One of the most intriguing yet neglected pieces of American transportation history, electric interurban railroads were designed to assist shoppers, salesmen, farmers, commuters, and pleasure-seekers alike with short distance travel. At a time when most roads were unpaved and horse and buggy travel were costly and difficult, these streetcar-like electric cars were essential to economic growth. But why did interurban fever strike so suddenly and extensively...

This report contains the papers presented at the National Conference on Light Rail Transit, held May 8-11, 1988, at San Jose, California, as well as six additional papers submitted to the Transportation Research Board. Together with the proceedings of previous conferences, this report documents the development of North America's Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems and serves as a reference text for technical questions.