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Chapter 9
connected to a central station. It was set in
motion by a steam engine located at the
central station. We then had the birth of
the
cable car
in our cities.
In the early 1900s, another inventionwas
put touseon cable cars. The cable and steam
engine were removed. Electricity became a
new technology in the late 1880s. Insteadof
cable and steam, electricity was used to
move these cars through city streets over
rails. The
trolley cars
, as they were called,
weremovedbybeing connected to electrical
lines overhead. Of course, a central
electricity station was the source of power.
More people rode trolley cars than the
railroads.Oneotheruseof railswas invented
in the early 1900s. Business people knew
how to build tunnels. A system of rails
underneath large cities would be a clever
way of moving people. We know of this
system as a
subway
. Philadelphia had a
subway system as early as 1907.
These four rail car inventions helped
(cause) some other changes to occur in our
way of living. They allowed cities to grow.
Soon suburbs (effect) located near cities
began to appear. Can you guess what
invention replaced the trolley cars?Our rail
networks except for subways in the cities
were slowly replaced by automobiles, taxis,
and buses during the 1900s.
Today, our rail system is still a form of
moving goods and people. However, travel
by railroad isnot as popular as it used tobe.
Do you knowwhy? Again, easier and faster
forms of transportation came along to
replace the railroads as a popular choice of
travel. We have new ways of travel — the
automobile and airplane!
Trolley cars were connected to overhead electrical wires to run their motors.
