One streetcar gets stuck for whatever reason (breakdown, security incident, etc.) and all the ones behind are also stuck. Also prevents automobiles from getting past unless you illegally and dangerously try the oncoming lane. . Major delays and gridlock. With the trolley busses they simply coasted to the curb and pulled their poles down. Busses behind simply drove past the broken bus.
The last trolley bus i was on was Roosevelt road in 1970. Those were the only viable EVs I can imagine but they complained that they were'a hazard to traffic'. They were fast and had no brakes,merely take your foot of the accelerator.
Of course they had brakes. In fact they had three types of brakes - friction, air and regenerative. The trolley buses in Milwaukee did have a unique feature in their power pedal. If you took your foot completely off the power pedal, the brakes would begin to apply.
According to the book, "Transit's Stepchild, The Trolley Coach," North American, 1973 trolleybus operations came to an end not only in Chicago but Kitchner, ON as well.
It is insanity that trolleybuses were removed. They are superior in regards to fuel-efficiency and pollution. It's sad in the same fashion as the removal of train lines were. I'm from Sweden and I think that it was a similar process all over the western world in the 60s and the 70s. The automobile was supposed to reign supreme in the future. It was a sad development.
Trolley buses never served the 126 and the last day of service for them in the city was early in the morning of 03/25/1973 on 53 Pulaski and 54 Cicero.
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So sad. Vancouver is now maybe the only city in N.America that has kept their trolley buses. I used to love riding on the old Brill trolleys and I think they've kept one or two for special occasion trips. Since the Brills were retired in the late 70s they were replaced with New Flyers and not sure what they've using today, some space age looking ones my guess. The other thing noticeable is that I can tell what make and model most of those cars are instantly, not like today they all look the same.
@@SMartinTX Boston discontinued their final trolley bus operations in the first part of 2022. I believe Philadelphia continues to operate trolleybuses on some routes.
The contact was a U shaped carbon shoe which resisted lateral movement. If one or both popped off the wire AND the bus had not yet drifted to far away from the overhead wires then it was relatively easy for the driver to get out and reposition the shoes back onto the wires. I know this because I used to drive this type of bus during summer of 1969 as a college student who was hired for the summer months. The full time bus drivers wanted to have summer vacations. So CTA hired college kids during then summer months. Great job and paid very well.
@@thomasomeara4705 thank you for writing. The trolley busses must have had very good starting acceleration as the video shows. Must have been a summer driver
A stupid complaint really, trolleys are pretty cheap since they don't need engines or batteries, electric with almost no emissions, modern ones are very quiet, and the wires aren't really that bad
@@edwardbrown3721 Plus, the technology has advanced far enough that they can be unobtrusive and less visible than power lines. The idea that diesel is cheaper is also a flat out lie.
They were until late 80's when they were finally retired and dismantled. They came to Guadalajara, were refurbished and operated from 1976 to 1989/90 as far as I remember. There was even an attempt to wholly renovate them with new bodies but only one of then was rejuvenated (it wasn't as cost-effective as they hoped). Not one of these single trolleybuses was kept, and their former depot is now a government-operated impound lot.
