Book Review: The Trolley Car Era in Lincoln by Richard L. Schmeling, Michael M. Bartels and James L. McKee

The Trolley Car Era in Lincoln: Streetcars in Nebraska’s Capital City, 1883-1945
by Richard L. Schmeling, Michael M. Bartels and James L. McKee (398.4 Sch)

This thin, 88-page volume is perfect for anyone curious about Lincoln, Nebraska history. Jam-packed with B&W photographs, it explores the history of streetcars (a.k.a. trolleys) in Lincoln, from the early days of horse-drawn trolleys to the introduction of powered public transportation, all the way through to the elimination of streetcars in favor of the buses that form the modern StarTran system.

 

Tapping into a veritable wealth of images, particularly those accumulated by the late Dick Rumbolz, as well as Rumbolz’ extensive collection of historical notes, the authors present a meandering look at the types of cars used in Lincoln’s streetcar system, the routes they followed, including out to the remote areas (at the time) of College View, Bethany and Havelock), and the workers who ran the streetcars for multiple decades.

 

Though there were multiple companies involved in providing early public transportation, ultimately, the streetcars were all consolidated under The Lincoln Traction Company. You’ll find various sidebars with interesting related topics scattered throughout this book. I also appreciated the reproduction of route maps, brochures, and newspaper articles from various eras. Having grown up in the University Place neighborhood, living on Walker Avenue, I remember seeing the remnants of trolley car tracks embedded in the old street surface in the brick street in front of my house in the late 1960s, before it was repaved — seeing the routes reproduced in this book reminds me of how much Lincoln history I missed out on, having been born in the 1960s.

 

Although full of fascinating information, you’ll probably still find The Trolley Car Era in Lincoln to be a fairly quick read, considering the wealth of photographs included.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Lincoln Memories: The Early Years, A Pictorial History, Lincoln Memories: The 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, A Pictorial History, Volume II and Lincoln Memories: The From the Early Years to the 1970s, A Pictorial History, Volume III all published by The Lincoln Journal Star.)

 

( publisher’s official The Trolley Car Era in Lincoln web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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