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Cleveland OH cts250
Cleveland Railway / Cleveland Transit System
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4128, built by GC Kuhlman in 1930, at Lorain Ave and Rocky River Dr, being wyed, backing up. Motorman is facing the rear, toward conductor at rear window. Trolley is on the curved wire. This was a double tracked junction with a west to south curve used as a wye and had been built by the Cleveland Southwestern, where its line to the west to Elyria and Norwalk (straight out Lorain Ave which became Lorain Rd after it crossed Rocky River Bridge) or south to Bucyrus via Rocky River Dr, passing the Municipal Airport. After CSW quit in 1932, Cleveland Railway took over as far as the Airport and extended Lorain cars there, but turned some trips at W 137th St wye and others at Rocky River Drive. The sign read Lorain Ave - Rocky River Dr; some trips read Lorain Ave - Rocky River Dr - Airport. In the latter 1930s, the City built an underpass under the NYC (W) at W 143rd St, at what had been West Park Station. They had to temporarily terminate the line at the W 137th St. wye, but because all the cars, instead of every third car, would turn, they made a loop by adding to the wye.
Photo courtesy the Bill Volkmer collection from Ted Taetsch; caption by Bill Volkmer, Richard C Manning, Bill Vigrass and Cliff Scholes
When the underpass was completed in the late 1930s, they extended service to Rocky River Dr, not going back to the airport. (Who would want a 50 minute trolley ride to an airport?).It is in that period when the picture was probably taken, since it has the then modernized paint scheme by Raymond Loewy. Shuttle buses ran to the airport via Rocky River Drive.When WWII rationing started, ODT urged transit systems to restore streetcar service where they could. Thus CTS (which bought Cleveland Railway Company in 1942)built Puritas Loop at Rocky River Drive and Puritas Road, the end of double track in the street. I recall the track and wire were still in place, although the pavement was rough.This was all ex-Cleveland Southwestern. The loop was laid out for convenient shuttle bus transfer to the cars. There was a siding in the loop to lay up a crippled car.The loop continued thru WWII until end of streetcar service beyond W 140th. CTS built a new loop at W 140th to replace the W137th loop, maybe because there was a crosstown bus on 140th,maybe they got a good price for the lot because it became a supermarket. Then during the late 1940s CTS converted the outer end of Lorain to #85-Lorain Express bus lineand the inner portion to W 140th to the 22-Lorain (local) trackless. Then in 1954 the Rapid opened to W 117th and in 1958 to W 143rd and West Parkat which point the 22 was converted to motorbus and extended to West Park. The 85 became a feeder bus with a few through express trips to downtown in the peak.
