Streetcars of the Monumental City

Photos by Adam Paul

Much unlike the "trolleys" seen these days that are little more than school buses with a "trolley" style body, "Trackless Trolleys" as they were called here in Baltimore tended to act in a reverse manor. These could best be described as streetcars that tried to look like buses, or more accurately, a cross between a streetcar and a bus.

Powered by overhead wires like electric streetcars, and having rubber tires and a steering wheel like a motor bus, the trackless trolleys had their reign in Baltimore Mass Transit from 1938 to 1959. Prior to that, a very small operation ran between Gwynn Oak Junction and Randallstown during the 1920's, but it was only beginning in 1938, and continuing until 1949 that the era of the trackless trolley expanded out to that of a true "system." Ultimately consisting of 6 lines, none of which breached the county line, the "stepchildren" as they would later be called by their fans, were the vehicle of choice for converting moderate density streetcar lines which ran entirely on city streets.

Starting with the #21 along Preston and Caroline Streets in 1938, the electric bus system would expand at its zenith to include the #1 line from Park Terminal to Sharp-Leadenhall, the #2 from Carey Street to Fort McHenry, the #10 from Hampden to Highlandtown through Downtown, the #27 from Morell Park to Biddle and Edison through Downtown, and the #30, which ran from Charles and North to Charles and Barney through a roundabout route using McMechen Street and Fremont Avenue.

Trackless trolley service was contemplated for other planned conversions, such as the East end of the #15 along Belair Road and Gay Street, the #18 line from North and Pennsylvania Avenues to Canton, and the #29 line from Roland Park to Downtown. However, changes in personnel and policy prevented any of these lines from seeing service by the versatile vehicles.

As a result, the heyday of the trackless trolley would be short lived. Declines in ridership on the trackless lines would render many of the first coaches surplus early in their careers. In 1957, the writing for the future of these services was already on the wall when the #21 and #27 lines were converted to bus operation, and the remaining 4 routes were consolidated at a single yard on Monroe Street. The next year, the #30, the last of the routes to get the coaches, would become a motor bus line. With just three lines left, it would only be a matter of time before the ball would drop. As it turns out, it would not be long. In June of 1959, as part of a massive route reorganization, the #10 would become a motor bus line, absorbing the #25 line out Falls Road, and the #26 line to Sparrows Point in the process. Meanwhile, the #1 and #2 were merged into a new motor bus line designated "1" that ran from Fort McHenry to Druid Hill along portions of both routes. The trackless trolley was dead in Baltimore.

Though used extensively in a few cities today, the trackless trolley (or Electric Trolley Bus {ETB} as it is officially termed) never made much of a lasting impression in Baltimore. Since most of the infrastructure was aerial, it didn't leave much of a lasting footprint either to today's Ghost Hunter. By and large, it takes a well trained eye to know that trackless trolleys ever ran in the city at all.


The most meaningful of trackless trolley relics are a set of troughs beneath the Mount Royal Avenue underpass of Howard Street. Last used in 1959, the old conduits are passed daily by thousands of motorists who likely never notice them.	Unlike streetcars, which used a single wire for each direction, trackless trolleys required double wires for each direction. At curves and junctions, even more special wire and guides were required to keep the coaches moving. As a result, heavy duty poles were used at numerous locations in the system, some of which remain today. This example once supported a curve at Howard and 27th Streets. Similar poles can be seen at Remington and Wyman Park, and at Preston and Caroline Streets.
At Washington Boulevard and Elk Street (one block in from Monroe), a junction was located for coaches to be able to enter the Monroe Street yard. This again, reqired a meatier set of poles, one of which remains to hold a Snow Emergency Sign.	Atop the pole at left, one can see wooden insulators and a mysterious piece of hardware dangling from the top of the pole. Interesting to think that it's been over 45 years since these items saw actual use.

ANOTHER TRACKLESS TIDBIT? CONTACT ME!!!!