Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This book is too good not to have at least one review. While I have no overwhelming interest in Midwestern interurbans, the combination of Amazon's price, admiration for author Harwood's other work, and the quality of Indiana University Press' Railroads Past and Present series of books made a purchase irresistible.
It took longer to write The Lake Shore Electric Railway Story than the 37 years the company existed. Authors Harwood and Korach completed the writing of a project begun by John Rehor and Willis McCaleb. Perhaps the Lake Shore was fortunate in running between populous Cleveland and Toledo, but the photographic record of the line is simply amazing #although coverage of the extreme western end of the line near Toledo has been slighted#. There is enough detailed coverage of the nuts and bolts to satisfy the hard core rail buff: main line operations, local service in cities and towns, equipment, freight, and wrecks #typical of interurbans, there were more than enough of those#.
But readers with interests in economics and technology should also enjoy the book. The interurbans "flamed out" with a rapidity that is rare in American history. Harwood and Korach explain why the Lake Shore finally went bankrupt, and how management in a declining industry fought against the inevitable.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Lake Shore Electric Railway Story (Railroads Past and Present)
The Lake Shore Electric"The Greatest Electric Railway in theUnited States"Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., and Robert S.KorachA classic look at one of America's favorite electricrailways.From 1901 to 1938 the Lake Shore Electric claimed to be-- and was considered by many -- "The Greatest Electric Railway in the UnitedStates." It paralleled the shore of Lake Erie, connecting Cleveland and Toledo witha high-speed, limited-stop service and even pioneered a form of intermodaltransportation three decades before the rest of the industry. Tomillions of people the bright orange electric cars were an economical andcomfortable means of escaping the urban mills and shops, or the humdrum of rurallife. In summers during the glory years there were never enough cars to handle thecrowds seeking weekend retreats to Lake Erie's beaches and amusement parks. Tothousands of midwestern newlyweds the Lake Shore was one of the more enjoyablepassages taken on the long but pleasant trip to Niagara Falls, which included thenight boat from Cleveland to Buffalo. Reaching its peak in theearly 1920s, the Lake Shore Electric suffered the fate of most of its sister lines:unfortunate timing. Created as an alternative to dirty, expensive, and uncomfortablehorsedrawn carriages and primitive roads, it was soon competing with automobiles,trucks, and buses on subsidized highways. It could not rival their convenience. Therailway's fixed costs and construction debt made the struggle economicallyunwinnable.The Lake Shore Electric tells the entire story of thisfascinating chapter in interurban transportation, even including the missedopportunities that might have saved this railway.Herbert H.Harwood, Jr., has had concurrent careers as a railroad historian, writer,photographer, and working railroader. He spent 30 years in various managementpositions at C&O and B&O and their successor, CSX. He is author of elevenbooks on railroad and electric railway history and numerousarticles.Robert S. Korach has had a lifelong fascination withurban rail, and has worked with the Cleveland transit system, PATCO's Lindenwold(NJ) high-speed line, MBTA, and the Los Angeles transit system. He is past presidentof the Association of Railway Museums and was elected in 1995 to the American PublicTransit Association's Hall of Fame.
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