The story of electric rail transportation in Schenectady mirrors the development of urban transportation throughout America in many ways, but it also has its own peculiar local characteristics. Most notably, Schenectady had some of the finest amenities for street railway passengers in the nation, including a Beaux-Arts waiting room with 45-foot-tall ceilings, the longest trolley bridge in the world, and Bullet cars capable of traveling at 90 mph. These amenities helped make Schenectady the hub of a regional interurban trolley network, with hourly service or better to the region’s other urban centers. With two major factory complexes employing a significant percentage of the city’s population, Schenectady also had some of the most concentrated rush hour traffic found anywhere.

This book focuses on the chronology and location of the streetcar and interurban routes partially or wholly in Schenectady. It is hoped that this book can also provide the reader with a brief overview of the geographic development of the City That Lights and Hauls the World. Much of this development took place in tandem with the growth of the street railway system.