Baltimore’s trolleys during the Great Depression

Oct 21, 2015

Baltimore’s trolleys during the Great Depression

Jon Sham 0 Comment Maryland, The Baltimore Sun Baltimore, Baltimore trolleys, Great Depression, trolley

Long before the Circulator and Uber, Baltimore had an elaborate system of trolleys. And as wecontinue our look at Baltimore during the Great Depression (thanks to Yale’s Photogrammar site), this week we collected images of Baltimore’s trolleys, taken by Farm Security Administration photographer Marjory Collins in April 1943. All captions are the original text provided with that image.

: “Trolley carrying workers to the night shift at the Bethlehem Fairfield shipyard”

: “Rushing to catch a trackless trolley home from work at four p.m.”

: “Elevated trolley”

: “Workers reading the newsstand papers while waiting for a trolley after work”

: “Getting off a trolley at five p.m.”

: “Trolley car conductor.”

: “Trolley of 1917 vintage. Many old cars have been reconditioned because of wartime transportation pressure.”

: “Trolley of 1917 vintage. Many old cars have been reconditioned because of wartime transportation pressure.”

: “School children and workers returning home on a trolley at five p.m.”

: “Workers hurrying to catch a trolley and a trackless trolley at seven a.m.”

: “Workers hurrying to catch a trolley and a trackless trolley at seven a.m.”

: “Trolley junk in the yard at the Washington terminal, maintenance plant of the Baltimore Transit Company. Most of these trolleys were built before 1907 and are too old to recondition despite wartime needs”

: “Women trolley conductors and motormen at the Terminal lunch. They are not required to wear hats in warm weather”

: “Rubber sandwiches which form a cushion between the thread and the axle of PCC trolley wheels. These are hard to get now”

: “Routine daily check of a trolley at the Park terminal, dispatching center of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Woman winding the armature of a trolley motor in the armature shop of Washington terminal, maintenance plant of the Baltimore Transit Company. This woman was first employed by the company during the last war. No new women have been hired in the maintenance plant in this emergency”

: “Trolley conductors checking in with the dispatcher after completing their route”

: “Woman trolley conductor”

: “Trolley dispatcher in his cage at the Park Terminal listening to a report of the engineer on the condition of a car. Each car receives a routine checkup daily”

: “Workers rushing to catch the trolley home at four p.m.”

: “Hauling armature of a trolley motor to be overhauled at the amature shop at the Washington terminal, maintenance plant of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Woman trolley conductor”

: “Trolley conductor counting his receipts at the Park Terminal, dispatching center of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Trolley junk in the yard at the Washington terminal, maintenance plant of the Baltimore Transit Company. Most of these trolleys can be reconditioned for use if wartime needs so require. In the distance are trackless trolleys”

: “Employees at the maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company having lunch and playing checkers in an old trolley made into a smoker”

: “Trolley terminal”

: “School children and workers returning home on a trolley at five p.m.”

: “Transferring from a trolley to a bus at four p.m.”

: “Trolley conductor at dispatcher’s window”

: “Repairing a wrecked trolley at the damage repair shop of the maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “The yard of the Washington terminal, maintenance plant of the Baltimore Transit Company. From left to right: old trolley made into a smoker for employees; a work car; and old horse car. The Baltimore Trust building on the horizon”

: “Employees at the maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company having lunch and playing checkers in an old trolley made into a smoker”

: “Trolley conductors check in with the dispatcher behind the cage in the rear; pick up transfers, and count their receipts in this room at the Park Terminal, the dispatching center of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Trolley conductors counting their receipts at the Park Terminal, the dispatch center of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Checking the electrical connections underneath a trolley at the Park Terminal. Trolleys are checked in a routine fashion daily and are sent to the maintenance terminal every few weeks”

: “Starting to repair the interior of a wrecked trolley at the damage repair shop of the maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Repairing electric connector at the end of a 1919 trolley, at the damage repair shop of the maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Repairing the motor of a PCC trolley. Most recent trolley model designed in 1936 by a group of manufacturers and transit companies in an effort to standardize, simplify, and bring down the price; at the damage shop, maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Painting the roof and washing the windows of a 1912 trolley at the paint shop of the maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “One-armed painter, hired since the war, repainting the interior of a trolley at the paint shop of the maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Varnishing and repairing the interior of a trolley at the paint shop of the maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Painting a sign on a trolley at the paint shop of the maintenance terminal of the Baltimore Transit Company”

: “Under the elevated trolley. The Baltimore Trust building is in the distance”

: “Trolley leaving the terminal at night”

: “Trucks and trains unloading goods underneath an elevated trolley”

: “Restaurant under the elevated trolley”

: “Trolley terminal”

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