A great old map of transit from Salt Lake City, showing bus lines (in green), trolleybus lines (in red, and curiously referred to as “electric coaches”, a designation that only seems to have been used here), and the one last remaining streetcar line (in blue). Even that seems to be on its last legs, as the legend says that Line 5 could be served by “street car or gas bus”. I believe the last streetcar ran in 1946 – that is, until the UTA’s S-Line opened in 2013.
The map certainly highlights Salt Lake City’s rigid street grid, though it wisely omits showing all the cross streets without service, simply naming them instead. In effect, it mimics a modern rail-based transit map, as the street names would also almost certainly indicate stops as well.
Though the map is dated to 1940, this particular example seems to have seen use to a later date. Someone has made hand-drawn edits to routes 18 and 19 to the upper left of the map, reflecting service changes made after the map’s issue.
Also of note are the UL&T Co. car barns, seen at the intersection of 5th South and 7th East, which have now been incorporated into the fabric of the aptly-named Trolley Square shopping mall.
Our rating: A great little slice of Utah history, and quite a handsome map as well. Four stars.
A cleaned-up version of this map is now for sale in the Transit Maps print store. Click here to buy a print!
