Discovering Berkshire Street Railway’s history

FALLS VILLAGE — Historian Gary Leveille told the story of the Berkshire Street Railway, a trolley car network that served an area as far north as North Adams, Massachusetts and as far south as North Canaan, Connecticut at the South Canaan Meeting House Tuesday, Aug. 6. The talk was part of the Falls Village-Canaan Historical Society’s “First Tuesdays at 7” series.

Judy Jacobs introduced Leveille, saying they met in a roundabout manner when they were bidding against each other for vintage postcards on eBay.

Leveille said the trolley began operations in 1888 in Massachusetts with horsedrawn cars on routes between Adams and North Adams, and Pittsfield and Lee.

Eventually, “it grew to be the only trolley system in four states” (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Vermont).

The trolley arrived in North Canaan in 1911. The ticket office was in the Canfield Hotel, now the site of the Walgreens drug store.

The trip between Great Barrington and North Canaan was a dime. A nickel bought a ride on a separate line between Great Barrington and South Egremont, where there was an axle factory.

“It’s hard to believe now but South Egremont was an industrial center.”

To build up ridership, the trolley company put up “points of interest” signs along the various routes.

The company also tried building an amusement park in Great Barrington. This venture failed, Leveille noted, “because the mosquitoes were so bad.”

Now powered by electricity, the trolley offered more frequent trips between North Canaan and Great Barrington than the railroad, and in theory should have been successful.

Leveille offered several reasons why the trolley was finished in North Canaan by 1919 or so.

First was the rise of the automobile, which offered considerably more convenience to casual travelers.

The influenza epidemic of 1918-19 had a depressing effect on all aspects of life, including travel.

The electricity supply, generated by burning coal, was expensive and sometimes erratic, depending on the coal market.

Three or four unusually harsh winters in succession created track problems.

And a labor strike in 1918 disrupted operations.

“After 1919 it never came to Canaan.”