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  • Streetcars in Savannah, Georgia

  • This forum is for discussion of "Fallen Flag" roads not otherwise provided with a specific forum. Fallen Flags are roads that no longer operate, went bankrupt, or were acquired or merged out of existence.
This forum is for discussion of "Fallen Flag" roads not otherwise provided with a specific forum. Fallen Flags are roads that no longer operate, went bankrupt, or were acquired or merged out of existence.

Moderator: Nicolai3985

 #1329614  by bellstbarn
 
We enjoyed a brief visit to Savannah, Georgia, last week. Since my return, I have been looking through images on the web, finding a few photos of trolleys on a single track on Broughton St., the main business street before shoppers fled to suburban malls. I missed visiting the Georgia State Railway museum, which apparently has a trolley car. Too many of the internet searches end up with the Melbourne car on River St., now out of service, and anyhow powered by internal combustion fuel.
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One railway museum map promises to show streetcar trackage in the city, but fails to do so.
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My puzzle is whether the Broughton Street trackage was one-way, with cars returning on a parallel street, or had passing sidings, most unusual for service on the principal commercial street of the era. I think buses replaced streetcars about 1947. In 2015, only one bus route plies Broughton Street. Fourteen bus routes serve the bus terminal ("intermodal center") at the west end of historical downtown.
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Can anyone supply links to other photos or track maps or history? I cannot even find the 1940's name of the company that provided the service. The history I found deals with the 1800's and horse cars.
Many thanks!
Joe McMahon
 #1342812  by bellstbarn
 
Many thanks, Leo, for the photo of the interurban car, lettered Savannah at the baggage end, St. Joseph on the other end. I cannot find a town or hamlet named St. Joseph that the interurban could be coming from. An important St. Joseph Hospital was on East Taylor Street, Savannah, from 1901 onwards during the streetcar era. I find intriguing that the passengers pay as they enter, then walk through the baggage compartment to reach their seats. But, of course, this is a double-ended car, so in the other direction the passengers would be entering directly to their seats. I guess the freight may well have been cans of milk, as the traffic of milk into the city was mentioned in a Savannah history I read, without reference to traction.
With appreciation, Joe McMahon