Shooting the Bull
John Schelp, neighborhood activist and all around good guy, joins Kevin and i tonight for a conversation about the history of public transportation in the Bull City on Shooting the Bull, 7:30 pm on WXDU, 88.7 FM. Or listen online here.
Labels: radio
Since 1949, Durhamites have slept soundly, secure in the knowledge that, in our town, erection can be depended upon. Now, thanks to the power of the internets, we can spread that security all over the world.
1 Comments:
Barry & Kevin,
I really enjoyed our interview last night. That was fun. (And it was cool to see how you two operate behind the scenes.)
Here's a 1920 map that shows the old trolley lines and neighborhood streets near the WXDU studios... http://www.owdna.org/1920map.htm
Despite the tremendous pressure to recant, it looks like I was pretty close on my dates for the trolley in the Bull City. :)
Durham's street cars lasted from 1887 until they started to get phased out and replaced by gasoline driven buses in 1925. Here are excerpts from Durham Sun columnist and historian, Wyatt T. Dixon:
* The history of Durham's street transportation system is an interesting one. It began in 1885 when the Durham Street Railway Company was organized to operate a street railway system, and the mule-drawn cars made their appearance for the first time about two years later... In 1901, the second chapter in the story began with the purchase of the company's franchise by the Durham Traction Company, now a part of the Duke Power system, and the replacement of the lowly mule by electricity... The final chapter began with the demise of the street car for the gasoline driven bus which form of transportation continues today... Of the three forms of transportation, the streetcar was doubtlessly the most popular. (page 184)
* Durham's first street cars were drawn by mules and the car line extended from a point near the present Duke University women's campus [East Campus] down Main Street to Ramseur Street. (page 249)
* Electric street cars served the people until 1925 when they were replaced by buses. The change-over was completed sometime later. (page 271)
* Durham is said to have been the first city in North Carolina to replace [street cars] with buses. (page 29)
* The bus finally replaced the streetcar. Restricted to its tracks, the streetcars faced competition from the operation of automobiles called "jitneys" which operated in areas not served by streetcars. This was one of the compelling reasons for the change to the bus system. (page 184)
* When the street car system gave way to the bus tracks were not removed and they remain in some sections as mute reminders of another era in Durham's life. (page 249)
Source: How Times Do Change. Central Carolina Publishing Co. Durham. 1987. Dixon's columns, "How Times Do Change," appeared from the 1940s until the 1980s.
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