Competition for the Railroads

ID: 3233
This file appears in: The Interurban Railroad

Dr. Charles Mutschler explains the impact that the automobile industry had on the interurban business. The availability of automobiles, along with the gradual improvement of the US highway system had a negative impact on the railroad business. This effectively ended the popularity of the Interurbans in the Palouse (and everywhere else for that matter).

Audio courtesy of Dr. Charles Mutschler, EWU Archivist.

This file appears in: The Interurban Railroad

By Robert M. Lambeth
All but forgotten today, the Palouse once had its own mass transit--the S&IE Interurban Railway, affectionately known as "the Bug." As the population of the western states dramatically increased in the early 20th century, railroad…