Looking for Bears

These time saver cards can be pretty amusing.  The first one is from Sayner, Wisconsin, but appears to have been sent from Boulder Junction, Wisconsin.

The card was sent to Mrs. Jennie Weeks in Colfax, Illinois from her niece Ruth. The message reads:

Dear Aunt Jennie

The 30th we went out to look for bears. But we did not see a bear. The 28th we went to a lumber camp for dinner. love Ruth

Here's another time saver card, although this one doesn't have any check marks and was never sent.

Capital Transit, Washington, D.C.

You could probably get these postcards at the information booth at Union Station back in the old days. Capital Transit was formed  in 1933 with the merger of the three existing transit providers (Washington Railway, Capital Traction, and Washington Raid Transit.) Although Capital Transit closed several streetcar lines and replaced them with buses, they also updated the streetcar fleet with streamlined modern PCC streetcars. In 1945, they had the third largest streetcar fleet in the United States.
They ran into financial trouble in 1955, due in part to the owners paying themselves huge dividends during a time of declining transit ridership. They tried to make up for the falling revenue and squandered reserves by requesting a fare increase, which was denied.  As a result, they were unable to offer any raises for employees and the employees went on strike. During the seven-week strike, passengers had to find other ways to travel.

Capital Transit met its demise in an interesting and unusual way. One of the owners, Louis Wolfson, dared the Senate to revoke his franchise, claiming no one else would be willing to take it over.  Congress did indeed revoke his franchise, and the new system, under the leadership of Ray Chalk, was known as DC Transit.

Union Station - Washington, D.C.

For some reason I love this card - the perspective, the sign, the columns, and mostly just the space.

The card was sent to Merton Chapin in 1923. The message reads:

 Washington, January 19, 1923

Dear Cousins.

Am spending a part of my vacation in N.Y., Phil, Baltimore and Washington and having the time of my life. I expect to be in Ohio very soon and spend a few days with my folks.  I am seeing the most wonderful things imaginable. Expect to go out to see the president tomorrow. Also intend to do the Engraving Dept. and the Treasury.  N.L.C.

Streetcar Sunday - Washington, D.C.

Once again, it's Streetcar Sunday!
This card was sent in 1918. Note the cancellation stamp, which says "food will win the war." I'm going to have to think about that one for awhile. The sender affixed twice as much postage as was needed;  postal rates had been increased during the war, but only for letters. The cost of mailing a postcard remained at one cent until 1952 when the rate was raised to two cents.

Washington's streetcar service was established in 1862. As in many other cities throughout America and around the world, the first streetcars in Washington D.C. were horse drawn. There was a big incentive to move away from horse-drawn streetcars, as the horses required constant care and maintenance, messed up the streets with their manure, and were unable to pull the cars up steep hills. If there was an outbreak of disease among the horses, it meant that the cars had to be pulled by humans.

In 1894, Congress began requiring streetcar companies to switch away from horse power. They had also prohibited overhead wires, so providers had to choose between cables, battery power or underground wire. Some streetcar companies tried cable systems, but it soon became clear that the electric system was superior. At the time this postcard was printed, Washington D.C. had about 100 miles of track within the city and many of the existing streetcar providers had consolidated.

Beginning in 1935, several streetcar lines were converted to bus lines, but as gas rationing during World War II cut down on automobile use, the streetcar service thrived. By 1945, Washington D.C.'s streetcar fleet was the third largest in the United States. Washington D.C. also retained its streetcar system much longer than most American cities. The last streetcar ran in 1962.

Now Washington D.C. is looking at reintroducing streetcar service with 8 lines and 37 miles of track.  The district bought its initial streetcar vehicles in conjunction with the City of Portland, Oregon in order to benefit from a bulk purchase. Unfortunately, various construction delays required the cars to be stored for several years in the Czech Republic at large expense. The cars were finally shipped to the U.S. in late 2009. The first two lines, in Anacostia and on H Street, are scheduled to open in 2012. The rest of the system is scheduled to open by about 2020.

One of the problems with transportation planning in Washington is that there are so many competing (or at least conflicting) branches of government with different sets of rules. For instance, the first part of the H Street line falls under the the congressional prohibition of overhead wires, but the rest of it does not.