baron

Like most unproven transit technologies, the concept is long on claims and short on details. The TR people claim a cost of $400K per column/$20 million per mile. That means column spacing of about 100 feet. The illustrations seems to show considerably shorter column spacing. They also claim that the vehicle will always be supported by 3 or 4 columns. That means the vehicle must be in excess of 300 feet long. Just think about the engineering problems involved in designing a narrow, lightweight rigid vehicle of that length that would stand up to the stresses it would face.

There is no mention of how track switches would be built. The illustration of the end-of-line "turntable" is comical. The fact that patents on the system have been issued only means that the idea is novel, not that it will necessarily work (or cost) as envisioned.

The history of transportation is littered with proposals to replace traditional rail-based technology, which has enjoyed over a century of technical refinement and standardization. Those cities which have adopted novel technologies (eg. Vancouver Skytrain, various European guided-bus systems, VAL) generally regret the decision, especially after the creator of the proprietary technology goes out of business and there is no one else to support it.

I'm sure the advocates of tubular rail believe in their concept. Let them privately finance a full-size demonstration line and then we can have a fact-based discussion of the merits of the system.

It's an ok (if rather one-sided) documentary, but it's a shame that right near the beginning they refer to electric streetcars as "cable cars," not once but twice. Houston never had cable cars, which are an entirely different technology than electric streetcars or trolleys. Calling a streetcar a "cable car" is like calling the Queen Mary a "sailboat".

Yet another example of Houston's historical amnesia.

It looks like it used to be a sign, but I'm not sure. I know a Houston Historian who works as a professor at UHD, he might know. I'll ask him and see what he says.

That looks to me like part of an early air-conditioning system.

The track at the bottom of the Life magazine photo (with the Sam Houston statue) was the Houston Electric streetcar line to Bellaire. This section of track was used by the Bellaire line until abandonment in 1927 and by the Rice Institute shuttle until 1929.

Yes, the current MetroRail line crosses Montrose Blvd at almost the exact same location. At the time of the photo Fannin Street had not yet been extended to that point.

This is speculation, but the fact that the map actually shows one track going directly to the power house would argue very strongly that it was used to deliver fuel. And while coal may have been used early on, many power plants in Texas were converted to oil fuel by the 1920s, which also could have been delivered by rail.

I like how the campus architects carefully designed the smokestack to look like a campanile. Lovely!

Does anyone have a street address or email for Douglas Weiskopf, the author of this book? I'd like to write to him.

Very nice photos. I especially like the unusual view of the Gulf Building.

I believe that the uglified building next to it is the former Carter Building. It was pretty good looking when built.

I can confirm that at Memorial High in the mid 70's, the stoner kids were referred to as "jels" I have never encountered that term anywhere else.

Well thanks so much for the kind words about my book. I finished it over 10 years ago and it's gratifying that folks still find it interesting. I had a great time putting it together.

Yes, it was self-published. I had looked into having it published by one of the "railfan" specialty publishers, but in the end I decided that the economics worked out better to do it myself. It was printed by a company in Iowa that specializes in yearbooks, hence the nice glossy paper and high-quality binding. Incidentally, there are only about 150 unsold copies left. I sell them direct or you can usually find them at Brazos Bookstore.

You might recall a news item from the Chronicle a few months ago about the discovery of some of the old corporate records of the streetcar company. I'm going through these materials now. Most of it is pretty dry corporate and financial stuff, but there are some interesting tidbits. When time permits, I hope to add some of this information to my web site as a sort of addendum to the book. Eventually, the original materials will all be going to the HMRC at the public library.

I really enjoy keeping an eye on the HAIF message boards, sorry that I don't post more often.

Steve Baron

This book has been mentioned previously here and there on HAIF, and the author (Steven M. Baron) has posted on HAIF a few times as "baron", but I don't think there's been a thread about the book itself.

I bought a copy a couple of months ago, and have so far only looked through the photos and read chapters here and there. But the historic photos are great, and the chapters I've read have been very well researched. While the focus is the history of Houston's streetcar system - an interesting enough subject in and of itself - the parts I've read have touched on many other aspects of Houston history.

This isn't much of a review, and maybe I can write more when I'm finished with the book. But while I was thinking of it, I thought I'd recommend it to others. It's bigger, heavier, and slicker (and just overall nicer) than I expected from the author's website - not that I expected it not to be nice. It appears to be self-published, and so I'll give Mr. Baron the credit for not cutting corners. And I got it very promptly after ordering it.

Thanks, Mr. Baron, if you happen to read this - I'm really enjoying the book.

O.........M..........G

You DON'T KNOW how long I've been looking for such a site! Seeing Houston in 1957, 1964, 1973, and 1981 is SUCH a treat! Thanks!

If you use the comparison feature, you can manipulate a split screen and literally watch as neighborhoods are paved over by freeways. An amazing web site.

I believe the platform shed behind the present Amtrak station is a remnant from the old SP Grand Central Depot of 1934. I also recall Amtrak having a few of the old wooden benches from that station, but this was several years ago. I'm not sure if they're still there (it's been a while since I've lived in Houston).

Photo #19 is amazing. You can see the new station AND the old Grand Central Depot and trainshed, both of which were demolished probably within a few months after the photo was made. I've never seen both of them in the same photo before.

It was a real thrill to locate that collection after knowing about it all these years, but not being able to see it. When I was researching my book I contacted Lambert about the materials but he apparently wasn't in a "sharing mood" at that time. So it was really seredipidy that the collection surfaced again and someone tipped me off about it. And since I don't live in Houston anymore, it was fortunate that Randy Pace of the city historical preservation office was able to help me arrange the purchase from the estate.

The collection has a few photos but is mostly ledger books with legal documents, board meeting minutes, and other fairly esoteric stuff. I'm looking forward to going through it all, and yes, I do intend that it will eventually end up at the HMRC where it can be used by other researchers.

Thanks for the nice comments on this forum about this acquisition. I was going to post something on the Houston Chronicle site (where people comment on news stories) but you wouldn't believe the asinine comments some people have left. I decided not to waste my time there!

Steve Baron

I stand corrected about the date of West End Park. I have a copy of a streetcar company document from 1897 referring to the "Ball Park" being leased for five years to the "Ball Ball Association", but no specific name or location is given. It makes sense that this would have been at Travis & McGowan because the streetcar company did indeed own a parcel of land there, and this was the terminal of the South End line at that time.

Also, I noticed that the 1900 map of Houston shows the future site of West End Park as "Andrews Estate".

West End Park goes back to the 1890's, at least. Where the 1905 date came from, I don't know; perhaps a new grandstand was built that year or some other improvement.

When I was doing my book on Houston streetcars I really wanted to find a photo of the streetcar turning loop at Camp Logan, but never found one. It was located at the edge of the camp near the corner of Ariel and Cohn streets, apparently across from the camp YMCA building. Surely some soldier took a snapshot of the streetcar. If anyone has such a photo I would love to see it.

That capacity sounds high for West End Park. I doubt that even Buff Stadium could hold 25,000.

The Bu8ff's would draw 25,000 fans at West End Park according to the boo Houston, The Forgotten City. It makes one think that had The Astrodome been Downtown or has retractable roofs been an option would teh crowds have been better in the 70's and 80's.

Houston Metro, and its predecessors, have never had much of an interest in historic preservation, so it's not surprising that they have no plans to operate a "historic" fleet. What IS surprising is that there are any older buses left on the property.

Many cities much smaller than Houston have found the resources to restore at least one older bus for use in parades, special events, etc. In many cases, these buses have been restored and maintained by the volunteer labor of transit company employees, as a sort of "club" activity. The usual arrangement is that the volunteers do the actual restoration work (after regular hours), while the transit authority provides use of shop tools and a place to store the buses. Seattle is a very good example of this arrangement, and has a beautiful historic fleet to show for it.

I agree with previous comments that the buses of the 1970s- 1990's wouldn't make much of an impression on the general public, but if that GM fishbowl was restored, people would definitely notice! It's a real shame that some of the older buses weren't saved; I can remember seeing restorable White 788's from the 1940's in a Houston junkyard as late as around 1990.

This is my first post on the forum, so I should introduce myself. My name is Steve Baron and in 1995 I published a book on the Houston streetcar system called "Houston Electric." I live in Kentucky now but I still try to keep up with what's going on in Houston.