trolleys
electric trolleys of washtenaw county
electric streetcars and interurbans appeared in washtenaw county in the 1890s . evolved from horse drawn streetcars electric cars were ideal for public transportation . they were cheap fast and went to plenty of places . the system developed around ann arbor and ypsilanti branching out to detroit to the east and jackson to the west . bigger and better equipment was added and larger companies took over the small ones . in western washtenaw county two interurban railways engaged in a struggle for survival . occasionally the interurbans crashed into buildings or one another with disastrous results . electric trolleys of washtenaw county explains how electric mass transportation flourished starting in the 1890s why it bloomed and why it suddenly became extinct after only a few decades .