The following is an excerpt from an article that was previously posted on SILive.com in 2011:<\/p>\n
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If its possible to conjure a more picturesque scene than cars jamming up at traffic lights on Victory Boulevard or Richmond Terrace, imagine orange and red open-air trolleys cruising along those roads.<\/p>\n
Trolley fever, known in some local circles as delirium electricum, was raging on Staten Island just after the turn of the 20th Century.<\/p>\n
On July 1, 1892, Staten Islands first trolley line opened, transporting eager riders along a route from the former Bergen Point Ferry entrance, near the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Richmond Avenue in Port Richmond, to Prohibition Park in what is now Westerleigh.<\/p>\n
The line was run by the parks management, which wanted to draw crowds to its 4,000-seat auditorium for lectures, exhibitions and movies.<\/p>\n
On Independence Day of that year, 5,000 people rode the orange cars that were powered by overhead wires fed from a power plant.<\/p>\n
In the early 1930s, the city ordered trolleys to be eliminated from the Island, and the lines were gradually replaced by buses. The last Island trolley ran from Clove Road to St. George on Jan. 26, 1934.<\/p>\n
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View the short video above to see vintage images of trolleys and trains that have crossed Staten Island streets in the past.<\/p>\n
If you have any visuals to share, please send them to my email at jsomma@siadvance.com<\/a>. Vintage photos and video clips are welcome! Also, please let me know if there are any places you'd like to see highlighted in an upcoming installment of \"Flashback Staten Island.\"<\/p>\n A playlist of past Staten Island flashbacks is available on YouTube.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more:<\/p>\n Flashback: Early days of trolleys and trains on Staten Island - SILive.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The following is an excerpt from an article that was previously posted on SILive.com in 2011: STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Continue reading