At the turn of the century every town and village in the United States had a trolley that ran down its main street. While most of us don't remember those brightly colored cars, we can all identify with Judy Garland hoping aboard one in the motion picture Meet Me in St. Louis and singing the "Trolley Song". Trolley cars are as much a part of American nostalgia as apple pie.

Few people know that around 1911 a resident of Whitestone or Flushing could travel all the way to Hicksville by way of the New York & North Shore Traction Company's fleet of trolleys. The main line paralleled old Broadway, now Northern Boulevard, passing through Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck and on to Mineola via Manhasset and Roslyn. There were also branches to Port Washington and Hicksville. The private automobile and New York City's refusal to allow a fare increase doomed the trolley line to abandonment in 1923.

Clang Clang Clang Went the Trolley!

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