In writing this story it was more difficult to try to remember the trolleys that ran up and down Federal Street and other streets in Greenfield back in the 1930s and beyond.
Long lines of cast iron rails were built into the roadways of Franklin County, making it possible for the trolleys to have a track. In later years these tracks were dug up or buried underneath new blacktop to make the roads wider again.
A trolley went back and forth from Greenfield to the center of Montague’s common. That one was a long one.
On the Buckland side of Shelburne Falls, there is a real trolley to see and ride for a short distance. This place is a form of a small museum where one can learn a lot more about them. The bridge that is now the Bridge of Flowers had a trolley track on it that connected Shelburne and Buckland across the Deerfield River.
When we lived on Shattuck Street in the 1930s, I think my father used the trolleys to get to work and back home. He worked at the Greenfield Tap and Die on Meridian Street. As more and more cars were bought and put on the roads, trolley cars were no longer needed and buses took their place.
If Peter Miller were still alive (he was a Greenfield historian), he could tell you a lot more about trains and trolleys. Those two were his passion.
Thank you for reading this story about trolleys in Greenfield and Franklin County. They were of the past and many wish they could get on one and enjoy the ride.
Robert Bitzer, of Erving, is a frequent contributor to the Recorder.