One hundred years ago, before the widespread appearence of cars or buses, electric trolley cars and interurbans went to most centres across New England and the mid-west. They disappeared long before the present concerns about global warming and the environment.

This is inside the longest of the museum rides, that at East Troy in Wisconsin. East Troy had no railroad station so the interurban line to "The Jolly Farmer" was bought by he community and is now run by a preservation society. It runs through rural fields and woodlands.

This is called a toastrack car and was used soley during the summer time. There was a considerable trade in "joy riding" before the First World War, where travel smoothly and without smut or cinders seemed almost miraculous.New York to Boston was less than $4, but took much, much longer than the train.

While only a short drive away, the Kenosha streetcar is the centre piece for an area of urban renewal down by the waterfront. This is driven by professsional drivers, but with volunteers to talk about it at weekends. This P.C.C. car which was used by all surviving North American tramways came from Toronto although in the colors of Chicago.

And in the words of "Showboat", this is how we do it now. These Hudson-Bergen line streetcars are state of the art 21st. century .

Click here to take the North Shore car to the Illinois Railway Museum.

Click here to take the C,A & E to the Fox Valley.

Click here to see Superior's whale back ship.

Click here to take the duck to Wisconsin Dells.

Click here to take the Hudson-Bergen tram to New York.

Click here to take the minivan to the contents page.