Customer Reviews

Manchester Streetcars (NH) (Images of America)

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O. R. Cummings has long been noted for his encyclopedic knowledge of New Hampshire traction lines, and nowhere does he show this better than in Manchester Streetcars.

If you want to see a prime example of how to write a definitive, concise history of a traction line, this is the book for you.

Why? Its 128 pages cover a definitive pictorial roster, including those from the horsecar era. Renumberings (often neglected) are noted, as are disposition dates of equipment not making it to abandonment. The system is covered geographically, with important street names, intersections, and landmarks always noted. Branch lines are not neglected and covered in separate chapters. The downtown Manchester area containing carbarns, important junctions, and the B&M, gets special treatment. The history of the system is interspersed throughout the captions and in narrative, always at the right point.

The photographs used are first rate - there isn't a dud among them. Directions being travelled (oft times overlooked by others) are included, so you know where you are and where you are looking.

My only quibble - and it's a minor one considering all that has been included - is a wish for more detailed maps. The ones given are not faulty, incomplete or erroneous. I'm just a map freak.

O. R. Cummings has done us all a great service in this volume. I recommend it without reservation.