Sunday, September 19, 2010

Streetcar Sunday - K.C. Excelsior Springs

This stunning card comes from Brian over at Paper Sponge. Isn't it a beauty?

As a side note, yesterday was a very interesting blog day. According to the Statcounter, I normally get 90 - 100 unique visitors in one day. I don't ascribe a lot of importance to numbers, but I was surprised when the number of unique visitors exceeded 2,200 for the day. What the heck was going on? Well, there must have been some article somewhere that sent people scrambling for images of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier.  They all stopped by to look at this post from almost a year ago. I find it amusing, but I also know that they are not really interested in postcards and they won't be back. It's hard to believe that greater interest is generated by Grace Kelly than by this lovely interurban.

In general, Interurbans were designed to provide an alternative to the steam trains and their infrequent service. The interurbans were often luxuriously appointed with leather or velvet seats, and they were also fairly fast (in theory 80 miles per hour, although 50 or 60 represented the reality.) They allowed residents of outlying areas to reach bigger cities. They also allowed for a great deal of travel between cities, and cross-country travel for those who linked trips between interurban services. Sadly, they weren't around very long, mostly because cars came along, which seemed so much more convenient.

The Kansas City, Excelsior Springs, and St. Joseph Railway operated two light-rail lines powered by overhead wires - one between Kansas City and Excelsior Springs and another between Kansas City and St. Joseph. It ran hourly, and the fare was $1.55. It took about two hours between cities. This interurban ran from the early 1900s until 1933. Grace Kelly would have looked great riding in it.

Here's the back of the card, sent in 1921:
at

9 comments:

  1. PostcardySeptember 19, 2010 at 8:33 AM

    I love the picture and believe this is an early Hallmark card. Hall Bros. Inc. was formed in 1923 according to the Hallmark site, but there was a store earlier. I think the date looks like the last number might be something other than 1.

    http://corporate.hallmark.com/history/founder-jc-hall

    ReplyDelete
  2. MeriSeptember 19, 2010 at 4:11 PM

    What a beauty! Imagine the luxury of velvet or sumptuous leather seats and the excitement of going to the city to shop or see a play or visiting someone special.

    ReplyDelete
  3. dianasfaria.comSeptember 19, 2010 at 8:54 PM

    leather or velvet seats? that does sound luxurious! I wish the Long Island Rail Road had that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2010 at 2:02 AM

    Postcardy, thanks, now I'll know to blame Mr. Hall for those sentimental, overwrought, silly cards I don't like! I guess Hallmark's $4 or $5 billion annual gross proves me mistaken.

    Lily and Meri, we had the Niles (Ohio) Car and Manufacturing Co. here, a builder of streetcars and interurbans. My understanding is leather seating was chosen then for its utility. Cf. photos of coaches and early automobiles in which the coachman or driver has leather seats, his upmarket passengers sit on cloth. Jack/Y-town

    ReplyDelete
  5. Christine H.September 20, 2010 at 8:37 AM

    I should have mentioned that in this car, the leather seats were for the smoking section and the cloth ones for the non-smoking section. Makes sense, really.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2010 at 3:42 PM

    Yeah, Christine, and both the leather and velvet seats are likely to have used horsehair batting or filler. Jack/Y-town

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2010 at 10:46 PM

    Think of all the poor bald horses in those bays...

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2010 at 10:48 PM

    oops, I meant 'days', sorry- both for the misspelling and being for a wise guy

    ReplyDelete
  9. LindaSeptember 25, 2010 at 8:52 PM

    So good to see a close-up of this beauty (and I mean the interurban, not the princess). Had no clue about Hall preceding Hallmark, thanks for that history, Postcardy.

    ReplyDelete