When Trolleys Ruled the Earth: A Photographic History of Streetcars, Cable Cars, and Classic Trams

Book Synopsis:

Take a trip back to the golden age of the trolley with a stunning photographic pictorial adventure loaded with streetcars from around the world. Colorful, functional, historical, and fascinating; Trolleys and streetcars once ruled the streets and dominated urban public transportation. Celebrate the trolley! Written and designed by World’s Fair historian and writer Mark Bussler (1904 St. Louis World’s Fair: The Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Photographs, The White City of Color, and When Our Antique Car Was New.) When Trolleys Ruled the Earth is a delightfully colorful and detailed look at classic, antique trolleys from the 20th century.

Features:

• More than 90 images of trolleys
• High quality full-size 8 1/2" x 11" color pages
• Ultra-high-resolution scans from the CGR Restoration Workshop archives
• Colorful trolleys from the latter half of the 20th century
• Pristine digitally restored scans of negatives from the first half of the 20th century
• A variety of trolleys, streetcars, cable cars, and more
• Introduction from World’s Fair historian and writer, Mark Bussler

“For decades, trolleys were an integral part of daily life in American cities. Then, in many cities, almost overnight, they disappeared. The trolley lines vanished and the rails were paved over. In this book, I want to celebrate not just the beautiful design of these vehicles, but to also preserve their legacy and their place in the history of mass transit.” – Bussler

Excerpt:

“My dad was always into trains, but it was all about the trolley for me. Trolleys ruled not just the rails but the roads as well. They pushed mere cars out of their way, bumped bystanders, and noisily scooted down city streets, delivering passengers where they needed to go. Trains were big and clumsy. Trolleys were like spaceships with wheels.

I vividly remember standing in downtown Pittsburgh with my dad around 1980. We watched a colorful, rounded trolley roll off the Smithfield Street Bridge in downtown Pittsburgh (at least, that’s how I remember it. I was very young.) The bridge and a Pittsburgh trolley from that era are pictured on [page 7.]

Over the next few decades, Pittsburgh, like many other American cities, retired their aging fleet of trolleys, paved over the lines on the streets, and abolished cable cars in favor of busses and light rail service. There is no remaining evidence on the Smithfield Street Bridge that trolleys ever existed.

About the Writer:

Writer, artist, musician, and publisher Mark Bussler has written more than 100 books and designed over 300 covers for CGR Publishing. Bussler is a professional artist and commercial designer who works in digital and physical media. He created and continues to develop the Robot Kitten Factory series, Retromegatrex, How to Draw Inspired by Classic Illustrations, and other graphic novels and instructional guides. Additionally, he writes history books and photographic history collections such as 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair: The Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Photographs. Bussler previously produced and directed films such as Westinghouse, Expo: Magic of the White City, and the Classic Game Room series. He is the founder and president of CGR Publishing, and founder of the industrial synthesizer laser-disco band, Turbo Volcano and the ambient synth group, Seatropica. Bussler produces and hosts the weekly CGR Podcast featuring Turbo Volcano.