At 07:23 PM 10/19/2006, you wrote: >Then came the 'trackless >trolleys' which had the overhead, but not the tracks. The rail type trolleys were preceded by mule drawn rail cars. I have an very old photo of one that ran from downtown Birmingham, south along 20th street, and up to Five Points South. The electric buses were known as "trolley buses." They were more flexible than the rail type trolleys, since they could maneuver in traffic, pull over to the curb for passengers, etc. Those were followed by buses with diesel engines, which were more flexible about routes. They were not limited to routes that had the overhead electric lines. Incidentally, the original rail trolleys used a single wire above the trolley. The rails themselves were the return route for the electricity. The electric buses did not have the ability to use the rails as the second electric line, so the overhead electric power lines had to be modified to accomodate the electric buses. Carl, in Knoxville Tennessee