View of Main Street

Jack, any idea of location and date? My guess is that is Van Dyke's on the left and looking North.

Notice the set of trolly rails in the street. Pennington Profile contains many interesting stories about the trolly line, including the following information. The trolly operated from Trenton to Pennington, as the Trenton Street Railway Company, from 1902 to some time after 1956. The trolly ran along Main Street, lunging down the incline on North Main Street, then known as "Democrat Hill", with a familiar clang as the motorman viorously stomped on the floor button to release sand onto the rails to increase traction. Ocassionally, the trolly would leap from the track and settle in the mud to await the wrecking car from Trenton.

A friend once showed me a "pinch bar", a steel bar about six foot long, that was used to assist the trolly back onto the rails. I don't recall whether the bar was square or hextoganal.

In 1911 a trolley ride between Trenton and Pennington cost two 5 cent fares and took about 30 minutes. The fare had increased to 35 cents by 1956.

Februry 2008