I have a number of the Interurban Press books on Pacific Electric, its operations and lines. One term I come across, frequently, up until the early 1950s, is the franchise run or franchise car. It appears when a line was converted to bus operation or for all intents and purposes shut down, a car would continue to make a one a day run for days, weeks or even several months and then the service would be 100% discontinued. The term is not generally used in the Northeast. As long as a trip was operated a line apparently was still active.
I've guessed that the purpose of the franchise car was to keep the city or county from ripping up the line until the PE removed what it wanted tp salvage or negotiated the most favorable terms it could get regarding repaving the roadway and so on. Am I close to right on this?
I've guessed that the purpose of the franchise car was to keep the city or county from ripping up the line until the PE removed what it wanted tp salvage or negotiated the most favorable terms it could get regarding repaving the roadway and so on. Am I close to right on this?