Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
^ i've read up a little bit on milwaukee's speedrail, and it also comes across to me more in the interurban/commuter rail vein vs. a true intra-city rapid transit system like the chicago el, boston T, or new york subway. it ran on a set schedule as opposed to continuous headways. the vast majority of stations were in the burbs as opposed to the city, with station spacing >2 miles as opposed to <1/2mile. if you lived within milwaukee proper, you likely never used it on a frequent basis, you rode the streetcars instead.
|
Milwaukee's Rapid Transit Line definitely had stops within the 1/2 mile range, and sometimes closer, and were absolutely used in place of streetcar lines for those who lived/worked/needed to get someplace near the line:
8th, 16th, 26th, 35th, Soldier's Home/Mithcell Blvd, Hawley Rd, 62nd, 65th, 68th, 72nd, 76th, 79th, 84th, 92nd, Adler Ave, Schlinger Ave, Greenfield Ave, West Junction
It was built in the 1920s by The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transit Company to relocate interurbans of the west and southwest hinterlands off the streets and onto a grade-separated right-of-way. Service included longer-distance interurban runs (like out to the aforementioned hinterlands), as well as abbreviated short turn runs (Downtown to West Junction Loop). And in fact, some projects to transform the northern and southern interurban lines to rapid transit were also started, but never completed to the extent of the West Side Line due to the Great Depression.
So while it was not an el, an L, a T, a subway, or metro, it was a pretty substantial operation for a city like Milwaukee.