Trolley video, one of many.

[Alan Sondheim]

Trolley video, one of many.

An 1897 German trolley moving out on a truck from Redhook, Brooklyn, to
upstate New York.

You ask why should this be of interest to you? It shouldn't, I think. I'm
fascinated by trolleys, tracked and trackless; I was lucky to come across
this one as it was being loaded onto a flatbed truck. The original tape is
quite long; you're watching a segment, the truck pulling out, down the
long alley, in reverse. I love the video, but only perhaps because I love
the vehicle; this is the wave of the future, now transformed into light
rail systems all over the world. From around 1890 through 1940 or so,,
trolleys dominated public transportation in the United States; after that
they were phased out as a result of improved roads and the spreading use
of automobiles. Now they're coming back, they're clean, fairly inexpensive
to run, avoiding traffic jams (in Geneva for example, the trolleys control
the traffic lights; they have the right-of-way). Oh this is an excuse! I
love trolleys, that's all.

http://www.asondheim.org/1897trolley.mp4
http://www.asondheim.org/rh2.mov