MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

This brief presentation will utilize two analytical methodologies in examining the electric streetcar system that once existed in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and how the public at large views them. The history of the streetcar in the county is summarized chronologically from its beginnings in 1874 to its terminus in 1947. The history provides ample information based on the expansion of the streetcar empire in the county to the consolidation and its demise in 1947. The primary focus of the presentation is how the public and historian view the once extensive trolley system that graced the hills and valleys of the county. There are two systematic perspectives that the presentation will employ while examining the history and the present perception of the electric streetcar in Lancaster City. These two views are not complete polar opposites yet they are significantly different. The first stance is the pragmatic approach. This method requires the observer to view the trolley by the economic and safety angle and not by social value. The other stance is the romantic approach; this involves the observer to view the electric streetcar from a social and emotional point of view. Using only one of these two approaches to viewing the trolleys provides an inaccurate image, which can devalue the historical and present importance of the electric streetcar. The presentation will illuminate the advantages, disadvantages, and the subscribers to each methodology.