At the turn of the century - the 20th century - sprawling communities were connected through trolley systems and small rail lines that connected to larger lines and the world.
For newly a century these lines moved people swiftly, easily, and cheaply. A woman told me that as a young woman in about 1920 she had ridden the train from Enid, Oklahoma to Blackwell, Oklahoma for pocket change.
Our love or lust over the automobile, eventually led to the demise of this means of transportation. Yet, fuel costs, environmental concerns, and parking issues are causing many to look at the older system and see if it can be updated to meet modern needs.
In an age when health concerns encourage getting exercise, when parking can be impossible in some urban locations and work is seldom close to where anyone lives, the idea looks pretty good. To be able to drive to one parking lot, park and step aboard a network of fuel efficient or alternatively powered light rails to take us around the traffic clogged highways makes a lot of sense.
The mystery will be - who will be the ones to call out "All Aboard!!"
For a great coverage of Oklahoma City trolleys check out the rich coverage of OKC History at Doug Dawgz Blog.
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