Trolley exhibit shows region on the move

[OwlCaboose2853]

Trolley exhibit shows region on the move


Web-posted Feb 7, 2005
By NATALIE LOMBARDO
Of The Daily Oakland Press

Kathryn Briggs, 91, remembers hopping on a trolley at age 17 and enjoying a relaxing ride on her way to school.
Briggs would leave her Farmington Hills home and pay a quarter to end up at Wayne State University, formerly a teachers college.

"I walked over to Grand River from the high school and up to Farmington. I went down to Detroit, had a transfer and went across town to school," said Briggs, a retired Farmington teacher.

In honor of the extinct transportation system that once served southeast Michigan, an extensive collection of interurban memorabilia will be on display Feb. 14-19 at The Winery, 31505 Grand River Ave. in Farmington, compliments of a trolley historian, Brian Golden.

"Trolley lines were very much used - you could jump on one in metro Detroit and take it to Farmington, Bay City, Jackson, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Muskegon - they connected all of the local communities together," said Golden, of Farmington. "There are still people alive, in their 90s, who fondly remember the interurban because they rode them as children."

The Winery is the former Detroit United Railway powerhouse. The Detroit United Railway, Golden explained, was a business syndicate out of Ohio that aimed to circumnavigate Lake Erie. So it purchased and unified 30 Detroit railway companies.

Golden's extensive collection - artifacts from the Detroit and Northwestern Railway, the Detroit United Railway and the Michigan Electric Railway - can give visitors a feel for the interurban. Included will be an interurban scale model, maps, documents, photos, motormen's uniform pieces, tickets, lanterns, pieces of track and a presentation with a sideshow.

Joe Pelegrino, The Winery Museum curator, said, "The electric trolley car was invented in Detroit, and this building powered the rails that went throughout the state."

Golden's collection was accumulated through years of research.

The interurban flourished, from 1885 to 1930, as it became electrified.

In 1930, the tracks were removed because of companies' financial struggles amid the Depression.

Golden said he expects hundreds of trolley and train enthusiasts to visit throughout the week. And he timed the exhibition during the Farmington school district's winter break so students can attend.

"I want to heighten awareness as to our history. Young people today have no clue what the interurban was - that it even existed in their community," Golden said.

Golden, 51, is director of Pastways Inc., a nonprofit historic corporation that provides resource materials for local residents. He has authored five local history books and is a member of the Oakland County Historical Commission, president of the Farmington Historical Society and in five other local historical societies.

If you go

The Farmington Trolley exhibition will be noon-3 p.m., with presentations at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., Feb. 14-19. Saturday hours will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m., with presentations at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. A $5 donation is requested. For information, visit www.pastways.info or call (248) 701-8112.

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/ ... 7007.shtml

[MP82Wabash]

For anyone interested in trolleys and interurbans, there is excellent musuem in Ontario, about three hours east of Detroit/Windsor. Should anyone like to take a look, the link is http//www.hcry.org/ The collection is extensive........including operation........and they are very accomodating to photographers. DRA