tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20019497.post4416640971496079288..comments2023-08-09T11:39:27.218-04:00Comments on Shine Silently: Street CarsBill-DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08684162800187654435noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20019497.post-44067684836615403482007-04-23T14:17:00.000-04:002007-04-23T14:17:00.000-04:00Yeah, maybe I should have studied journalism. I'm ...Yeah, maybe I should have studied journalism. I'm having fun with this blog though. I never thought it would be around a year and a half after I started it but I realize I run into so many little subjects each day and that keeps my interest. There are days when I struggle to write a story though, I get blocked or the words just aren't there.<BR/><BR/>Of course there is Benjamin to write about and post pictures. This enables family all over the world to see his progress.<BR/><BR/>I did get to sit in on a press conference after a sporting event (Maryland-Florida State) and I "reported" it here. Seeing that press conference and writing about it was a lot of fun.<BR/><BR/>Stay tuned....Bill-DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08684162800187654435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20019497.post-20469451392364703602007-04-23T14:11:00.000-04:002007-04-23T14:11:00.000-04:00From Dad:In one of the pictures you show a streetc...From Dad:<BR/><BR/>In one of the pictures you show a streetcar turning. That happens to be at the corner of Wisconsin and M street across from the Riggs Bank in Georgetown. I rode them all the time, of course, when I didn't have a driver's permit. <BR/><BR/>In Georgetown they would switch the overhead lines to the underground connection. The cars couldn't make a go of it when it snowed. Also, trying to stop an auto on the tracks was a pretty mean trick when it was wet. <BR/><BR/>When I lived in Georgetown, I would take a street car to Wisconsin and Military Road, transfer to a bus to the circle and then walk to the Chevy Chase Village Hardware Store where I worked during the summer before I got a license. This was before Walkmans, iPods, etc. Talked to myself a lot and would read the Transit News which featured a column by Bill Gold (who wrote the District Line column for the Post). They were fun to ride. Nice reading and writing. I think you may have missed your calling.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20019497.post-3638654308855346762007-04-23T07:31:00.000-04:002007-04-23T07:31:00.000-04:00My Mom's friend sent a note to her I thought I'd s...My Mom's friend sent a note to her I thought I'd share.....<BR/><BR/>What memories that picture conjured up! Please thank Billy. <BR/>In my early days, the annual church picnic took place at Glen Echo Park. We got there by the old Cabin John summer street car, an open-sided vehicle with shellacked rattan seats. It racketed along the old tracks with a sound that I can still hear. Especially charming was the clackety clack as we went over the rickety trestles. Magic!<BR/><BR/>When the "modern" cars (as pictured) came in, we still rode out to Glen Echo. What a time it was! Street cars held a deep fascination for me. <BR/><BR/>We had relatives in the 1600 block of Wisconsin Avenue and the 3600 block of Prospect Avenue. When we visited them I, as a child, would stand at the window to watch the changeover from plow to trolley or vice versa. <BR/><BR/>Just before the streetcar coming North on Wisconsin Avenue arrived, a man went down into a trough under the street so that the streetcar passed over him. There he hitched up or removed the plow. Or he waited above ground to lower<BR/>or raise the trolley, depending on whether the streetcar was going to turn left at P Street and work its way over to Prospect and then out to Glen Echo (via overhead trolley) or go on up Wisconsin Avenue (via plow).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20019497.post-15229770253557942712007-04-22T09:43:00.000-04:002007-04-22T09:43:00.000-04:00As I mentioned, I took three busses and a streetca...As I mentioned, I took three busses and a streetcar to and from school for four years. I would catch the bus on Conn. Ave. in Chevy Chase, ride to Chevy Chase Circle. Then another bus down Conn. Ave. to Nebraska Ave. A bus west on Nebraska to Tenley Circle where, finally, I would run into the middle of Wisconsin Avenue to catch the streetcar down to Cathedral School. It was a pleasant experience, the bell on the streetcar would ring out periodically. It was a smooth, quiet ride as I recall. I can just imagine in today's traffic trying to get onto the streetcar platform in the middle of the Wisconsin Ave. at Tenleytown. No way!<BR/>Enjoyed your blog.<BR/>MomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com